Black Bean Brownies (GF)

Last Thursday, I took Nymeria for her spay surgery.  Immediately upon her return home, she was ridiculously wound up, to the point that I had to go get an e-collar for her.  So, up until last night, we had a baby conehead kitten.  At first, she was running into things left and right, but over the week, she got waaay awesome at maneuvering and playing with her new neck shade.  We just got a new kitty castle (play house) from my dad, so we figured her incisions were looking good enough to finally take the cone off so she would be able to play.  The cone definitely didn't stop her from doing much.. like tearing apart the kitchen..

Tessy, not having to do his brotherly duties of watching her very over protectively, since the cone essentially did that for him, had a lovely week in which he quite remembered that he's only a little over a year old - it was like having two kittens again, which I adored.  He was definitely a happy camper!  I'm hoping he continues to stay this way.

So, I made brownies.  Black bean brownies.  It's something you always hear about - something that has either gone really well or really horribly.  Alex's mom made some last year, and she said they tasted like chocolate and beans together, which is definitely not what you'd want from a brownie.  That being said, I was pretty nervous as I threw these together.

After getting a bit of inspiration from Chockohlawtay's version, I dove in and hoped for the best.  Like her version, I used a bit of quinoa flour to keep them gluten free and as healthy as possible, but that's about the only real similarity, since I have no qualms with using butter or coconut oil (I used both for this).  For the quinoa flour, I just ground up some quinoa in my coffee grinder.  It worked wonderfully, and I can't wait to keep using quinoa flour more.

I tasted the batter to make sure I was getting the sweetness correct, and I actually didn't want to stop eating the batter (always a good sign), but it had raw eggs, so I knew I should probably stop.  A little more optimistic now, I didn't feel so nervous about the finished product.  And would you believe it.. they are actually fantastic!  The black beans lend it a dense and fudgy texture, like the best brownies, without lending any flavor whatsoever.  They pack a lovely protein punch, as well!  Just the perfect amount of chocolate, too.

I'll definitely be making these again - a winner in my book!


Black Bean Brownies (GF)
makes one 8x8" pan


1/4 cup quinoa flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1/3 cup coconut sugar
18 packets truvia (or 1 cup total of coconut sugar)
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/2 t instant espresso
1 15.5-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1 t vanilla
2 eggs

In a small bowl, combine the quinoa flour, cocoa, coconut sugar, truvia, baking soda, salt, and instant espresso.  Set aside.  In a food processor, pulse together the black beans, melted butter, and coconut oil, and mix until it is smooth and creamy.  Add in the vanilla and eggs, pulsing until combined.  Slowly pour in the dry mixture, and pulse until fully incorporated.

Pour the batter into a parchment lined 8x8" pan (you can use a different sized pan for different thickness - you may need to adapt the baking time accordingly).  Bake at 350ºF for 20-25 minutes, until the center is just set - a toothpick will not come out completely clean.

Allow to cool completely before cutting.  Store in an airtight container.