Thursday, August 7, 2014

Carrot-Zucchini Bars w/ Cream Cheese Frosting

Bars:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup light brown sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup honey
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups shredded carrots
1 cup shredded zucchini
½ cup chopped walnuts

Cream Cheese Icing:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon lemon extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, ginger and baking soda; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, oil, honey, eggs and vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until no flour remains. Fold in the carrots, zucchini and walnuts.

Spread the batter into an ungreased 9x13-inch pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Place the pan on a wire rack and cool completely.

Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla extract on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Spread evenly over the cooled bars. The bars can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.