Black Bean Brownies

More and more these days you hear about “gluten free” diets. I hear about it, read about it sometimes…but never really gave it much thought. One day, I was searching for a black bean soup recipe online, and in the search results, I stumbled across a recipe for black bean BROWNIES, (I know, I said it too, GROSS!!)  Brownies made from beans? That sounded worse than “turkey” made from tofu (sorry to all you vegans out there – but here’s a tip – no one at your Thanksgiving dinner really thinks they are eating turkey). Because I had a friend who was recently told she had to go on a gluten free diet, I bookmarked the page, thinking I’d make it for her one day, but pretty much forgot about it.

Well, a few weeks ago, guess what was on sale? Yep! Black beans! So of course, I bought a shopping cart full.  So I thought, what the heck, may as well try these things out. The thought of eating a brownie made from black beans so turned me off though, that I didn’t even try it first. Instead, I called Allison into the kitchen and told her I’d made her a special treat – brownies!!!  As I’ve mentioned before, my girl has a SUPER sweet tooth. If I’d let her, she’d eat sugar straight out of the sugar bowl I didn’t tell her what the brownies were made of – just handed her one and waited to see her reaction. Well…she LOVED them and immediately wolfed down the first one and begged for another.  At this point, of course, I had to try one too; and I have to say, they are amazing! You would NEVER, EVER guess they are made with beans!!

So, if you, or your child, have to stick to a gluten free diet, you MUST try this recipe I found on www.food.com! And if you are just looking to cut out flour from your diet, here is a great dessert for you!

BLACK BEAN BROWNIES

• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons oil
• ½ cup cocoa
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¾ cup sugar

Chocolate Chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and lightly grease an 8 x8 pan.

Combine all ingredients in a blender and BLEND WELL (I mean well!  There should be no chunks of bean left at all).

If you’d like, sprinkle with chocolate chips (trust me, you should).

Pour into pan and place in the oven.

Bake for 30 min. (or until set and edges start to pull away from the pan).

Let cool, cut into squares and ENJOY!

If you try these, please let me know what you think, and more importantly, what your kids think!!!  You can leave a comment here, or email me at oneupskimom@gmail.com