Description
Gluten free and sweetened with dates, you’ll be amazed at how rich these brownies taste. Kick your sweet tooth without any sacrifices!
Ingredients
- 1 can black beans (15 oz)
- 1 cup dates (organic preferred)
- 1/4 cup coconut oil or olive oil
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp vanilla extract or paste
- 3 large eggs
- 3 oz. dark chocolate chopped (85 g)
White Chocolate Raspberry topping (optional)
- 3 oz. white chocolate
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons freeze dried raspberry powder
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350. Line an 8×8″ baking pan with parchment (see note).
- First, place dates in a small pan and cover with water. Bring the pan to a boil, then let the dates soak for 10 minutes.
- While the dates are soaking, drain the black beans in a small strainer. Rinse off the can liquid, then strain out the excess water into the sink.
- Place the dates in the same strainer and press out the excess water with a spoon.
- If you’re using coconut oil, melt it first.
- Next, place the drained beans and dates in a food processor along with the coconut (or olive) oil, cocoa, baking soda, vanilla and all of the eggs. Process until everything as smooth as possible, which will take 4-5 minutes. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the food processor periodically in this time. Give one last good scrape down all around the sides of the food processor , then pulse a few more times to get a very smooth mixture.
- Add in the chopped chocolate and pulse 3 times, quickly. The mixture likes to explode upwards onto the lid assembly, so try not to press for too long. This won’t change anything, just make more of a mess for you!
- Bake 18-20 minutes until the top of the brownies springs back in the middle and there’s no jiggle if you shake the pan a bit.
- Cool for 30 minutes before slicing.
Notes
- What kind of cocoa? I prefer dark cocoa such as Hershey’s Special Dark, but I’ve made these with everything from carob to natural cacao to black onyx cocoa. All are good, I just prefer the rich dark color for these.
- How dark is dark chocolate? I use Lindt 70% chocolate bars most of the time, but sometimes I’ll go as dark as 85% chocolate. I’m not a milk chocolate fan, but if you like it, go for it. Use the chocolate you like!
- To make a parchment sling: cut 2 pieces of parchment the width of your baking pan. Lay them on the bottom of the pan, one covering two sides, and the next one covering the remaining two sides. Once baked, you can use the overhanging parchment to pull the bars out of the pan easily.
Valentine’s Brownies
Melt one 3 ounce bar of white chocolate in the microwave at 30 second intervals in a small bowl. It should take about 90 seconds. Mix 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of freeze dried raspberry powder into the white chocolate. This will give you a pinkish white chocolate with bright berry flavor. Once the brownies are finished baking, pour over the white chocolate and spread it over the top of the brownies. It’s okay if the dark chocolate swirls into the white from the brownies below. Pop the brownies into the freezer until the white chocolate is set before you cut them into squares. If you’d like, use a small heart cookie cutter to cut the squares into brownie hearts for extra Valentine’s charm. Sprinkle on some extra raspberry powder for some extra color.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Additional Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Category: Healthier Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 brownie
- Calories: 126
- Sugar: 7
- Sodium: 154
- Fat: 6
- Saturated Fat: 4
- Carbohydrates: 14
- Fiber: 3
- Protein: 3
- Cholesterol: 30
