I had to share a gluten free dessert recipe before Christmas. I know I promised in my last post, I’d share a dinner or side dish recipe but these amazing black bean brownie’s are Ah-mazing! I first saw this recipe a few years ago on 101 cookbooks website, I printed out the recipe but it kinda got lost in the midst of other recipes in my drawer.
I honestly can say that this is one of my favorite gluten free brownie recipes, ever! Who would have thought that each bite would have a rich dense chocolate fudgy like texture. I’m so intrigued by this black bean recipe that I even played around with a black bean fudgy topping (next post).
I even took the time to figure out the calorie calculations for this recipe, not sure if it’s a good or bad thing! LOL 
You know the recipe calls for one cup of butter and 1 1/2 cups of light agave nectar! Yikes, that’s way more fat and sugar than I’d like to use in my baking. I made the recipe as is besides it’s the holidays so a little indulgence doesn’t hurt anyone, right?? Well, just as long as you stick to teeny tiny small portions cause one tiny square (1/48th of a square) is 110 calories, 12 g carbs, and 7 g of fat. I cut the brownies into 12 pieces and let’ s just say that 1/12th of a piece is about 445 calories, 47 grams of carbs (35 of them sugars), and 28 grams of fat! Looks like I’m going to try a lighter version of this brownie and I’ll share with you my results.
Amazing Black Bean Brownies adapted from Baking With Agave Nectar: Over 100 Recipes Using Nature’s Ultimate Sweetener book posted on 101 Cookbooks
Servings: 48/ Serving size: 1/48th of a square
Weight Watcher pts: 3
Calories: 110/protein: 2 g/ fat: 7 g/ carbs: 12 g/ fiber: 1 g
Ingredients:
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups soft-cooked black beans, drained well (I used canned beans)
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ cup (granulated) natural coffee substitute (or instant coffee, for gluten-sensitive)
¼ teaspoon sea salt
4 large eggs
1½ cups light agave nectar Directions: 1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. I used my glass pyrex bakeware for the brownies, 9x13x1inch. I lightly sprayed the baking dish with grapeseed oil (or your favorite vegetable oil). 2. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate and butter for about one minute on high or until the the chocolate melts completely when stirred with a spoon. Set aside. 3. In a food processor bowl or blender jar, place the beans, 1/2 cup of the walnuts, the vanilla extract, and about 1/4 cup of the melted chocolate mixture. Blend about 2 minutes, or until smooth. The consistency of the batter should be thick and the beans should be smooth. Set aside.4. In a large bowl, mix together the remaining 1/2 cup walnuts, remaining melted chocolate mixture, coffee substitute, and salt. Mix well. Add the bean/chocolate mixture to the coffee chocolate mixture, stir unitl blended well and set aside.5. In a separate medium bowl, beat the eggs with an electric mixer until light and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the agave nectar and beat well. Add the egg mixture to the chocolate/bean mixture. Add the remaining chopped nuts. Add the brownie bean batter to the baking dish. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the brownies are set. Let them cool in the pan before cutting into squares. Better yet, have the brownies sit in the refrigerator for a few hours or over night before slicing them or else they will fall apart and crumble. Makes 48 bite size brownies or 12 large brownies (as pictured above)
