Black Bean Brownies (You'd Never Guess They Were Healthy!)
Ingredients:
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate (85% dark is wonderful!)
1 cup butter
2 cups soft-cooked black beans, drained well
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon sea salt
4 large eggs
1½ cups pure maple syrup or yacon syrup (which is low-glycemic and has healing properties) or a combination of the two
1/2 cup of hazelnut flour
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter an 11- by 18-inch baking pan.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter together and stir to melt the chocolate completely.
3. Put beans and butter/chocolate mixture in a food processor to blend. The batter should be thick and the beans smooth.
4. Add rest of ingredients. Beat until well blended.
5. Bake for 40 minutes, until the brownies are set. Let cool in the pan completely before cutting into squares.
(They will be soft until refrigerated - preferably overnight.)
Makes 45 (2-inch) brownies.
Recipe by Cheryl Spitzer, Nutrition Practitioner