brownies

Oh man, these were good. So easy, and really nothing to call the dessert police on. There is no flour or sugar (just a tiny bit of honey). It can all be made in your blender. Since they are mini muffins you can have one, wait a bit and have a few more and not feel guilty at all. You can taste the chocolate, peanut butter, and banana. Yum!

A few notes: since we have a Vita-Mix, we blended a bit too long, and the chocolate chips were no longer in solid form, thus the look of a brownie mixture and the darker color than if the chocolate chips remained solid. Oh, and to change it up a bit we added toffee chips to the mix. Why not?

Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Mini Blender Muffins (Original version from Averie Cooks)

Prep time: A few mins
Cook time: 8-9 mins
Yield: 15-18 muffins

1 banana
1 egg
1/2 cup peanut butter (creamy)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 dash of salt
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (I also added some heath bar bits)

1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. Prepare mini muffin pan(s) with cooking spray or canola oil. Flour the insides or make sure they’re greased very well if you don’t want to use flour.

3. Add all ingredients except chocolate chips into a blender and blend until creamy.

4. Stir in chocolate chips by hand.

5. Use a tablespoon and distribute batter evenly to muffin pan(s).

6. Bake for 8-9 mins. Let them cool in the pans for about 10 mins before removing.

Some of the oddest mixture of ingredients I have seen in a long time. Who ever thought that black beans and avocado could be put in brownies? I grew up with the cheapest brownie mix possible (do you remember Aldi?) I am always an advocate for a different kind of recipe. One that has little to no white sugar (this one does not fit that bill as it has dark brown sugar) but that also uses ingredients that are good for you, but you might not think about them going into a dessert. Chris made them last night, and they are not bad. His only complaint was that he cooked them too long. The recipe says to bake for 25-35 minutes, and he baked them for 25 minutes, and he felt they were too cakey and he should have baked for 20 minutes, so beware.

Only caveat: they are dark, almost black brownies. Most likely the black beans. Makes for an interesting conversation.

Black Bean Avocado Chocolate Chip Fudge Brownies {gluten-free & low-fat}

INGREDIENTS

1 – 15 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 large egg
2 large egg whites
1/2 of a large extra ripe avocado
1 teaspoon coconut or olive oil
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (important to use a VERY good quality powder!)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup chocolate chips of choice, plus 2 tablespoons for topping

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 8×8 inch baking pan.
Place all ingredients besides chocolate chips into blender or food processor. Process or puree until ingredients form a smooth batter. If the batter is WAY too thick and won’t process then add in a teaspoon or two of water. This batter needs to be very thick in order to produce fudgy brownies. Add in 1/3 cup chocolate chips and fold into batter.
Pour batter into prepared pan, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of remaining chocolate chips. You can also fold in nuts or swirl in peanut butter. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out somewhat clean and top of the brownies begin to crack.
Cool pan completely on wire rack then cut into 12 delicious squares.

ORIGINAL RECIPE NOTES:

_Vegan version: Use vegan chocolate chip and sub a flax egg for the egg and egg whites.
_These brownies are best once they have cooled. Try them right out of the fridge.