Frosted Zucchini Cookies are made with pantry staple ingredients and grated zucchini for incredibly tender cookies that are covered in a delicious cream cheese frosting!
Use up more fresh zucchini from your garden by also trying my tender Zucchini Bread or one-pan Garlic Butter Shrimp With Zucchini Noodles!
Frosted Zucchini Cookies are a soft and sweet, easy-to-make dessert that will be a delicious hit at all of your summertime gatherings! These cookies taste so good that no one will even notice that you snuck a vegetable into them!
Here in Maine we often find that even if we plant only a few zucchini seeds in our garden we’re usually overrun with them by the end of the season. When that happens you can find us scrambling around to give them away before they go bad OR hiding them in tasty recipes just like this one!
But this Frosted Zucchini Cookie recipe will definitely have you hoarding a stash of zucchini to be able to make tons of these cookies whenever the craving hits! No garden? No problem! You can just grab a couple from the grocery store!
Zucchini Cookies Ingredient Notes
This Zucchini Cookie Recipe combines freshly grated zucchini with common household baking ingredients to produce a cake-like cookie! You’ll need to gather up unsalted butter, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, an egg, all-purpose flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and salt.
If you’ve never grated zucchini before, don’t let that stop you from whipping up a batch of these cookies, it’s super easy to do!
Just wash the zucchini thoroughly, slice off its ends, and then cut it in half. I like to then cut it in half again lengthwise and scoop out any seeds it may have. Then firmly run it up and down against a box grater!
After the cookies have baked and cooled they get a delicious topping of a homemade sweet cream cheese frosting! To make this you’ll beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar, heavy cream, and salt.
How To Make Frosted Zucchini Cookies
- Cream together the butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl until the mixture becomes light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and finely shredded zucchini then beat until just combined.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together in a separate bowl.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
- Chill the dough.
- Scoop the dough out onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
- Bake until the tops of the cookies spring back when touched. Then allow them to cool on the baking sheet before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely.
- Beat the cream cheese until smooth to begin making the frosting.
- Add 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time, alternative with 1 ounce of heavy cream. Add the salt and continue to beat on high until the frosting is silky smooth.
- Spread the frosting onto the cooled cookies.
Frequently Asked Questions
How To Store Zucchini Cookies
Store these cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days!
Where Do I Get A Grater To Grate The Zucchini?
These are relatively easy to find right at stores, I use this Cuisinart Boxed Grater used the fine side for this recipe!
Do I Need To Peel The Zucchini Before Grating It?
Not at all! The outside of the zucchini is actually very tender and adds a beautiful dark green speckle throughout the cookies!
Should I Dry Out The Zucchini After Its Grated?
No, you don’t need to! It’s best left as is after grating since the moisture is important to the dough. It helps make these cookies incredibly moist!
I love bringing these Frosted Zucchini Cookies to every cookout and backyard gathering any chance that I get! Here are more great cookie recipes you may want to reach for when contributing a dessert to any party you may be attending!
- Peanut Butter Bacon Chocolate Chunk Pudding Cookies – The perfect chewy blend of sweet and salty, ready from start to finish in under 30 minutes!
- The Best Ever Monster Cookies – Loaded with M&Ms, Reese’s Pieces, Chocolate Chips, Oatmeal, Toffee, Coconut, and sprinkles!
- Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies – A classic cookie recipe made from thick molasses, sugar, and spices for a dairy-free treat!
- Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies – Big, thick, and chewy cookies made right at home yet taste like they’re from your favorite bakery!
- Butterfinger Pudding Cookies – Everything you love about the candy bar in a chewy, buttery, sweet cookie!
Let’s Connect!
If you’ve tried this recipe, please let me know how you liked it in the comments below and leave a review. I love hearing from you!
Don’t forget to tag me – @sugarandsoulco – on Instagram and Pinterest with your photos or join our Sugar & Soul Show-offs Community and share them there, where you can join our recipe challenges!
Frosted Zucchini Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup finely grated zucchini
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
Frosting
- 16 ounces cream cheese
- 4½ cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together the butter, light brown sugar, and sugar until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
- Beat in the egg and finely grated zucchini just until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in two separate additions mixing just until combined.
- Chill the dough for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to portion out the dough onto the parchment paper 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the tops of the cookies spring back when touched.
- Allow to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the cookies cool, add the cream cheese to a large bowl or stand mixer and beat until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, alternative with 1 ounce of heavy cream. Add salt and beat on high speed for 1 to 2 minutes until silky smooth. Add more powdered sugar or heavy cream to reach desired consistency.
- Spread the frosting over the tops of the cooled cookies.
Notes
- Cookie dough can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours before baking.
- I used the fine side of this grater to grate the zucchini.
- You do not need to squeeze or ring out the zucchini after grating, the moisture is important to the dough.
- These cookies are incredibly tender, like a cake, but the edges are more firm.
- The cookies are delicious without the frosting but the frosting really puts them over the top.
- A sprinkle of cinnamon sugar on the frosting is really good on these.
- These will keep for 3 to 4 days in an air-tight container at room temperature.
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
Don’t forget to share it with me on Instagram @sugarandsoulco and follow on Tiktok @sugarandsoulco and Pinterest @sugarandsoulco for more!
Share your thoughts!
Love this recipe? Share your thoughts with me below and leave a review! And don’t forget to connect on your favorite social platform below!