Guest Post: Amy’s Black Bean Brownies

Amy is a fellow gluten-free friend and food aficionado as well as all around amazing person.  She has guest posted before & I plan to have her continue that tradition as much as humanly possible.

Late last year I noticed one of my friends posted on Facebook that she had just made black bean brownies. 

Ewwwhat? 

Black beans and chocolate? What’s next? Turnips and cupcakes? 

Hot pink and magenta? 
 
Liz Lemon and sandals? 

I quickly buried my encounter with the notion of vegetables parading around as dessert and moved on with my life. 

However, a few weeks ago, the “Vegetables for a Sweeter Tomorrow” coalition found me.

I was scouring the internet for flourless dessert possibilities and I came across a recipe for black bean brownies. I reluctantly opened the webpage and after reading a few reviews for the recipe I decided to jump headfirst into this batcrap craziness that will now be know as “dessertable”. Maybe that’s not the best word mash-up…but “vegetessert” doesn’t sound much better. Should I just use the first syllable of the word…I digress. 

I stirred up all the ingredients in a bowl and just as I was about to pour the batter into the pan I decided to taste this wild concoction. To my surprise the batter was not too much different from “normal” brownie batter. And the finished product was pretty amazing. I’m a big fan of fudgy brownies and these are some of the best ones I’ve ever had. 

A few days later I decided to try a variation on the recipe; I added a coconut topping. 

Uh-mazing. Yes, I did just say that. 

I have had a really fun time “tricking” my friends with these brownies. I usually wait until they’ve eaten at least one and then I stand up with my megaphone and proudly announce they were made with black beans. 

I will say that every now and then you do notice a bit of the black bean texture; however, I usually don’t notice it with the coconut topping added. 

Without further babble, I present the brownie recipe—the original and my variation. 

Enjoy! 

Flourless Brownies
(from www.lynnskitchenadventures.com)  
* 1- 15 ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained
* 3 eggs
* 1/3 cup butter, melted
* 1/4 cup cocoa
* 2 teaspoons vanilla
* 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
* 1 cup chocolate chips 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a food processor or blender puree the black beans, eggs, butter, cocoa, vanilla, and sugar until smooth.
Stir chocolate chips into the batter and spread into a greased 8×8 pan.
Bake for 30-33 minutes. 

Flourless Brownies with Coconut Frosting
I took out a little bit of the butter and used 2 eggs and 1 egg white in this variation. I couldn’t tell a difference in the recipe. Any nutritional value that was increased was quickly depleted after I added the coconut topping.
* 1- 15 ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained
* 2 eggs + 1 egg white
* 3 tablespoons butter
* 1/4 cup cocoa (4 tablespoons)
* 2.5 teaspoons vanilla
* 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar (10 Table spoons)
* 1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a food processor or blender puree the black beans, eggs, butter, cocoa, vanilla, and sugar until smooth.
Stir chocolate chips into the batter and spread into a greased 8×8 or 11x7 pan.
Bake for 30-33 minutes. 

Coconut Frosting
(taken from www.meals.com)
2 cups flaked coconut
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk

COMBINE coconut, brown sugar, butter and evaporated milk in medium bowl. Spread over cooled brownies. Broil 4 inches from heat for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown.