Brownies with Mom!
As soon as I started Stump Kitchen I knew that I wanted to film an episode with my amazing mom one day. My mom has been a wonderful supporter of my gluten free vegan diet, and she is constantly trying new recipes and adjusting family recipes to make them ‘eat-able’ for me. What a champ!
One day she surprised me with a fresh batch of black bean brownies from the amazing Minimalist Baker. (If you haven't checked out Minimalist Baker yet, please do!)
I stuffed one of the delightful treats in my face right away… immediately I knew she had stumbled upon a vegan gluten free gold mine! She was so proud, and my tummy was thrilled. Now, we make these brownies at every family occasion, and sometimes just to satisfy our chocolate cravings.
I was so surprised by the ingredients – black beans, coconut oil, cane sugar, vanilla, cocoa, flax, sea salt, baking powder, and dark chocolate chips? AMAZING! Many of these are common household items, and they all keep well so you can pretty much make this recipe any time you want! No special trips to the store needed!
Mom and I had so much fun cooking these brownies together for a Stump Kitchen episode. Highlights included: breaking (and then fixing) the food processor, throwing chocolate chips and catching them in our mouths, and of course – using a spatula on my stump! Oh, and LOVED greasing the pan with my stump – that tickled so much, hahaha!
The brownies are velvety, rich, moist, chocolatey and just plain delicious. They are amazing with coconut ice cream, with tea or coffee, or on their own!
Note: When you make these, don’t be scared to add a little bit of water if the batter seems too thick – we had to, and it changed everything! Also - don't scared to get a little messy ;)
Recipe and instructions from Minimalist Baker:
Ingredients
- 1 15 oz. (425 g) can (~ 1 3/4 cups) black beans, well rinsed and drained
- 2 large flax eggs (2 heaping Tbsp (~16 g) flaxseed meal + 6 Tbsp (90 ml) water)
- 3 Tbsp (45 g) coconut oil, melted (or sub other oil of choice)
- 3/4 cup (72 g) cocoa powder (the higher quality the better)
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- heaping 1/2 cup (105 g) organic cane sugar, slightly ground or pulsed in a food processor or coffee grinder for refined texture
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- Optional toppings: crush walnuts, pecans or semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C).
- Lightly grease a 12-slot standard size muffin pan (not mini). Make sure you've rinsed and thoroughly drained your black beans at this point.
- Prepare flax egg by combining flax and water in the bowl of the food processor. Pulse a couple times and then let rest for a few minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients (besides walnuts or other toppings) and puree - about 3 minutes - scraping down sides as needed. You want it pretty smooth.
- If the batter appears too thick, add a Tbsp or two of water and pulse again. It should be slightly less thick than chocolate frosting but nowhere close to runny.
- Evenly distribute the batter into the muffin tin and smooth the tops with a spoon or your finger.
- Optional: Sprinkle with crushed walnuts, pecans or chocolate chips.
- Bake for 20-26 minutes or until the tops are dry and the edges start to pull away from the sides. I found mine took about 25.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 30 minutes before removing from pan. They will be tender, so remove gently with a fork. The insides are meant to be very fudgy, so don't be concerned if they seem too moist - that's the point. Plus, they're vegan so it doesn't really matter.
- Store in an airtight container for up to a few days. Refrigerate to keep longer.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 140 calories Fat: 6 g Carbohydrates: 22 g Sugar: 9 g Sodium: 163 mg Fiber: 7 h Protein: 5 g