Black Bean Brownies

My friend Katie is joining the Peace Corps, and leaves for Togo tomorrow! Since she’ll be in Africa for the next couple of years, a few of my high school friends and I slept over at her house last night to hang out for the last time before she leaves. Yes, we are all college graduates and we still have sleepovers! 🙂

Lots of awesome food was consumed including various desserts baked by Katie’s mom, chocolate (!) beer, and Jeni’s goat cheese and cognac fig ice cream that I brought, which originated in Ohio! (Ohio has grown on me over the past four years, but Oregon will always be #1 in my heart!).

Also, we had homemade waffles and yak/bison sausages from the farmer’s market for breakfast! Plus MORE cookies and chips. Basically, I had a TON of junk food this weekend, and not much of my usual oatmeal, kale salads, tofu, etc. I am definitely in need of some healthier eats this week.

But of course there is no way that I can eliminate sweets from my diet completely, so I just decided to make a healthier version of one of my favorite desserts. I’ve been on a put-weird-ingredients-in-my-dessert kick lately. Last week it was chickpeas in my blondies and avocado in my cake. Today, I put black beans in my brownies.

I know it sounds pretty unappetizing, but they tasted just like regular brownies. They are delightfully chocolatey, super fudgey, and not beany at all! If I hadn’t made these myself, I would never have guessed that the main ingredient was a can of black beans. Also, these brownies are completely gluten-free and oil-free! Pretty unbelievable, right? You MUST try them for yourself!

Black Bean Brownies

Source: adapted from Amy Bites

Ingredients

• 1 (15 1/2-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
•  1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons instant coffee
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray an 8×8 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Place black beans, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, eggs, instant coffee, and vanilla extract in a food processor and process until completely smooth and well-combined.

3. Pour batter into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and chopped nuts. Bake in preheated oven for 26-30 minutes, or until top is dry and edges begin to pull away from baking dish. Cool brownies completely in pan before cutting into squares.