Black bean brownies
Line with foil an 8x8 pan, using enough foil so that there is an inch of overhang on each of two opposing sides. Grease the foil with butter or nonstick cooking spray. If using a glass pan, preheat the oven to 325 degrees farenheit; if using metal, preheat the oven to 350 degrees farenheit.
Melt in a large saucepan and stir together:
- 2 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
- 3 T oil
- 1/3 cup white sugar
Add the following to the chocolate mix, and then let cool while proceeding to the next step:
- 1 t instant espresso powder
- 1 T vanilla extract
Puree in a food processor or blender the following ingredients:
- 1 can black beans, rinsed & drained well
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 1/3 cup cocoa
Add this mixture to the large saucepan and mix together until just blended.
Add:
- 1/2 t baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup toasted walnuts (optional)
Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan.
Sprinkle on top:
- chocolate chips (optional, but recommended)
Bake the brownies for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with crumbs clinging to it. The batter should not appear to be wet on the toothpick. The top will crack, and the brownies will be pulling away from the pan's sides.
Notes
- These brownies taste better when allowed to sit the next day. The extra time seems to give the cocoa and espresso powder a change to infuse throughout the brownies.
- This recipe was cobbled together from many recipes I found on the web. In general, there are two types of black bean brownies you'll find: 1) boxed brownie mix replacing eggs and oil with black beans and 2) gluten-free brownies that replace flour with black beans. This is the latter. However, I have tried the former. On the recommendation of my friend, I used a box of No-Pudge Brownie Mix and replaced the yogurt with a can of black beans that I had rinsed and drained and then pureed. I needed to add an egg as well. This resulted in a very dense brownie.
- I find that you need to blend the eggs with the black beans to give the blender/food processor liquid to work with. However, this treatment of the eggs incorporates air into the recipe, resulting in a less dense brownie.
- 1/3 cup of Guittard 72% bittersweet chocolate wafers equals 2 oz.
