Black Bean Brownies

Yes, my loyal readership, I’ve returned.  And bearing gifts.  After a daunting bit of a hiatus due to some necessary steps involving my “future” (let’s not talk about that right now), I’m determined to tell the world about what’s got to be my fave new rave: Black Bean Brownies.

These delectable morsels are tricky.  Most vegan baking delights involve applesauce, vinegar, and other odd ingredients that don’t seem to mesh exactly with the intent of the recipe.  Fear not.  Black bean brownies will change your view on black beans.  And brownies for that matter.

After making these, I ran a controlled experiment by serving two types of brownies: one regular, old batch and one black bean.  No one could hazard a guess near the truth.  The best estimate of the difference was that the black bean set had fudge.  Negative.  I want you to know, too, that I gave the regular old brownies a fighting chance.  I added an extra egg to make them cake-like and I tossed in chocolate chips.  Nonetheless, they were nowhere near as moist and rich in flavor as the black bean brownies.

In describing them on their own, one could say black bean brownies are denser and moister than regular, old brownies.  They even looked better in the pan and didn’t have the tendency to crack.  They’re healthier, given the use healthy bean fiber in place of partially hydrogenated oils like vegetable oil.  They’re not as sickeningly sweet either – which means you can eat more without feeling guilty or like you need to boycott the white menace sugar for a month.  Conveniently, you can make them from scratch or with a box if you prefer.  Just replace all wet ingredients (eggs, oil, water) with one can of black beans.

Give these things a shot.  They won’t let you down. 

Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit.

Drain one can of cooked (not seasoned or spiced) black beans.  Refill can (still full of beans) with water.  

Puree can contents for about one minute or until the mixture is evenly smooth.  Flecks of black bean are ok.  Chunks are not.

Whether using a mix or ingredients from scratch, spoon pureed mixture in with dry ingredients until thoroughly mixed.  This shouldn’t be more than 50-75 strokes.  Bake in a 9 x 11 in pan at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Note: Cut the baking time on these brownies compared to regular, old batches.  They seemed to need significantly less time.

My next step is to try cakes with cannellinis.  Get ready.