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Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Cookie Butter Frosting

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5 from 2 votes

Perfectly dense and moist chocolate zucchini cupcakes packed with grated zucchini and topped with insanely addictive Biscoff cookie butter frosting! Want to try more “hidden veggie” desserts? Check out my chocolate beet cake.

Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Cookie Butter Frosting

I'm back! Sorry for the month-long hiatus, things got cu-raa-zy. New job, drastic new commute, fun new obligations, super-fun new sickness. Yeaaaaaah. I had a slow buildup of a cold for about a week and then I woke up one morning and BAM – full fledged flu.

So, I've been a pathetic ball of mucus for a bit and who wants baked goods covered in germs? Not I, and (I would assume) not you, either!

I figured a good reintroduction to the real world would be cupcakes full of veggies – well, a veggie: Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes! I feel like I'm forgetting something… oh right, the frosting. Cookie Butter frosting. OH YEAH.

Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Cookie Butter Frosting

You see that? That's no ordinary buttercream frosting. That right there is cookie butter buttercream frosting. Creamy, sweet and with a hint of that signature cookie butter gingerbread-ish flavor.

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen this post about the Biscoff gift pack that I received. First of all, that was AWESOME. Second of all, The Biscoff  Cookie & Spread cookbook is full of all sorts of stuff that makes me drool all over its pretty, pretty pages. I found a recipe for this frosting in the book and I was inspired to find the perfect pairing on which to pipe that gorgeous frosting.

Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Cookie Butter Frosting

Good news: this is easily made vegan-friendly!

I wanted the recipe to be vegan-friendly because lots of people have requested more vegan recipes, and I want to give the people what they want!

This recipe is easily made vegan by substtituing:

  • applesauce in place of eggs
  • vegan yogurt for the regular yogurt
  • Earth Balance vegan butter for the unsalted butter

And I bet you didn't realize that Biscoff Cookie Butter was vegan, did ya? And so are the cookies themselves!

So, that basically gives you the right to put those cookies all over everything – and that's exactly what I did.

Biscoff cookies crumbled on top…

Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Cookie Butter Frosting

Whole Biscoff cookies shoved into the frosting…

Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Cookie Butter Frosting

…yeah. I make good decisions. You should make as equally good a decision and make these immediately.

Tip for using shredded zucchini

Here's a tip: Squeeze the excess liquid out of the shredded zucchini, but save it until you've put the cupcakes in the oven. Why, you ask?

Because if you find that your batter is too dry, you can add it back in, a little at a time. No additional ingredients needed!

Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Cookie Butter Frosting

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Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Cookie Butter Frosting

5 from 2 votes
Perfectly dense and moist chocolate cupcakes packed with zucchini and topped with insanely addictive cookie butter frosting!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 10 to 12 cupcakes

Ingredients
 

Cupcakes:

Frosting (adapted from The Biscoff Cookie & Spread cookbook):

Instructions

Cupcakes:

  • Preheat oven to 350°F and line a muffin tin (aff link) with 10-12 baking cups (and spray the inside of the cups with cooking spray for good measure). Set aside.
  • Shred zucchini and place in a colander lined with cheesecloth or paper towels over a bowl to catch the liquid. Gently press the zucchini to squeeze out excess moisture. Don't toss the leftover liquid just yet!
    1 cup (124 g) shredded zucchini
  • In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
    1 cup (120 g) whole wheat flour
    1/2 cup (43 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
    1 teaspoon espresso powder
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    Pinch salt
  • In a separate large bowl, beat together the sugar, applesauce and oil until completely combined.
    1/2 cup (80 g) coconut sugar
    2 egg
    2 tablespoons coconut oil
  • Add yogurt, milk, and vanilla and beat until just combined.
    1/3 cup (81 ⅔ g) plain non-fat yogurt
    1/4 cup (56 ½ g) coconut milk
    1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and beat until just combined.
  • Add shredded zucchini and stir to combine. If you're batter feels too dry, add some of the leftover zucchini liquid (a little at a time) and stir to combine.
  • Pour batter into prepared cupcake liners until they are about 3/4 full (a little less if you want to stretch the batter to 12 cupcakes).
  • Place the cupcakes on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 15-17 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean).
  • Remove from oven and let cool in pan for a couple minutes before removing them and cooling completely on a wire rack.

Frosting:

  • Beat butter and cookie butter on high speed until combined and smooth.
    1/4 cup (56 ¾ g) unsalted butter
    1/2 cup (118 2/7 g) Biscoff Creamy Cookie Butter
  • Add powdered sugar, a little at a time, and beat on high speed until light and fluffy.
    3/4 cup (90 g) confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
  • If the frosting is too thick, add milk a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.
    Coconut milk
  • Frost cupcakes and top with crushed Biscoff cookies. Enjoy!
    Crushed Biscoff cookies

Notes

To make this recipe vegan: Easily made vegan by using applesauce in place of eggs and vegan yogurt in the cupcakes. For the frosting, simply substitute butter for Earth Balance!

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 281kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 188mg | Potassium: 222mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 238IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition Disclaimer

The provided nutrition information is generated by an automatic API and does not take variations across specific brands into account. This information is provided as a general guideline and should not be treated as official calculations. Learn more here.

Recipe created by Leslie Kiszka

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3 Comments

  1. I came here planning to write a totally not-trolling comment, but seeing that these are easily veganizable, my mind is too covered in cookie butter to think of anything. You win this round, cupcake master.