Hannak Kaminsky, My Sweet Vegan ~ When is a brownie not a brownie? Sounds like a stupid question, but I might argue that the color is generally the key, and perhaps the richest, darkest brownies of them all should actually be “blackies.” However, there’s a different reason entirely why I might suggest that these humble bar cookies above get a new name. You would never guess from looking at them, or even tasting them, but these are indeed the infamous black bean brownies that everyone was talking about ages ago. Upon first seeing this creation, I reacted in the same way that I would imagine most of you are right now; shock and horror. Beans, in sweet baked goods?! What horror, what torture!  Flicking quickly away from the recipe, I tried to cleanse my mind of the idea. How could it possibly be any good, after all? Those poor, misguided food bloggers…

And yet, I couldn’t stop thinking about them. After turning the idea over and over in my head a million times, intense curiosity took hold and refused to let go. When I had an afternoon with a bit of free time, I decided that I would just try it out- Just to prove that they were no good, mind you- and put this concept to rest once and for all.

Watching the food processor pulverize those black legumes, it occurred to me that I was being unfairly critical. After all, I had been so bold as to put lentils in cookies, and those were thoroughly enjoyed by every last taster, of adventurous palates or not. Giving up my prejudice against the questionable recipe, I only altered it to reduce the amount of apple sauce, since it seemed that others had had trouble with them setting up. Doing so caused them to be a bit flat, but no less of a revelation.

No, I’m not going to lie, these are not the cookies you turn to when you’re looking for some serious chocolate indulgence, a mouthful of rich, sugary fudge; These are admittedly “healthy” tasty. But as some one who’s constantly stuffed with sweets, it really was a nice change of pace. The beans are really impossible to detect, and warmed for a few seconds in the microwave, they’re definitely a worthwhile treat that won’t have your conscience up in arms.

Even if you’re not prepared to take the leap and try making some blackies for yourself, just remember that bias has no place in the kitchen; It could prevent you from getting a bite of some seriously delicious dishes ...

Black Bean Brownies

Recipe from Have Cake, Will Travel

• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 Tablespoons corn oil
• 4 Tablespoons carob powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup sugar in the raw
• 2 ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts [I once subbed ground almonds for this, 1/3 cup worth of it]
• 1/4 cup oat flour
• 2 T brown rice flour [when I'm all out of brown rice flour, I simply use light spelt flour instead]

preheat oven to 350F. prepare 8×8 square pan with non-stick cooking spray.
place all ingredients in your food processor and blend until combined and smooth. pour into prepared pan, bake for 30 minutes or until brownies appear to be set and firm.
let cool before attempting to serve. I love them especially after they’ve spent some time in the fridge, personally.

This post and photos are copyright Hannah Kaminsky, Bittersweet, and Celine of Have Cake, Will Travel was kind enough to allow us to reprint the recipe.  Enjoy both of these great blogs, they are two of my favorite!

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