Black Brownie

Ok I have heard the hype about the black bean brownies. There are recipes all over the internet about this "secret ingredient" brownie. All have declared it delicious, amazing, rich, glorious--I do not need to go on, right? We all know how people describe chocolate and frankly, it is a little embarrassing!

Though in my desire to open the door of gluten free possibilities to my daughter I decided --Why Not, let's give this brownie a go!

Black Brownie
serves 12
modified from Whole Foods Black Bean Brownie
15 ounces canned black beans-rinsed and drained
3 eggs
3 tbl butter-melted
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 raw sugar
1 1/2 tsp instant coffee
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp vanilla
dash of salt


Heat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 8x8 pan.Blend beans into a paste using a blender or food processor. Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix thoroughly. Pour brownie batter into pan and bake for 30 minutes or until the sides start to pull away from the pan.

Family feed back: My husband thinks he hates black beans, he tasted the brownie and said they were very good, rich in texture and he asked me if the secret ingredient was coffee. However, the coffee in this is no secret! The taste to me was like those \dark chocolate covered espresso beans you can get in gourmet candy stores. For me the flavor was a good combination because I do not like chocolate but I love coffee which made them tolerable for me.
My children who love chocolate were asked to rate the brownies by a 5 star rating system--one declared 19,000 stars--but she really loves chocolate. The other children all gave the brownies 4 stars.

You cannot taste the bean in this at all--but they add a texture which pleases the palate much like dove chocolate does. These are a rich dessert with some added fiber.

Calories per brownie-146
Fa- 6 grams
Carbohydrate- 18 grams
Fiber- 2 grams
Protein- 4 grams

Other good ideas:
-- shave off some calories and substitute butter for applesauce
-- cut sugar in half by using stevia
-- serve hot with a tablespoon of peanut butter and sliced bananas