Flourless Black Bean Brownies

For May’s Secret Recipe Club I was assigned to Lynsey Lou’s and I found several recipes that I wanted to try such as Blueberry Grilled Cheese, Baked Burritos with Creamy Poblano Sauce, and Salad with Garlic-Lime Chicken and Goat Cheese. Ultimately I decided to try something new with her Flourless Black Bean Brownies. I have seen brownies made with beans or avocado, but have always been skeptical. and it was time to take the risk!

And the verdict? Not only were they easy to prepare (all in the food processor), they were surprisingly good! Knowing black beans were in the brownies I could kind of taste their presence, but no one else I shared them with knew. In fact it paired quite well with the chocolate and made for a very chewy brownie, which is my favorite kind of brownie. I definitely plan on making these again with walnuts mixed in, yum!

FLOURLESS BLACK BEAN BROWNIES

Makes 16 brownies

Ingredients:

15 oz. can of black bean, drained and rinsed

3 Tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup agave

2 Tbsp sugar (I used Zulka Pure Cane Sugar)

1/4 cup coconut oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp baking powder

2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Sea salt for topping, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper and spray non-stick cooking spray, set aside.
2. Place black beans, cocoa powder, oats, salt, agave, sugar, oil, vanilla and baking powder in a food processor, blend until mixture is smooth.  Once the ingredients are incorporated and the mixture is smooth add chocolate chips and stir to combine.
3. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, sprinkle with sea salt (if desired) and bake 15-18 minutes, or until cooked through.  Remove from oven and allow to cool at least 10 minutes on cooling rack before removing. Cool completely and cut into bars

Source: Lynsey Lou’s