I’ll add an image of the finished product when I actually make it again. The title’s just a reminder to me. Recipe below.

I came up with this recipe in 2018 out of a desire to minimize the health impact of a delicious brownie. I’ve never been much of a buttery-juicy baked good guy or anything like that, but I still want a brownie to be a moderately dense, moist chocolate block. These do veer on the dense side (especially if you go with black beans as part of your moistening substitution) but they are delicious.

Ingredients

• 0.5 cup black bean puree [110 calories]
• 3 tablespoons greek yogurt [30 calories]
• 1 cup sugar substitite [0 calories]
• 7 tablespoons double-concentrated black coffee (store bought is fine) [0 calories]
• 14 tablespoons cocoa powder [140 calories]
• 0.25 tablespoons salt [0 calories, 1000mg sodium]
• 0.5 tablespoon vanilla extract [10 calories]
• 2 eggs (or equivalent egg product) [~160 calories]
• 0.5 cup all-purpose flour [230 calories] OR for gluten free: 0.5 cup oat flour, 0.125 teaspoon xanthan gum [Unknown calories]
• 0.67 cup walnut/pecan pieces (optional) [483 calories] OR for gluten free: omit

Final calorie count:
680 calories without real sugar or walnuts
1163 calories with walnuts and without real sugar
1453 calories with real sugar and without walnuts
1936 calories with real sugar and walnuts
3036 calories with real sugar, walnuts, and vegetable oil instead of black beans/greek yogurt

As implied above, the black bean puree and greek yogurt take the place of oil. Applesauce is a good alternative in general for baking, but I wanted to experiment with this recipe.

NOTE: I did my best to ensure that if the gluten free steps are followed, it’s actually safe for people intolerant to gluten to eat. Do not make this for gluten intolerant individuals without verifying my recipe is accurate first. This is just me uploading an 8-year old recipe; once I make it again I’ll verify and adjust the recipe accordingly.

Baking Steps

1. Preheat oven to 325F
2. Grease 8×8 pan with preferred cooking lubricant
3. Add all ingredients except eggs and flour to a medium bowl and mix well
4. Add the eggs, mix well
5. Add the flour, mix well
6. (Optional) Add the walnuts, mix briefly
7. Transfer mixture to greased 8×8 pan, then smooth the mixture out with a greased spatula
8. Bake 24-32 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean but slightly moist
9. (Optional) If you’re using walnuts, increase the cooking time by 3-5 minutes