Saturday, February 4, 2012

It's a brownie kind of weekend

i love chocolate. i love football. i HATE pro sports.

wow, i got off on a tangent reaaally quick there.

i will spare you the "i-hate-pro-sports-because-pro-players-are-so-damn-greedy-and-seldom-have-respect-for-their-fans-especially-when-they-halt-season-play-just-so-they-can-demand-more-money" rant. it's not worth it right now. because right now, i have the lingering taste of dark chocolate fudgy brownies in my mouth, which i'd rather not spoil. and you know what taste is NOT lingering in my mouth? black beans.

that's odd, sonya. who said anything about black beans?

to use black beans in your brownie mix is an age-old trick (well... i don't know if it qualifies for "age-old" but it's not new anyway). it's seriously the easiest thing you've ever done. and you get to cut out on the fat and cholesterol from the eggs and oil and add back in some protein. without. even. knowing it.

the idea is simple - buy your favorite brownie mix, puree up a can of black beans, mix it all together and bake away. and then, you can eat it sort of guilt-free. people like to trick themselves into thinking these are "healthy" but i like to think of them as just "less bad."

these suckers are going with my parents to the superbowl party tomorrow (i know, after my pro-sports rant, im supplying a pro-sports celebration. alas, to err is human.) if you need a super easy dish that has the unofficial title of "best tailgating dessert ever," this is the one for you!


dark chocolate black bean brownies (makes 35 small brownies)

1 package brownie mix (fave, and cheapest = duncan hines dark chocolate fudge)
1 can black beans
1 tsp baking powder (can be omitted, if you want an extra dense brownie)
1 cup dark chocolate morsels
1/4-1/2 cup almond slivers (or other nuts)
  1. empty the beans into a collander and rinse thoroughly under cold water. 
  2. put the beans back into their can and add enough water to reach the top. 
  3. puree the mess out of the beans, till its nice and liquidy. 
  4. whisk the baking powder and brownie mix together in a large mixing bowl. add the bean puree and stir until combined. 
  5. line a 13x9x2 baking pan with foil, then spray with cooking or baking spray. fill the pan with your batter and bake at 325F for about 20 or so minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. 
  6. immediately after removing from the oven, top the brownies with the dark chocolate morsels. you can stick it back in the oven for a hot second to help melt down the chocolate, then use a spatula to pat it down. or you can just do whatever. 
  7. crumble up the almonds, or leave them in whole slices, and sprinkle over the melted chocolate. allow to set before cutting. 

 nomnomnomnom. 

yeah, these are delicioso. but guess what is NOT delicioso? the attempt i made at butterscotch blondies with coconut... they basically turned into dry cookies. really sad. because i really love butterscotch. those are going to the superbowl party anyway (heh) but they are def not getting posted here. more on that recipe when i find one that actually works. 

happy "less bad" eating!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Blogging tips