The first time I heard about black bean brownies, I was at a southern restaurant with another engaged couple.
The male asked about my meatless challenge and as we talked about our commitments to healthier lifestyles, he told me about some moist black bean brownies that a coworker had brought in for a company gathering.
Huh?
I was officially confused. I never heard of that and wouldn’t have ever thought about it myself, but I was definitely interested as a healthier alternative. I asked him to send me the recipe when he received it and had no idea I would stumble upon it first last Monday.
The day started like any other day in the kitchen looking for something to eat. I opened the seasoning cabinet and two packs of Kool-Aid dropped out. I rarely drink it so I keep them in a canister on top of the fridge. That is when I saw the packet of Dove hot cocoa mix that has been sitting there longer than I care to say. Why was I keeping it? I wondered.
My next thought was what could I make to use it when I remembered that conversation about those black bean brownies. It was my first time attempting to make brownies from scratch, but what’s a couple of beans and hot cocoa mix that is old anyway?
Ingredients:
– 1 cup of black beans
– 3 tablespoons of coconut oil
– 1/2 cup of milk
– 3 eggs
– 6 packs of hot cocoa mix
– 1 pinch of salt
– 1/2 cup of chocolate chips
– 1/2 cup of confectioner sugar
– seasoning: cinnamon, vanilla extract, nutmeg, ginger
1. Soak the black beans for at least an hour before cooking on medium heat for approximately an hour. Then let cool.
2. Add black beans, cocoa mix, seasoning, sugar, and salt to a blender until everything is mixed well.
3. Add in the coconut oil, eggs and milk and blend again.
4. Transfer the contents of the blender into a greased baking dish and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
If you are interested in doing a cream cheese swirl like I did, soften cream cheese with a teaspoon of butter and use a knife to make your design.
Okay, so they look good, but how do they taste. Am I right?
I made these Monday and Tuesday half the pan was gone. Matter of fact, this is all that was left Tuesday.
Also, you may have noticed those crumbles on the picture. I am convinced that happened because I cut them when they were cold. No lie, had I not cut them then, I wouldn’t have had any brownies to photograph.
The consistency is softer than your traditional brownie-mix batch, but they were soooo good. I was seriously eating them for breakfast, snack and dessert.
And if you are worried about how your family is going to like them, don’t tell them about your secret ingredient. That’s what I did. The fiancé didn’t find out until he was going up for his third piece.
Good luck and Enjoy!
