February 19, 2013

Black Bean Brownies

Before you question these brownies being made with black beans and whole wheat flour, you have to try them. They do not taste like a healthier dessert at all and are very tasty. My husband and mom really enjoyed them as well.
I was recently sent an assortment of new products available at Whole Foods. Some of these products included cocoa powder. I recently saw a recipe for black bean brownies that caught my eye so I decided to use this CocoaWell unsweetened 70% cocoa powder to make brownies.

Brownie batter

Black Bean Brownies

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup cooked black beans (or one 15 ounce can, rinsed and drained)
1/4 cup margarine or butter
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons CocoaWell 70% cocoa powder (plus some for dusting pan)
1 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:
1. Spray 2 pie pans (or a 9x13 pan) with nonstick spray and dust with cocoa powder.
2. In a food processor, puree black beans until smooth. Note: I needed to add about 2 tablespoons of applesauce to get mine smooth.
3. Microwave butter, applesauce and chocolate chips in a large bowl for 2 1/2 minutes.
4. Whisk well until mixture is smooth.
5. Add brown sugar, beaten eggs and vanilla.
6. Add cocoa powder, baking powder and flour and mix well until combined.
7. Pour mixture into pie pans (or 9x13 pan).
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.
Enjoy!
These brownies turned out great! They were not quite as fudgy as I was hoping but tasted nice and chocolaty.

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Comments

  1. In a million years, I NEVER would have thought of using black beans in brownies. I do, however, eat them in just about everything else...so.... thank you for the great recipe. They sound delicious.

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  2. I know! It is a strange idea but you don't even notice them in there.

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  3. i use black beans in the box mix of brownies

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    Replies
    1. That's what I think that I will do next time. This was a lot of work to make them homemade! I am so not a baker either. The easier, the better.

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  4. I made these and they turned out super dry and crumbly. I am not a fan and wish I hadn't made the whole pan. They will probably end up in the trash. I also would just add black beans to a box mix because honestly this recipe isn't that healthy minus the addition of the beans.

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    Replies
    1. Please see my reply below. Also, they are not supposed to be super healthy, they are a dessert.

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  5. Sorry that this happened to you. Maybe you overbaked it? Mine turned out really well and 4 people I know loved them.

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  6. I think you're right about overbaking. I found a recipe that was similar, and she said the same thing. I would maybe try it again, but would halve the recipe, decrease the sugar and decrease the cocoa.

    http://www.serenabakessimplyfromscratch.com/2013/01/fudgy-black-bean-brownies.html

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  7. I've been seeing so many different healthy sweets recipes lately! Like brownies with avocados! I'm most definitely going to have to add this to my list to try ^.^

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