Munchie Monday: Moist Rich Brownies

 A dear friend gave us a recipe for some rich moist brownies.  The secret ingredient blew me away.  I did not believe it would work, but IT DID!  Try these for sure.  Please. You will be glad you did.  The great thing about them is that they are gluten free.

Frances R. Brownies

1 15-ounce can black beans drained and rinsed

3 large eggs

3 Tablespoons flavorless oil like canola

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2/3 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Purée beans in a food processor then add the eggs, oil, and vanilla and process again until smooth. In a separate bowl combine the cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix a little then stir in the chocolate chips. Do this in a large bowl.

Use a 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 baking pan with some grease and line with parchment paper or use a silicon pan and pour the batter in. Smooth the batter out. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the edges are visibly cooked and the center doesn’t jiggle when you shake the pan. A toothpick may come out a little bit gooey but that’s fine.

Let brownies cool before cutting.

For really thick brownies double the recipe and add 15 to 20 minutes to the cooking time. This recipe makes 16 brownies with about 117 cal per brownie -carbohydrates 16 g per brownie.

For this batch I used the silicon pan.  I did not oil it at all.  I forgot that you are supposed to let them cool for 5-10 minutes before removing from pan, but still, they did work pretty well.

Next time, and there will certainly be a next time because Dear One loved them, too, I will use flax eggs. If that works:  The next time after that I will use date paste.  If both the flax eggs and the date paste work, then I will try replacing the oil with applesauce or mashed bananas.  I will let you know!  Right now I am perhaps kidding myself that these are more or less healthy.  At least they don't have regular flour in them which kills me on the scales...plus I always want more, more, more when I eat flour based things.  Like bread!