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Serving

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Soft Zucchini Spice Cookies

Name: Soft Zucchini Spice Cookies
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 48 servings
Cuisine: Desserts
Ingredients: 1/2 cup butter (softened); 1 cup packed brown sugar; 1 large egg; 2 cups all-purpose flour; 3/4 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon; 1/4 tsp salt; 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg; 1/4 tsp ground cloves; 1/2 cup milk; 1 1/2 cups grated zucchini; 1/2 cup chopped walnuts; 1 cup raisins

Soft, cake-like spice cookies studded with zucchini, walnuts, and raisins for a cozy, lightly sweet treat.

30 minutes

Serves 48

Dessert

14 min prep

23 min cook

Contains common allergens

Egg Dairy Tree nut Wheat

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Good to know

Ready in under 30 minutes

Matched from this dish's own ingredients and timing. Browse more: 30-minute meals

Instructions

5 steps

1
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease your baking sheets. In a mixing bowl, cream the softened butter and brown sugar together, then add the egg and mix well.
2
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and cloves. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk to the creamed mixture, stirring until just combined.
3
Stir in the grated zucchini, chopped walnuts, and raisins until evenly distributed.
4
Drop the dough by teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets.
5
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned and the cookies are set. Makes about 4 dozen.

Soft Zucchini Spice Cookies — plated and served — Serving moment. How Soft Zucchini Spice Cookies looks plated and ready to eat — a representative photo, not a step in the recipe.

Listahan Family Score™

72/100

Good fit for most families

Allergen-friendly 60

Kid-friendly 85

Weeknight-easy 96

Budget-friendly 80

Great leftovers 56

Pantry-friendly 30

Score reflects how well this recipe fits a typical busy household. In the app, your Family Score is personalized to your household's allergens, kids, and pantry.

Nutrition

per serving

Calories

1 g

Protein

12 g

Carbs

3 g

Fat

Estimated per serving. Actual values depend on the brands and portions you use.

Listahan cooking guide

Chef notes & practical guide

Technique notes, ingredient swaps, serve-alongside ideas, storage guidance, and equipment for this recipe.

Cultural context

Zucchini baking entered American kitchens in earnest during the zucchini glut summers of the 1960s and 1970s, when home gardeners found themselves with more summer squash than they could eat fresh. Taking cues from carrot cake and applesauce cookies -- both traditions of using vegetables and fruit to add moisture and reduce fat in baked goods -- home bakers discovered that grated zucchini produced a remarkably soft, moist cookie that stayed tender for days. These spiced drop cookies became a back-to-school staple in Midwestern and Pacific Northwest households, often made alongside zucchini bread from the same harvest.

Listahan note

This version uses brown sugar for depth, a warm spice blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, and both raisins and walnuts for a chewy-crisp contrast; the grated zucchini adds moisture without imparting a vegetable flavor.

Technique cues

Do not squeeze or drain the grated zucchini before adding it to the batter; the natural water in the zucchini is what keeps these cookies soft and moist for several days after baking, rather than dry and crumbly.
Brown butter the butter very slightly by melting it and allowing it to just begin to smell nutty before beating it into the sugar; this single step adds a caramel undertone that deepens the spice profile without changing the recipe chemistry.
These are high-moisture drop cookies and will appear under-done when they first come out of the oven -- the centers should look barely set; they firm up as they cool on the pan and will be perfectly soft, not gummy, within 10 minutes.

Kitchen flow

Parallel prep: While the oven preheats, grate the zucchini and chop the walnuts so the batter comes together without pausing midway.
Make-ahead: The cookie dough can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 24 hours before scooping and baking; the chilled dough spreads less and produces a slightly taller cookie.
Leftover move: These cookies stay soft for 4-5 days; pack them in lunchboxes or crumble over yogurt for a spiced fruit-and-nut topping.
Cleanup rhythm: Line baking sheets with parchment paper; the high moisture content means the cookies can stick to bare sheet pans, and parchment makes lifting and cleanup effortless.

Ingredient brief

Role, handling, and swap guidance for each key ingredient.

1 1/2 cups grated zucchini

moisture source and tenderness

Purpose: Grated zucchini releases water gradually during baking, keeping the cookie interior soft and extending shelf life compared to standard drop cookies.

Handling: Use the large holes of a box grater; do not peel -- the skin is tender and barely visible in the finished cookie.

Adaptation: Grated yellow summer squash works identically; grated carrot can replace up to half the zucchini for a slightly different flavor.

1 cup packed brown sugar

sweetener and moisture retention

Purpose: Brown sugar's molasses content pairs naturally with cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, and its hygroscopic nature helps the cookies stay soft.

Handling: Pack firmly into the measuring cup; loosely measured brown sugar produces under-sweet cookies that can spread too little.

Adaptation: An equal amount of coconut sugar provides a similar depth of flavor with a slightly lower glycemic impact.

1/2 cup butter (softened)

fat base and tenderness

Purpose: Properly softened butter creams with the sugar to incorporate air bubbles that give the cookie a light, soft interior rather than a dense one.

Handling: Leave at room temperature for 30-45 minutes; the butter should hold an indentation but not be shiny or greasy.

Adaptation: Vegan butter (stick style, not tub) works equally well in the same quantity for a dairy-free version.

1/4 tsp ground cloves

warm spice depth

Purpose: Cloves provide a sharp, penetrating warmth that anchors the spice blend and makes the cookies taste complex rather than simply cinnamon-flavored.

Handling: No special prep; measure carefully -- cloves are potent and even a small excess can overwhelm the other spices.

Adaptation: Allspice can replace cloves in equal measure for a slightly more rounded, less sharp warmth.

1 cup raisins

chewy fruit and sweetness

Purpose: Raisins add pockets of concentrated sweetness and a chewy texture that contrasts with the soft cookie crumb.

Handling: If the raisins are dry or hard, soak in warm water for 10 minutes and pat dry before adding to the batter.

Adaptation: Dried cranberries or currants can replace raisins for a slightly tarter, more colorful result.

Technique notes

Use a 1.5-tablespoon cookie scoop for uniform sizing; evenly sized cookies bake at the same rate, preventing some from being underdone while others over-brown.
Bake one test cookie first to dial in your oven's timing -- oven temperatures vary, and the moisture in the zucchini means these cookies are more sensitive to over-baking than standard drop cookies.
Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack; they are fragile while hot due to the high moisture content and will tear if moved too soon.

Ingredient swaps

Nut-free direction: Omit the walnuts entirely or replace with an equal volume of sunflower seeds or extra raisins for nut-free households.
Dairy-free direction: Replace butter with vegan butter sticks and replace the milk with any plant-based milk at the same quantity.
Gluten-free direction: Substitute a 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour blend; the high moisture from the zucchini helps compensate for the lack of gluten structure, so the texture remains soft.

Serve alongside

hot apple cider for a fall spread
cream cheese frosting piped on top for a dressed-up version
a sharp cheddar cheese board alongside for a sweet-and-savory contrast
hot spiced chai
warm apple cider
cold oat milk

Serving suggestions only — check pairings for your household's allergens.

Storage & reheating

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days; the cookies actually improve on days 2-3 as the spices meld and the moisture redistributes.
Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 week; bring to room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.
Freeze in a single layer on a baking sheet until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 2 months; thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Equipment

box grater
stand mixer or hand mixer
two rimmed baking sheets
parchment paper and a 1.5-tablespoon cookie scoop

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