{Valentine’s Day} Black Bean Brownies

There is something about the thought of Valentine’s Day which inspires me to whip up brownies for a little treat one night.

Oh yeah…it isn’t Valentine’s Day yet, but with the holiday around the corner it was still a good excuse for a little chocolate after dinner!  There is always an excuse in my book for dessert and chocolate sometimes it is just a little easier to find an excuse with an approaching holiday!

For about two weeks I have been enjoying cooking from Liz Weiss and Janice Newell Bissex’s Cookbook, No White with Dinner*.  Liz and Janice are known as “The Meal Makeover Moms”.  I have been trying out several recipes on the family.  Some have been successful, some not so much…

One of the big hits, their Fudgy Black Bean Brownies. I love them too. I will confess when I told the kids I had made brownies the first comment was, “Are they regular brownies or did you put something in them like beets.” Okay, so they have caught onto the Mom sticks strange things in our food…I had to come clean.  I responded, “No beets but they do have beans in them.”

Meal Makeover Moms state that these brownies are great for people following gluten-free diets or for anyone interested in lowering the saturated fat and calories in dessert.

Fudgy Black Bean Brownies
Directly from The Meal Makeover Mom’s cookbook, No Whine with Dinner.

1 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

3 large eggs

3 Tablespoons canola oil

3/4 granulated sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract, OPTIONAL (kiddos and myself did not like the peppermint)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 pinch of salt

1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

1.  Preheat the oven to 350.  Lightly oil or coat an 8×8 inch baking pan or dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside

2.  Place the black beans in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth and creamy.  Add the eggs, oil, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, peppermint extract as desired, baking powder, and salt and process until smooth.  Add 1/4 cup of the chips and pulse a few times until the chips are incorporated.

3.  Pour the batter into the prepared pans, smooth the top with a rubber spatula and sprinkle with the remaining 1/ cup chocolate chips.

4.  Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in the pan before slicing into 2-inch squares.

The Kiddos reaction, “Wow, you can’t even taste the beans, can we have more?” It was a huge success.  I made them again this time using the peppermint extract and only a ½ cup of the sugar.  It was decided that they did not like the peppermint but the 1/4 less sugar made no difference, which is a plus!

* Your chance to win a copy of this book is coming soon!