(No pictures this time around because my camera is wonky. Trust me they look delicious.)
Every once in a while I come across a recipe that sounds so strange that I HAVE to try it. My thinking is that if someone had the balls to recommend it then it must stand a fighting chance.
A few months ago on 101 Cookbooks, Heidi posted this recipe for Black Bean Brownies. I did a double take… I couldn’t quite get my head around that one. A quick scan of the ingredient list seemed pretty inoffensive… and really, the beans weren’t particularly offensive, I LOVE beans. I filed this one away for a rainy day.
And lo and behold yesterday was that rainy day I had been hoping for. I made a few changes to the recipe. First of all I halved the recipe. I really didn’t need to bake an entire 11″ x 18″ baking pan of brownies. I used canned black beans as per Heidi’s suggestion and instant Maxwell House coffee. I also didn’t use baking squares and instead used 72% Dark Chocolate. The biggest switch that I made was using part honey and part sugar instead of agave. I have nothing against Agave but I didn’t feel like spending $6 on a bottle that I would use once. I thought that I would have enough honey but didn’t so just used some sugar to round it out.
I have to say this brownies are FANTASTIC. They don’t taste like beans at all and have a rich chocolaty taste. They aren’t crumbly and are really dense and fudgy. I love that there is no flour in this at all. Not that I have an intolerances to flour but I’m always fascinated by baking that doesn’t involve flour.
Now I’m super curious about what else I can use black beans for when it comes to baking. Maybe a birthday cake? Not sure but this may be my new favourite brownie recipe.
A bold statement, I know.
