Black Bean Brownies? Brownies with beans in them? Are you serious? Why yes, yes I am. I have been meaning to make these for a long time and what made me think of them was Chris telling me about Jessica Seinfeld's book with all low-fat recipes, including sweets. While looking around on the internet, I found this recipe which had a lot of positive feedback. I noticed that it had some flour added to it, which ultimately made me choose this one, since most of the others did not have flour and a lot of feedback was of "pudding" brownies. However, it does seem to be half of the people either hating or loving the recipe (and some of them say they can taste the beans). Kind of like durian, I suppose...I tried that once and I couldn't get past the smell.....If you have tried it you will understand why there is a $500.00 fine for having one in a hotel in Asia. Here is an interesting read about durian on Wiki ....look at all the different things said about it's taste.....LOL. Like I said, either you love or hate it.
Andrew Zimmern hates it, and Anthony Bourdain loves it. So is this the "durian" of brownies, maybe. And will you be an Zimmern or a Bourdain...Who knows? Just like your mother always said "You never know until you try".Can be vegan-ized with some applesauce or other egg replacer. I am thinking about making a pan and sending it to my MIL, but making it as the original recipe was written, without the flour in it since she is diabetic and with Splenda instead of sugar. But I digress....Here is the recipe.
1 15 ounce can black beans, drained, rinsed and patted dry
3 large eggs
3 tbsp. oil
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp. vanilla extract (I used 2 tsp.)
1/2 tsp. baking powder ( I used 1 tsp.)
1/2 cup AP flour
pinch salt
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract (optional, but I think it tastes best with the peppermint extract)
1/2 cup chocolate chips, divided (I just sprinkled some on top of the cake/brownies)
I added 1 tbsp. instant coffee dissolved in 1 tbsp. hot water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8"x8" baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Place the black beans into a food processor, and process until smooth and creamy. Add eggs, oil, sugar, cocoa, vanilla, baking powder, flour, salt and peppermint (if using). Add 1/4 cup of the chocolate chips, pulse to chop up and distribute evenly. Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle top with the remaining chocolate chips. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until the edges start to pull away from the sides and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan before slicing. Slice into 16 brownies.
Each brownie contains 120 calories, 5g fat (1.5g saturated, 0.3g omega-3), 95mg sodium, 18g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 3g protein.
Made the way I made this, it turned out more like a cake. A good cake. A cake that I would make again. Chris and I both enjoyed it, and we ate it slightly warm. However, I will try it again without the flour, and again with 1/2 tsp. baking powder and flour as written. Chris had another piece this morning, and the verdict is it tastes a bit better warm but still delicious cold.
