Better Batter Brownies

It has been an exhausting day, but I wanted to post this because well, this is the first (of hopefully many) recipe I have ever written and I can not wait to share it with you!  It is by far one of my new favorite things to eat, and the fact that it's healthy definitely makes me feel less guilty when I eat it every day.

My family recently went "wheat free".  Well, technically I did, and my family has followed suit, with a few compromises.  Nonetheless, that really narrows the field when you take grains off the plate, especially when it comes to sweets.  To help aid in the transition I decided to start with sweets, and have slowly started incorporating wheat-free items into the breakfast rotation.  Those are the two areas we have the most wheat impact in our house.  I have several muffin, breads, & pancake recipes still "in progress", but there is one recipe that I have figured out, and it is the "healthy brownie".  I have to say, my passion for the kitchen was reignited when we, I mean I, decided to make this dietary change.  I had many reasons for doing so, that I will discuss another day, but the catalyst was the encouragement of my personal trainer to read "Wheat Belly" after a lengthy discussion one day.  I have to admit, second only to the Bible, I don't think another book has changed my life so drastically.

I'm sure the most ideal scenario would be just to eliminate all sweets from your diet, but I'll be honest with you...that's never going to happen.  I grew up having dessert after every meal.  My mom swears it's part of our German heritage.  I searched the internet, even tested the waters of Pinterest, and checked out several books from the library for recipes that looked delicious enough to try.  Sadly they only resulted in many attempts and complete disappointment of making creations that claimed to be "the world's best healthy brownie", "most delicious melt-in-your-mouth cake", and coming up with things that tasted nothing short of a baked banana rolled in cocoa powder, with expensive ingredients no less.  A single pound of almond flour runs about $10.  Compare that to a 5 pound bag of enriched white flour that runs less than $2, so you're looking at about 40 cents a pound, and I'd say that's a pretty significant difference.  And that's just one ingredient!

So, without further ado, here is my recipe debut!  I wish I had some kind of catchy name for them, but I don't.  This recipe has been my baby for over a month.  I've been tweaking it and  after I stopped making things that tasted like sour bananas, my family gladly offered to be my taste-testers.  I knew when my husband said he would eat this version every day and then helped himself to one after lunch AND dinner this weekend, it was a done deal.  I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.  I am sure you can modify them to make them even healthier, I just have not had the time to test out all the variations.  We are happy with this combination in our home, and after all, they are brownies, and a dessert.  So, in my book that makes a little sugar ok.  Hey, I'm new at this & I never claimed to be a health expert. :)

"Better Batter Brownies"
(these are wheat-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup, plus 3 Tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon coconut oil (I prefer unrefined here)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Medjool dates, pitted (about 6-7)
1/4 cup chocolate almond milk, or coconut milk (updated 4/2014)
2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large egg whites

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper.

Combine almond flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, sugar, baking soda, salt, pitted dates, and flaxseed in a food processor.  Pulse until combined and dates are processed.  Pour this into a medium mixing bowl, and set aside about 1/2 cup of this mixture in a separate mixing bowl.

If you've never pitted a date, this is what that looks like.  I had never touched a date before I started eating cleaner, and now I have a constant supply  in my fridge.  Sometimes I start to panic if my "stash" gets down to my last container. LOL!  Costco is a great source for these if you're lucky enough to have one near you.

 

To remove the "pit" from a date just gently slice it down the middle and remove that seed-looking thing.

 

 

In a separate medium-sized mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until medium to stiff peaks form.  About 1 minute with a hand-mixer on high.  You should be able to lift the beaters from the foam and see "peaks" on the end.

 

 

Okay, we are going to get just a few more dishes dirty before putting this whole thing together.

 

Take the reserved 1/2 cup of the date mixture and gently fold it into the egg whites.

 

 

If you've never "folded" eggs before, just stir softly until it looks about like this. :)

 

 

Spoon 1 Tablespoon coconut oil into a separate small microwavable dish.  Heat until melted.  It usually takes about 1 minute for me.  I prefer unrefined coconut oil because it still has a hint of coconut flavor, but refined is good here too, or you can also use olive oil, but you would just skip the melting step.  Once it's melted stir in the remaining 3 Tablespoons of cocoa powder.  Add this mixture to the remaining date mixture (not the egg whites).  Stir in the almond milk and vanilla until a smooth paste forms. 

 

 

You could stop right here and eat this straight out of the bowl!  It would make a great dip with a little more milk or you could roll it into truffles.  Remember, this bowl is egg free so far.  You better believe that's my finger and I ate that.  Hey, "quality control" right?!?! LOL!

 

Now it's time to put everything together.  Gently stir (or fold) the egg white mixture into the date mixture until it's combined.  Pour into your 8 inch square pan that is lined with parchment paper and smooth it out until it's somewhat even.

 

 

 

Bake for 20-22 minutes at 325, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  This is a dense, chewy brownie, so it may not be completely clean when you pull out the toothpick, but as long as it's not ooey-gooey and well, brownie like.

 

And the beauty of the parchment paper is you can lift it straight out of the pan, no mess, and enjoy!  Store these in an air-tight container.  My favorite way to eat them is with a heaping pile of berries on top (my family prefers sweetened whipped cream too).  Absolutely delicious!!

 

 

 

Nutritional Information: (approximately), 12 brownies

 

Serving: 1 brownie

 

Calories: 103

Fat: 4.5g

Fiber: 2.3g

Protein: 3.25g

Carbs:14g

Sugars: 9.5g