Saturday, April 2, 2016

B is for Brownies



An avocado chocolate smoothie wasn't enough.

Today's challenge has avocado. It has chocolate. It has chocolate chips. It does NOT have gluten.

And it has black beans.

Whaaaaa???

Here is the pin:


From Ambitious Kitchen

Do not for one minute believe that I chose this pin for the picture, because, if you ask me, it looks like a piece of a kid's mud pie.

I did choose it because it was (a) something completely challenge-worthy and (b) well, "B" and (c) I still had an avocado leftover from yesterday's avocado chocolate smoothie.

The writer of the recipe claimed these were the best brownies she had ever eaten and that she ate half a pan herself for supper. How could I resist such a challenge?

I rinsed and drained a can of black beans and put them in the food processor with the eggs, cocoa (regular, not Dutch process this time), avocado, brown sugar, baking soda and baking powder, salt, vanilla, and coconut oil. 

Conversation with my husband about the coconut oil:

Husband: Coconut oil? Where did you get coconut oil?
Me: I put it on my face every night. DO YOU KNOW ME AT ALL?
Husband: You put FACE CREAM in the brownies?!
Me: *slowly beats head against the wall*

It looked like this:




Then it looked like this:




And then like this:




And then I forgot to take a picture of the finished product, but I did take one of me tasting the batter:



As you may be able to tell from this picture, the batter was not terrific. The texture was, well, texturey. And not very sweet, so I threw in a little more brown sugar before stirring in the chocolate chips.

When they were done, they looked like a less-shiny version of the picture of the batter in the pan. Not quite like regular brownies. They cut okay. They were certainly fudgy. And they looked way more like brownies than they did mud pies, so I put them on a plate and took them up to the high school and gave them to the kids there who were rehearsing for the spring musical. 

The report from the high schoolers were they were delicious. One boy even (reportedly) said they were the best brownies he had ever eaten. 

I did NOT tell them what the ingredients were.

My husband did not care much for them, but he knew they had black beans and avocado and face cream in them, so he was not a good judge. My daughter refused to try them.

The last taste tester was the College Boy. And he LOVED them, saying if I had told him they were some kind of truffle, he would believe it. Then I told him there were black beans and avocado in them, and he had trouble swallowing the last bite, saying he could feel the beans (he couldn't).

If you don't know what the ingredients are, they aren't bad. Very fudgy, in a non-traditional fudgy way.. They certainly have a lot of fiber in them. They are gluten-free, if you care about that kind of thing. Not as sweet as I would like. In spite of the fudginess, the texture is off. If you didn't have a food processor, I don't know how you'd get those beans mushed enought that there would not be chunks of beans in the batter,  and that would be beyond disgusting.

Here's what I say: if you want brownies, eat the damn brownies. Forget about trying to make them healthy.

Part of my dad's brownie mix collection. Now that
he's in charge of cooking, he bakes brownies for
himself a minimum of once a week....

16 comments:

  1. I guess a healthy brownie is too good to be true.

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    1. They weren't bad. Maybe you just shouldn't know about the beans.

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  2. yum... well maybe not sure about that; was this a fail or win? truthfully i would have tried a piece for you. did you try it? :)

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    1. I'm not sure, either. I didn't care for them much, but I'm not that big of a brownie fan. Boys like them, that I know.

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  3. Those are pretty common in these parts. Without the avocado...black bean brownies...

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  4. We are brownie fans and I would surely try these, but I tend to agree with you, if you're indulging in brownies do it right! Serve the avocado to me sliced on a cheese omelet please! :-)

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    1. I'm not much of a brownie eater, but I like chocolate cake. My favorite is the one often called Texas sheet cake (you being in Texas will surely know this). We call it Marilyn's Sheet Cake in our family, after the family friend who gave us the recipe. I'd much rather have that than the richest brownie out there.

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  5. Interesting brownie recipe although I think I'm with you. If you're craving brownies, go for the brownies.

    @WeekendsInMaine
    Weekends in Maine

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    1. Yeah, seriously, unless you have developed the same brownie addiction as my dad has and make one to two batches a week....

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  6. This was a laugh out loud piece, and am surprised that Jak didn't ask why I was laughing!

    I would certainly try them, but I do love my boxed brownies too much to actually make these. I think I would be right at home with your dad.

    Though, for those who have gluten allergies, this might be a good alternative. And if they find a substitute for the eggs (maybe more coconut oil) this would be a vegans dream. Just sayin'.

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    1. I can see that this recipe can be useful to some people with dietary restrictions, but not being one of those, I'll just eat the regular kind, thankyouverymuch, especially when a box of mix costs hardly more than just one avocado.
      Make some of these for Jak and see what he thinks!

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  7. Good lord, I hope you made sure none of those clueless test subjects had any weird, crazy allergies! This Pinterest Challenge business is making you into a Monster! GAH!

    I would have tried them, even if knowing what was in it, but yeah, the food processor to mush all the beans would be needed. Brownies are one of my favorite snacks/desserts/foods/whatever!

    PS. Also, I put on my headset when Kate reads your blog, so I don't get overly jealous at how much she laughs at yours and not mine! :p

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    Replies
    1. Having a kid with a peanut allergy, I always ask first :)
      If I thought they would travel well, I would send you a batch of these.
      You'll always be my favorite, Jak (shhhh! don't tell anyone).

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  8. "Texturey"? LOVE IT! And I kinda like the idea of brownies made with beans, but I once tried chocolate pudding made with avocado and it was HORRID. Too oily. Far, FAR too oily.

    I have an amazing recipe for vegan chocolate brownies (TERRIBLE for you, but who cares) and they're amazing. I haven't got a Pin for them though, so I can't help you out with a V :)

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    1. If you can get past the idea that there are beans in them, I guess they aren't too bad. Avocados lend a certain weirdness as well. And yes, oily would be the word, as evidenced in the smoothie for "A".
      Sometimes, if you search hard enough on Pinterest, you can find a pin for most anything you are looking for....

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