Outrageous Brownies

Recipe from Chef AJ's 2024 book - Sweet Indulgence

As a previous presenter on Chef AJs podcasts, I was invited to preview a few recipes from her new book, Sweet Indulgence, due to hit the stands this week.  

First I tried almond date bliss balls, which were delicious, especially when rolled in cinnamon.  Today's quest was the Outrageous Brownie recipe, which is delightful.  The brownies are really fudge from a combination of date paste, made by soaking dates in unsweetened soy milk and/or water, and black beans.  Texture is added by the addition of rolled oats, and I highly recommend the optional topping of nuts and chocolate chips.  I substituted walnuts for the pistachios, mainly because I was out of pistachios, but what goes better with brownies than walnuts?!

The interesting thing about these brownies is that they are filling and taste good, but are not cloyingly sweet.  They smell just like any other brownies while baking, then have the right level of chocolate taste for me, due to the unsweetened cocoa powder. The second time I made them, they tasted much more like black beans than chocolate, so I might try increasing the date paste:black bean ratio to have a little more sweetness; and add some chocolate chips to the batter ;-)

Serves 16 

INGREDIENTS: 

15-oz can of salt-free black beans, rinsed and drained (or 1.5 cups cooked)

1.5 cups Date Paste (see recipe below - allow a few hours ahead of time; don't use store-bought)

3/4 cup unsweetened plant milk (I used soy)

1 tsp vanilla bean powder

1/2 tsp aluminum and sodium-free baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 cup gluten-free rolled oats or oat flour

1 cup unsweetened or date-sweetened dairy-free chocolate chips, optional

1/2 cup finely chopped raw, unsalted pistachios, optional (I used chopped walnuts)

DIRECTIONS:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Place beans, date paste and plant milk in a food processor fitted with the 'S' blade and process until smooth.  Add the vanilla bean powder, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder and process again.  

3) Add the oats and process very briefly, just until combined.  It's ok if the oats stay whole.

4) Pour the batter into a 10" square silicone baking pan. Sprinkle with nuts and/or chocolate chips, if using, and gently press the toppings down with the palm of your hand.

5) Bake for 30-35 minutes (mine took 20 minutes) until the middle does not jiggle and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Cool before cutting, or you'll have to eat all the fudgy insides that come out on your knife!  Chef AJ enjoys these with a cold glass of her homemade Vanilla Almond Mylk (recipe in the book).

DATE PASTE:

This recipe makes 2.5 cups, so you'll have 1 cup left over to use on a muffin or cracker of your choice.

Combine 1 pound of pitted dates (~ 2.5 cups) with 1 cup of liquid (water, unsweetened plant milk or juice) - I used soy:water about 2:1)

Soak dates for hours or overnight until much of the liquid is absorbed (after a few hours in the fridge, hardly any was absorbed, but the recipe worked well)

Process until completely smooth.  Store any leftovers in the fridge or freezer.