Hi Everyone and Happy Friday!!!
Do you have any plans for the weekend? I’m pretty stoked that a Sprouts Farmers Market grocery store opened up about 25 miles from my home. I went there the other day, just to check it out. I loved the store. The prices were pretty good and they had a lot of variety. It’s kind of a mix between a Trader Joe’s and a Whole Foods. They have some nice pricing for there grand opening, so Jenny and I will be heading there Saturday morning to do a little shopping.
I made brownies for my Husband to take to work this week instead of my normal chocolate chip cookies. I asked my Husband what he thought of them and he said they were good, but he said that he needed coffee afterwards. He said they were moist but made him thirsty. I gave one to Little Jenny and she said there really good! She said they were moist and chocolaty. I asked her if they are blog worthy, and she said yes they are. I asked would you eat them again? She said yup!! I think they went over well, because when I came home from work there was only 3 left. I don’t think that’s two bad considering I ate only one of them.
I personally thought these brownies were pretty good! Tasted like a moist brownie chocolate cake, if that makes sense. The top of the brownies turned out kind of flat, so I sifted some powdered sugar on top. The powdered sugar was a perfect touch it them and the next day the sugar soak into the brownies and even made them more sweeter. I actually think they taste even better the next day. There light, moist, chocolaty with little bits of chopped walnuts. I would most definitely make these again.
To make these brownies it was pretty simple. I threw all the ingredients in my blender, processed, pour into my pan and baked for 30 minutes. It couldn’t be any easier. If you don’t want to use a blender, a food processor would work great. The stats for these brownies are pretty good! The batch made 16 brownies, at 111 calories each, 5.8 grams of fat, 15 Crabs, 2 grams of fiber and 3 grams of protein. I really don’t think that’s bad for a chocolaty treat!!!
I didn’t tell you that these brownies are gluten-free. Yup, no flour!! I’m trying to watch my flour/carb intake since I have been eating too much bread lately. So your probably wondering, what is in these brownies. Well I can tell you it’s something natural, something I love and it can be quite addicting, at least for me. giggle giggle. I know what your thinking!! Your probably thinking what is this girl on? Well I can tell you the secret ingredient is something I really, really love and I never dreamed of putting it in a brownie until I saw it online yet alone share it with my family. When they find out, they may get upset with me. What is that secret ingredient? Well I can tell you it’s not sugar, eggs, cocoa powder, vanilla nuts or chocolate, but it is… drum roll please….
Look really hard, you might just see it in the photo. Do you see any specks of it? Look harder….
The magic ingredient, boy when my family reads this the sh!t is going to hit the fan!! I’m laughing right now!! Ok, here it is, Black Beans. Yes I used black beans. I never in a bazillion years thought of it until I googled healthy brownie recipes. Gosh, I hope Hubby doesn’t get upset. Now he’s going to say he doesn’t like them because that is how he is. But Jenny can’t say anything, she had a big smile on her face when she bit into the brownie. ha ha She doesn’t even like black beans or any kind of bean. I have to tell you, I was really skeptical of trying this, but my curiosity got to me. I can honestly, honestly say, no one would have a clue! No one!! Even you won’t believe it, if you made it. You have to try it and then surprise your family!!! Do it, just don’t laugh when you give it to them.
- 1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 3 eggs
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips ( I used mini chocolate chips)
- 3 tbsp. walnuts chopped
- Cooking spray
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Spray an 8 x 8 brownie pan with cooking spray; set a side.
- In a food process or blender add all the ingredients, except chocolate chips and nuts. Process until smooth.
- Fold in nuts and chocolate chips.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 - 35 minutes, insert a toothpick, if it comes out clean, brownies are done.
- Leave in pan to cool before cutting.
Note: Original recipe called for ½ cup of semi chocolate chips. A ¼ cup inside and ¼ cup sprinkled on top.
Recipe from: Meal Makeover, Mom's Kitchen
Would I change anything to this recipe? Well the original recipe asked for 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips, and all I had was a 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips, so next I would add that and add more walnuts too!! I like brownies with walnuts!! I found this recipe from Meal Makeovers, Mom’s Kitchen. So would you make funky brownies like these? I never thought I would, but I couldn’t help myself, I really wanted to try it and I am glad I did. Now that I made this, you will probably see modifications to these brownies in the future. I really loved these!!
So tell me, what is the most funky thing you ever put in your baking goods?
Have a wonderful weekend!!
Toodles,
Jennifer
