Black Bean Brownies w/Cocoa Yogurt Cheese Frosting
I saw this recipe on Angie's Healthy Living Blog and decided that I had to try it.
Brownies:
- 1 1/2 Cups soft cooked black beans
- 2 ripe bananas
- 1/3 Cup agave nectar
- 1/4 Cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
Ingredients for the Icing:
- Yogurt Cheese (drain Plain yogurt overnight with cheese cloth and a strainer OR use Greek Yogurt)
- 1 Tbsp Cocoa
- 2-4 Tbsp Ideal Xylitol Substitute
(to taste)
- Mix well, store in the refrigerator between uses. *frost when ready to eat... I'm not sure about using the frosting ahead of time.
Verdict: I liked them, Paris and Jaedin liked them. My hubby, Squatch & The Bean didn't care for them. Jaedin kept saying, "Are you SURE there are black beans in this?" but the other kids went, "Ooooohhhhh, that explains it." They almost reminded me of a protein bar.
Basically, if you're looking for something to ease your chocolate craving, and not kill your diet, this might do it for you, it worked for me (but only WITH the "icing"). Is it 'as good' as a "real" brownie... Of course not, silly. However, if I wasn't a sugar addict (Ie: If I could EAT just ONE "real" brownie without downing the whole entire pan and gaining ten pounds as well as giving myself a crushing head ache), then I wouldn't be eating so clean in the first place, now would I? Probably not.
What I'd do differently next time: Since I know that more fat equals more flavor, I will definitely mess with this recipe and add some coconut oil or milled flax. It definitely needs a little something. Also, next time I won't forget the nuts that were in the original recipe. It is a keeper, though, even if only three out of 6 of us eat them.
Oh I LOVE that! I just made choc. yogurt for my daughters this week w/plain yogurt, cocoa powder and honey. No corn syrup, refined sugar or additives. And the antioxidants from the cocoa! Perfect!
ReplyDeleteLast night I drained some yogurt ALL night instead of just for an hour and it is much more 'cream cheese' consistency. I am looking frward to trying it out!
ReplyDeleteI love making flavored yogurt at home, because like you said, none of the bad stuff gets put in!
Thanks for stopping by!
These look really good!
ReplyDeleteMy husband has a serious sweet tooth so I'll have to try these out soon:-)
I'm going to mess around with the recipe because my hubby didn't really like them and they didn't have enough sweet or chocolate-y. Thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteHave you tried making these again with any alterations? I made black bean brownies for the first time and was impressed. However, like you I want to see what I can do to tweak it. I'm at a bit of a loss as to where to begin since I'm working with a base that is different than most recipes I tweak.
ReplyDeleteI haven't actually. I need to, but I think I would lessen the black beans and use quinoa flakes and applesauce in place of probably about half of the beans.
ReplyDeleteWhen I'm experiementing, I'll make up the batter, then cook just on small muffin at a time to see what else I need to tweak. If I had black beans already, I'd try tweaking these today, but I'm out and its not worth a bike ride to the store:)