The Unusual Ingredient You Should Be Adding To Brownies

If you have a sweet tooth and a penchant for all things chocolate, there's a good chance you've baked a batch or two of brownies before. After all, when done right, the classic baked good is dense, fudgy, and absolutely packed with decadent chocolate flavor. And, while you may have started out just adding an ingredient or two to boxed brownies, true brownie connoisseurs have likely spent some time seeking out the perfect recipe that manages to produce brownies exactly the way they like them.

Now, there's plenty of debate about which brownie pieces are superior. A Reddit thread where the original poster brought up the question of whether the slightly crispy corner pieces or the ooey gooey center pieces were the best managed to rack up 235 comments, and plenty of commenters weighed in with strong opinions about which portion of the brownie pan held their first choice.

Regardless of whether you're Team Corner Piece or Team Center, you need a solid brownie recipe to start with — and everyone has their preferences in that realm too. Some swear by just cocoa powder, others need chocolate chunks scattered throughout, and yet others want a blend of different chocolates for a real depth of flavor. If you don't have a favorite yet, you can get some inspiration with this collection of swoon-worthy brownie recipes.

There's one unusual ingredient, though, that you may want to consider incorporating into your brownie recipe if you want them to turn out moist and amazing.

If you want impossibly fudgy, moist brownies, put down the extra butter you're contemplating tossing in, set aside that extra pile of chocolate, and instead add a generous amount of shredded zucchini, suggests Food. The culinary website has a recipe for zucchini brownies that one reviewer deemed "the moistest brownies I've ever made!"

As per WebMD, a single cup of zucchini is 90% water, and many zucchini brownies call for at least one cup, if not two, of shredded zucchini to make a full batch of brownies. As Laughing Spatula explains, all that water within zucchini means that your brownies will end up super moist (not to mention, you'll be sneaking in a little extra fiber and nutrients). Getting some extra vegetables via your baked goods is basically the definition of a win-win).

Zucchini is also a fantastic substitute in keto baked goods, so if you're a baker with dietary restrictions, you may want to try using zucchini in a wider range of recipes.

There are a few things you'll want to keep in mind, though. Since zucchini is so packed with water, after shredding or grating it for inclusion in your recipe, you may need to drain the zucchini a bit before incorporating it into your dough or batter, according to Cook'n. You'll also want to try to incorporate it at the end of the mixing process, again to help prevent too much water from releasing into your dough or batter.