Totally Amazing NO Flour or Butter Brownies

Book:  I finally wanted the “Ender’s Game” movie after seeing it at the library.  The reviews I heard were not good, but I thought the movie did well.  For book readers, like myself, I can see why they find it disappointing.  But, I wish I had seen the battle games on the big movie screen.  Apparently, Orson Scott Card has written MORE books in the series, so now I have a list of books to read!!!  Yippee!!  If you haven’t read “Ender’s Game” well, I’m sorry.  It’s my favorite sci-fi, if not fiction, novel ever.  You should ready it!

Recipe:  This recipe is AMAZE- BALLS!!!!!  Holy guacamole!!!  So, as you can see on my blog I have LOTS of yummy delicious brownie recipes.  They are great!  They also contain butter and flour and lots of sugar.  Doh!

For the past 7 years, I have tried substituting avocados, using the book “Deceptively Delicious,” zucchini – anything to make a brownie healthy AND taste good.  Finally, Skinnytaste woman got it.  Alleluia!  Try these brownies.  A can of beans is cheaper than the crappy box mix anyway.  (Wait, did I say that out LOUD?!)  An 8-pack of organic beans at Costco is $6.57!  Sigh, another reason I love that place.

I feel I do need to mention that these are not your fudgey, gooey brownies.  That texture – as far as I can tell – can only be created using something like butter or coconut oil.  Instead, these brownies are more on the cakey side.  I know I know.  I LOVE fudge, gooey, underdone brownies, too.  But for the trade off, I think these are just as good.

I may post more photos later…. We ate the brownies so fast that I had none left. 🙂

Not to mention… KID APPROVED!!

Amazing Brownies
serves 9

1 (14 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 eggs
1/2 cup cocoa powder (natural or Dutch processed; I used Rodelle Dutch Processed Cocoa)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon oil
1 Tb. milk or unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. freshly ground coffee, instant coffee, or espresso powder
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Create a sling inside a 9×9 baking pan.  You can do this with parchment paper that has been sprayed and put into the pan, or I find non-stick foil to be faster and easier.  Make sure the sling has 1-2″ hanging off the sides for easy brownie removal.
Into a blender OR food processor:  add every ingredient except the chocolate chips.  Blend away until smooth.  I had to scrape the cocoa powder off of the sides of the blender a few times.
Add 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips to the blender and mix with a spatula.  Pour the entire batter into the baking dish.  Scatter the rest of the 1/2 cup chocolate chips on top.  Bake 28 minutes – or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with no crumbs attached.  Cool completely in the pan.  Once cool, remove the sling from the pan to cut the brownies and serve.

Recipe adapted from Skinnytaste.com