Oh man, I made the best damn brownies last week. I’m sorry if that’s totally pompous, but they were crazy good. So good that I hoarded most of them to myself and slowly ate every single last bite. I shared a little with Preston. I handed him a fork as I clutched the brownie pan in my own lap and wolfed down the last couple servings. He managed to sneak a few tastes every time I reached for my wine glass that I paired with the brownies 😉
The best part? They’re not terribly unhealthy (certainly not compared to store-bought or boxed mix brownies), and they’ve got a bunch of chickpeas in them that make them surprisingly filling and lasting. Which was fantastic because it meant that a small serving of brownie a day was satisfying enough that I actually paced myself and didn’t scarf down three servings a day! That’s pretty impressive for me when a truly awesome baked good is in my apartment 🙂
for the brownies:
serves 12
1 can chickpeas
2/3 C cacao powder
1/2 C vegetable oil
2/3 C brown sugar
1 C flour
1 t vanilla extract
1 t almond extract
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 C unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/2 C dark chocolate chips
for the buttercream frosting:
1/2 C Earth Balance margarine
2 1/2 C powdered sugar
3 T cacao powder
tiny splash unsweetened vanilla almond milk if needed to get the right consistency
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, blend the chickpeas until smooth. Then add the rest of the ingredients and blend until just incorporated. Don’t over mix! Pour into a greased baking dish and bake for about 40 minutes. Just the edges will feel firm to the touch, which is exactly what I wanted. If you sneak a taste while they’re hot like I did, they’ll be super cake-like and crumbly, but as they cool they turn gooey and do a great job of sticking together. Plus if you let them cool completely you can add a chocolate buttercream frosting 🙂 Mmmmm, that was an awesome addition!
To make the buttercream: using a hand mixer, blend everything together until it’s a spreadable consistency. DELISH!
Nutrition facts per serving: Calories: 379; Calories from Fat: 120; Total Fat: 13.3g; Saturated Fat: 3.5g; Sodium: 69mg; Total Carbohydrates: 62.6g; Dietary Fiber: 6.4g; Sugars: 37.8g; Protein: 7.4g
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