Black Bean Brownies

When I’m looking for new recipes to try, I usually go for the ones that do not make use of fancy or unusual ingredients. I also try and stay away from recipes that seem too “healthy” to taste good.  I’ve wanted to make brownies with black beans for a long time but was a bit skeptical about how they would turn out. Then I found this recipe on Meal Makeover Moms. With so many positive comments, it seemed like the perfect recipe to try. Black beans are pureed and used instead of flour here. I tweaked the recipe a bit and this is what I used-

Ingredients:

• 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed well
• 3 Tbsp oil
• 2 eggs
• ¾ -1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp orange extract (or 1 Tbsp fresh orange zest)
• 2 tsp instant coffee granules (I used Nescafe)
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• A pinch of salt
• ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ½ cup toasted and chopped hazelnuts (reserve a handful for sprinkling on top of the batter)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Line an 8 x 8- inch baking dish with foil and grease well.

Place the drained and rinsed black beans in the bowl of a food processor and puree till smooth.

Add the oil, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, coffee granules, orange extract, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder, and process until everything is combined well.  Throw in the chocolate chips and toasted hazelnuts and pulse a couple of times to incorporate them into the batter.

Dump the batter into the greased baking pan and spread as evenly as possible. Sprinkle the remaining hazelnuts over the top.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until done.

Cool completely before slicing. I refrigerated the brownies for an hour before cutting them into squares.

I was expecting very “beany” brownies but was pleasantly surprised by the taste. Had I not made these myself, I would never have guessed that black beans formed the base of the recipe. I’m glad I added the coffee powder, orange extract and toasted hazelnuts- they gave the brownies so much flavor. I don’t think I’ll add the vanilla extract if I make these again- I could hardly taste it. While these brownies do not taste like the ones made with flour and have a slightly different texture, they are pretty good considering that they're made with beans.  They taste even better a day after they’re baked. I took a batch in to work and no one could tell that they were made with beans.