I'm a fan of recipe experimentation. And as I've been saying lately, I'm also fan of all things avocado. So when I came across this recipe from Ambitious Kitchen for Black Bean Avocado Chocolate Chip Fudge Brownies it was something that fit right along with my "sure, I'll give it a whirl" philosophy.
I let my babysitter know that I was making these and she giggled - admittedly they sounded weird. But when it came time to try them, they got a universal thumbs up! I'm always a fan of letting my kids know exactly what's in their food. In addition to being honest and promoting honesty, I want my kids to be excited by the myriad of possibilities inherent in the foods we eat. I don't believe in hiding vegetables or fooling children. Ever.
So when I told them that these brownies were made with black beans and avocados they were truly amazed. And kind of delighted that something so delicious and fudgey came from ingredients that are usually associated with savory foods. This is what I call a win!
I modified the recipe slightly because I didn't have enough brown sugar in my pantry and I misread the recipe and added a whole avocado instead of a half. I made some other slight changes to the salt quantity and chocolate chip quantity. My modified recipe is below. I refrigerated these brownies and once cold and firmer, the texture was much better (too mushy at room temperature, undoubtedly my own fault thanks to the additional avocado!). Overall, this was a yum. I'll make these again. Thanks to Monique from Ambitious Kitchen!
Ingredients
- 1 – 15 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg whites
- 1 large ripe avocado (I would advise against this. Try it with 1/2 avocado)
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips (I used dairy free chips)
Method
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8×8 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- Place all ingredients except chocolate chips into a bowl and blend until smooth with stink blender or food processor. Add chocolate chips and mix well.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean
- Cool pan completely on wire rack then cut into 16 delicious squares.
- Refrigerate (or freeze!) and enjoy!