James Beard, I Am Not

July 29, 2023

People can be so picky. They love you and your zucchini bread one day, the next, they want to kill you because your recipe left zucchini bread drippings all over their oven.

So, clearly I will not be getting the James Beard award for excellence, but it’s not my fault. My mom was one of those seat-of-your-pants cooks. She just slapped stuff together and it tasted great, pretty much every time.

Hot zucchini bread with butter and cinnamon sugar.

Recipe? Ha! There were few recipes and most of them are in her indecipherable handwriting, or written on a ripped piece of paper. So, I am just like her. I experiment in the kitchen and almost never measure unless I’m baking.

The only reason I seriously measure now is because of you. I consider it a labor of love and sometimes I have been known to leave things out, like the fact that a recipe needs more than one loaf pan. I apologize for any and all disasters I’ve caused in your kitchen.

I just want you to know that if you ever read one of my recipes and I’ve left something out or it doesn’t make sense, just email me or call me (most of you have my number) and I will go over it with you.

That’s what my daughter does (when the stinker isn’t looking at someone else’s blog). She calls me and we spend a half hour going over everything because she says, “Why should I look it up when I can call you and get it straight from you?” And I gave birth to her!

I just did you all a favor and am re-publishing my zucchini bread recipe so you too don’t have the catastrophe my sister-in-law Donna had. Please be sure to follow the directions, which are now much more detailed, and use more than one bread loaf pan. I just made this moist, delicious Cinnamon Sugar Topped Zucchini Bread twice and both times it got rave reviews. It’s zucchini season, so enjoy!

Cinnamon Sugar Topped Zucchini Bread

AuthorFran Tunno

Yields1 Serving

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla

¾ cup canola or any vegetable oil

3 cups grated zucchini (drained- see instruction)

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

1 cup drained crushed pineapple (In pineapple juice)

Additional butter for top of bread when done baking

Cinnamon Sugar

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Flour and grease two bread pans sized 5 x 9 or 4.5 x 8.5. There will be additional mixture leftover, so also flour and grease a small cake pan or several (2 to 4)small ceramic ramekins.

Shred the zucchini (I don't peel mine but you can if you want). Sprinkle the zucchini lightly with salt. Set the zucchini aside and let it drain in a colander.

Drain the crushed pineapple and squeeze or press it so most of the liquid is out. Set it aside.

Beat together eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil in a large bowl. Set it aside.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

Give the zucchini a squeeze and roll it into a paper towel squeezing to get excess moisture out. (Don't worry if it's still a bit moist, the bread will turn out fine.)

Pour the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon into the egg, sugar, vanilla and oil mixture. Add the shredded zucchini and the drained crushed pineapple. And be sure to mix very thoroughly, scraping from the bottom.

Pour the mixture into the greased, floured pans filling them about two thirds full. Fill the small cake pan or ramekins about two thirds full also.

Bake at 350 and begin checking the smaller containers after 20 minutes. When the tops are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, the bread is done. The larger bread pans will take longer to bake (at least 40 minutes or longer).

While the bread is baking combine the 2 tablespoons of sugar with one teaspoon of cinnamon and mix thoroughly. If you have an empty spice container with holes on top for shaking, fill it with the cinnamon sugar. (Set it aside)

Once the bread is baked, remove it from the oven and while it's still hot, rub the top with a stick of butter (regular, not unsalted). Once the top is buttered thoroughly, sprinkle it with the cinnamon sugar. (If you don't have a spice container to sprinkle it with, just lightly sprinkle it from a teaspoon)

Being careful not to get burned, run a knife or plastic blade along the sides of the bread to make sure it releases from the pan.

Once the bread is cool enough to handle, place two pieces of plastic wrap on the counter lengthwise and widthwise (creating a cross) large enough to wrap around the entire loaf. Turn the loaf pan over onto the plastic wrap and the bread should fall out. If bits of it stick to the bottom of the pan, just scrape it out and piece it together. Then flip the bread over and wrap it with the plastic wrap and let it cool all the way. (It stays moist with the plastic wrap on.) It tastes great warm or cool. Enjoy!

Ingredients