The Week of the Brownie

After a lot of buzz about the act of adding a can of black beans to a box of brownie mix, I had to finally try this myself.

After several weeks of super healthy eating, I had been craving cake, or cupcakes, or brownies, or basically ANYTHING sweet and cake-y.

I decided this would be the perfect time to make some “healthy” black bean brownies.

I found a recipe here for black bean brownies.  (Side note: every Friday there is a recipe for a “healthy” dessert that often features a vegetable, bean, or is just lower in sugar and fat than a typical counterpart.)

I cleaned it up just a bit by drastically reducing the sugar and adding in 2 bananas for low-cal sweetness.

Here is my recipe:

Ingredients

In Mixer, Combine:
Whole Wheat Flour, 1.5 cup
Salt, 1 tsp
Baking Powder, 1 tsp
Granulated Sugar, .67 cup (2/3 cup)
Cocoa, dry powder, unsweetened, 1.25 cup
Instant coffee granules, 4 tbsp (or 4 tsp for more subtle flavor)
(Optional: chopped nuts or chocolate chips)

Puree and then add the following:
Beans, black, 1.75 cup
Water, 1.5 cup
Vanilla Extract, 1 tsp
Banana, fresh, 2 medium (7" to 7-7/8" long)
Mix thoroughly, then add to greased 9x13 pan.

Directions

Bake in greased 9x13 pan.
350 for 25-30 minutes
Serves 24 (2x2 brownies)
Number of Servings: 24

Nutrition Facts

  Servings Per Recipe: 24

  Serving Size: 1 serving

Here is the Nutritional Information Per Serving:

  Calories
83.4

  Total Fat
0.9 g

  Saturated Fat
0.4 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat
0.1 g

  Monounsaturated Fat
0.2 g

  Cholesterol
0.0 mg

  Sodium
118.4 mg

  Potassium
152.1 mg

  Total Carbohydrate
18.9 g

  Dietary Fiber
3.7 g

  Sugars
6.9 g

  Protein
3.1 g

The result was a rich, dense, fudgy brownie.  I felt like it needed a creamy topping to balance out the richness so I blended up an icing of cream cheese, bit of sugar, vanilla, and about a tbsp of cocoa powder.  YUUMMM!!!!

Needless to say, my calorie counts have been through the roof with this pan of deliciousness waiting for me in the fridge every night.  Even with icing, one brownie is just about a hundred calories, but three at once can be a bit damaging.  (!!!)

So, I am hoping to put “The Week of the Brownie” behind me and start fresh Monday.  (But, what will I do with the left over three……?)