Sunday, July 28, 2013

Fudgy Black Bean Brownies

Hello Friends! It's been awhile. I've been busy trying to soak up every last moment of summer vacation with my kids. Oh, and there was also this.


And this.

Cinderella, evil Stepmother, evil Stepsister and Snow White
And, of course, this.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
We had Vacation Bible School at church last week, and it was amazing! I love being part of a creative church family that brings the Bible to life in new and dynamic ways! As you can see, I played the part of Snow White. And I thoroughly enjoyed my role.

In the midst of VBS, I did try something new. You know, for Try Something New Tuesday. Except I was way too tired by the time I got home Tuesday to actually blog about it. So we'll just have Try Something New Sunday instead.

I don't think I can adequately convey how much I loved this recipe. I stumbled across it on Pinterest, and after the success of my No Flour Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites that were made with chickpeas, I could not resist another flourless dessert.

Here's the ensemble.


First, you're going to drain and rinse the black beans. Yes, you read that correctly. Black beans in a brownie. Trust me on this.


Next, put the black beans in a food processor and process until smooth.


Then add all your remaining ingredients except the chocolate chips, and process until well blended.


Your batter will look something like this.


Add 1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips, and give the food processor a few quick pulses to combine.


Pour this into a greased 8x8 pan.


And sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips on top.


Bake at 350 for 30 - 35 minutes.


Holy. Yum.


These were AMAZING!!! I tried really hard to taste the black beans in these. I mean really hard. But for the life of me I could not taste anything other than delicious, moist, dark-chocolatey goodness. The kids gobbled them up too.

These will definitely be going in lunch boxes this year. A treat I can feel good about feeding my kids?! Yes, please! And if you ever buy those Fiber One low-cal brownies, you must try these! They are a much cheaper alternative!!! I plan to make a batch and freeze them in individual servings for portion control.

Fudgy Black Bean Brownies
  • 15-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3 Tbsp. canola oil
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and 8x8-inch baking dish.

2. Place the black beans in a food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, oil, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, baking powder and salt, and process until smooth. Add 1/4 cup of the chocolate chips and pulse a few times until the chips are incorporated.

3. Pour the batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips.

4. Bake 30 - 35 minutes, or until the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan before slicing into 2-inch squares. 

Makes 16 servings. 

Nutrition info. per serving: 120 calories, 5g fat, 2g fiber, 3g protein, 3 WW points plus.

Happy Baking!






2 comments:

Unknown said...

Can't believe these have beans in them. My children were disappointed that I made so little and my son said they were the best brownies he has ever had. Thank you so much for this! Protein and fiber...how can You go wrong?

*Lauren* said...

This looks like an awesome simple recipe!! I cannot wait to make these brownies. Do you think I can sub applesauce for the oil to lower the calories even more?? It would also cut down on fat quite a bit.