Healthier Brownies

After making the Healthier Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars last week and being pretty impressed, I was curious to try these brownies, featuring black beans.  There are lots of recipes for black bean brownies out there, and Katie at Chocolate Covered Katie worked very hard to make sure that her recipe came out great.  I made her recipe almost as written, with some slight alternations.  The ingredients below show how I made the brownies.

After tasting these I do have to admit, they are very good.  Now, if you want the ultimate brownie, I would recommend this recipe for brownies from King Arthur Flour.  Anyone who has ever tried those King Arthur Flour brownies have proclaimed them the best ever.  Of course, the reason the are the best ever is because of large amounts of sugar and butter.   These Healthier Brownies are not only healthier, but also delicious.  They definitely satisfy your chocolate cravings without making you feel like you should only have them once a year.  Keep in mind, they aren't "healthy", but they definitely are healthier.  If you've got to have dessert, this one's not such a bad one to have!  The Healthier Brownies have 120 calories and 6 grams of fat.  As a comparison, the King Arthur Flour brownies have 260 calories and 17 grams of fat (8 grams of sat fat).

These Healthier Brownies are fudgy and chocolately, and best served slightly warm.  The only piece of equipment that you MUST have to make these is a food processor.  You need to process all of the ingredients thoroughly or else they won't work out.  Besides that, they are easy to put together and taste great.  I definitely recommend giving them a try.  Don't forget to eat them slightly warm!  The bits of melty chocolate are awesome.  And definitely have a glass of milk close by :)

Healthier Brownies

yield: 12 brownies (decent-sized!)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 can black beans, rinsed well and drained
• 1/2 cup oats (old-fashioned or quick)
• 3 tablespoons dutch process cocoa powder (such as Hershey's Special Dark)
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1)  Preheat oven to 350F and spray an 8x8 baking pan with cooking spray.

2) Put all ingredients except chocolate chips into a large food processor.  Process for a few minutes until completely smooth, stopping every so often to scrape down the sides of the bowl.  

3)  Pour the batter into a bowl and add the chocolate chips.   Stir until combined and then transfer the mixture to the baking pan.

4)  Bake in the preheated oven for 15-18 minutes.  Let cool about 30 minutes before cutting.  You could cut them earlier, but they will be very gooey and it will be hard to get actual pieces.  Of course, this is not the worst thing in the world!  :)

5)  Store uneaten brownies in the pan covered in plastic wrap at room temperature for a few days.  Reheat for 20-30 seconds in the microwave before serving.

(recipe adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie--- thanks to her for such a great recipe!)