BLACK BEAN BROWNIES

Eating clean is not about depriving yourself, it is about making good food choices. And YES you can still eat dessert. This is a great example of tasty and healthy treat. Perfect for July 4th celebrations!

These brownies are vegan and gluten free. Feel free to substitute the ingredients to accommodate your preferences. They are very easy to make in the food processor.

Yield : 12 (I made 15)

INGREDIENTS

·                1 15 oz. can (~ 1 3/4 cups) black beans, well rinsed and drained

·                2 large flax eggs or regular eggs for non vegan recipe

·                3 table spoons coconut oil, melted – I used half olive oil – half butter

·                3/4 cup cocoa powder (the higher quality the better)

·                1/4 tsp sea salt

·                1 tsp pure vanilla extract

·                heaping 1/2 cup raw sugar, slightly ground or pulsed in a food processor or coffee grinder for refined texture – I used organic cane sugar

·                1 1/2 tsp baking powder

·                Topping: crush walnuts, pecans or semisweet chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS

1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.    Lightly grease a 12-slot standard size muffin pan or better yet use paper liners and you do not have to worry about removing the brownies in one piece later. Make sure you've rinsed and thoroughly drained your black beans at this point.

3.    Prepare flax egg by combining flax and water in the bowl of the food processor. Pulse a couple times and then let rest for a few minutes.

4.    Add remaining ingredients and puree - about 3 minutes - scraping down sides as needed. You want it pretty smooth.

5.    If the batter appears too thick, add a tablespoon or two of water and pulse again. It should be slightly less thick than chocolate frosting but nowhere close to runny.

6.    Evenly distribute the batter into the muffin pan and smooth the tops with a spoon or your finger.

7.    Sprinkle with crushed walnuts, pecans or chocolate chips.

8.    Bake for 20-26 minutes or until the tops are dry and the edges start to pull away from the sides. Since I ended up with 15 brownies, they took 22 min to bake.

9.    Remove from oven and let cool for 30 minutes before removing from pan. They will be tender, so remove gently with a fork. The insides are meant to be very fudgy, so don't be concerned if they seem too moist - that's the point.

10. Refrigerate in an airtight container to keep longer.

Big thank you to my friend Dale who shared this recipe with me. Love it.

Let me know how you liked it.