Grain-Free Fudgy Brownies

I saw these grain-free brownies on Health Bent and knew at once that I had to try them. I looooove fudgy brownies and these looked and sounded amazing. So Carson and I mixed some up a couple of weeks ago.  We used homemade almond butter, substituted half of the cocoa powder with carob powder, only added half of the optional sweetener, and did not add the nuts (for Kevin's sake). They were very quick and easy to mix together.  The raw batter was awesome (Carson and I both enjoyed cleaning out the bowl and spoons after we had the brownies in the oven :), so I knew the brownies would be, too.  And were they ever!  Yum!  These things are soooo good!  Very addicting!  They don't look done in the middle when you take them out of the oven - they're still quite jiggly - but they set up as they cool.  They are very fudgy and soft, which we all loved, but I can see how it wouldn't be ideal for some people.  But like I said, we thought they were pretty amazing.  :)

Grain-Free Fudgy Brownies

1 cup almond butter
1/2 cup canned coconut milk
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup cocoa powder (I used half cocoa powder and half carob powder)
1/4 cup sucanat (optional... I added about 1/8 cup)
1/3 cup chocolate chips (use the highest % cocoa you can find)
1/3 cup chopped nuts (I left these off)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 x 8 baking dish.

In a bowl whisk together the almond butter, coconut milk, eggs, vanilla extract and salt. Then add the cocoa powder, sugar, and chocolate chips.

Pour into the prepared baking dish and top with chopped nuts.

Bake for approximately 18 minutes.  The brownies will still be jiggly in the center, but they will set up as they cool down.  Wait until they have cooled completely before serving.  Store in the refrigerator.

This post is linked to:

Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS

Pennywise Platter Thursday at The Nourishing Gourmet

Foodies Follow Fridays at Hella Delicious

Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade

Marbled Brownies

We visited some friends for dinner last night.  I was responsible for dessert.  I debated about what to bring, from fancy, complicated desserts to very simple, yet tasty.  I decided to go for the latter since I knew we'd end up being a little pressed for time yesterday.  I decided to just make some marbled brownies.  I used the chocolate chip brownie recipe from Heavenly Homemakers as my base and then just added some cream cheese batter to swirl through.  I haven't made marbled brownies in a long time, but I used to make them quite regularly, so I just went off memory for the cream cheese mixture... and I used my own homemade soft cheese in place of the store-bought cream cheese brick.  I did modify Laura's recipe slightly by adding in about 1/2 cup of milk and an extra egg since the mixture just seemed too thick for brownies (I like fudgy brownies :).  I also doubled the recipe for a larger pan.  I've posted the recipe adjusted for the larger pan and with the extra egg and milk below. 

I think they turned out pretty well and they seemed to go over quite well with everyone.  My parents had one today and even they liked them (they normally aren't too crazy about made-from-scratch goodies that use whole wheat flour).  They were quite thick and dense, not necessarily fudgy, but definitely not dry like I feel like they would have been without the extra egg and milk.

These were also super easy to throw together.  They were just as easy as throwing together a boxed brownie mix... only these are much better for you, made with good, quality ingredients.  And I almost always have all the ingredients on hand.  I'll definitely make these again sometime. 

Marbled Brownies

Chocolate brownie mixture:
2 sticks butter, melted
2 cups rapadura/sucanat
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup chocolate chips

Cream cheese mixture:
1 cup/8 oz cream cheese, softened (either use a brick from the store, or homemade)
1 egg
1/4 cup sucanat/rapadura
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a large bowl, stir together butter, rapadura/sucanat, and cocoa. Mix in eggs, milk, and vanilla. Stir in flour and mix until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together softened cream cheese, egg, sucanat/rapadura, and vanilla.  Stir until combined.  Set aside. 

Grease a 9x13 baking pan with coconut oil.  Spread about 3/4 of the chocolate mixture on the bottom of the pan.  Spoon the cream cheese mixture on top of the chocolate batter in dollups.  Then spoon the remaining chocolate batter in dollups between the cream cheese dollups.  Cut through the mixtures with a knife to create the marble design. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.


This post is linked to Monday Mania at The Healthy Home Economist and Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop.

Zucchini Brownies

I tried out the recipe for zucchini brownies from Heavenly Homemakers the other morning, as well. I made a couple changes... substituted carob powder for the cocoa and added some chocolate chips that I needed to use up in my pantry. These were so easy to throw together, they literally took less than 15 minutes... from the start of getting all the ingredients out, shredding the zucchini, stirring up the brownies, and getting them in the oven. I love quick recipes like this! They also taste really good! We all really liked them a lot. My mother-in-law also got to taste them when I sent one with Carson for a snack and she thought they were awesome (and has asked for the recipe). Definitely a hit! I have the same thoughts I had when making the bread... wishing I had a grain mill so I could use sprouted flour, or wondering if I could modify this to be soaked in the future. Maybe I'll have to do some experimenting.

I'll update soon with a picture.

Zucchini Brownies

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups sucanat or rapadura (I used sucanat)
1/3 cup cocoa (I used carob)
1 cup shredded zucchini
1 egg
2 cups whole wheat flour
(I also added a few handfuls of chocolate chips... milk chocolate and white chocolate... that I had in my pantry)

Mix butter, sucanat and cocoa. Stir in zucchini and egg. Gradually mix in flour until well combined. Pour batter into a 9×13 inch pan. Bake in a 350° oven for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Peanut Butter Brownies

I tried a new recipe tonight from RecipeZaar for Reese's Peanut Butter Brownies. We're having a Brownie Bake-Off tomorrow at work to benefit the annual Harvest Gathering (a.k.a. for the Lansing Food Bank) and I decided I'd try a new recipe. I have a picture, but haven't uploaded, so I'll update at some point. I cut a corner out to try them (had to make sure they have a chance tomorrow - haha!) and they're pretty good. Some melted chocolate chips would be great drizzled across the top... but unfortunately, I used the last bit I had in the brownies.

Peanut Butter Brownies

3/4 cup butter, melted (1 1/2 Sticks)
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup hershey cocoa
(I also added about a half cup of milk chocolate chips to the chocolate batter)

Heat oven to 350³F.

Grease 13x9x2 inch baking pan.

Add peanut butter to melted butter in large bowl; stir until peanut butter melts. Stir in sugar and vanilla. Beat in eggs. Add flour, baking powder and salt; beat well. Remove 1 3/4 cup batter; stir cocoa into this part. Spread cocoa batter into prepared pan; spread remaining peanut butter batter over top.

Bake 30 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan; cool completely in pan. Cut into bars.