Huckleberry Finn: Solving the Zucchini Mystery and a Recipe

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"I couldn't hardly get my words out, I was so anxious; but I told Tom as quick as I could we must jump for it now, and not a minute to lose -- the house full of men, yonder, with guns! . . . Then there was a rush, and a bang, bang, bang! and the bullets fairly whizzed around us!"

Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn

I walked outside today to find a club-of-a-zucchini in the middle of my lawn. As I got closer to the behemoth, I realized its surface was riddled with small holes.

Now, I have to confess something here.  I wasn't as perplexed by the enormous vegetable on my lawn as I was by its holes, seeing as I find all SORTS of random objects in my grass, from spatulas to writing utensils.   (Ah, the joy of having children . . . ) 

In my mind, I quickly ran through the list of possible hole perpetrators.

Decay?  Maybe.

Squash bugs?  Perhaps.

Aggressive birds?  Most likely.

But then I looked more closely at the holes.  Nestled snuggly in the thick of the zucchini skin were several white BB gun bullets.

Unless the local magpies had recently been brushing up on their Air Soft skills, I realized that
my 11-year-old had come up with yet another use for zucchini:  target practice.

Now, if you aren't into vegetable warfare, or regard your garden produce with more respect than we do around here, you may want to consider using your own zucchini for these instead . . .

I made a batch of these today with bullet-free zucchini from the garden.  The cookies are soft, moist, and the perfect way to use up a few more of those prolific gourds.  

Besides, these cookies are smothered in cream cheese frosting.  

I'd eat a gun-wielding magpie if it was smothered in cream cheese frosting.

Here's the recipe:

Frosted Zucchini Cookies

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

2 cups shredded zucchini 

(I squeezed some of the water out of the zucchini first)

4 cups flour

Frosting

4 ounces cream cheese

4 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

2-3 cups powdered sugar (depending on how thick you like your frosting)

Cream butter and sugars together until smooth.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Sift dry ingredients and add to butter/sugar/egg mixture.  Finally, add zucchini and mix until blended.  Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet at bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.  Let cool and then spread frosting on top.

If you like these cookies, you'll have to try THESE.  I'd give both a "5 Bullet Rating".

Happy shooting cooking!

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