Beans.. for dessert!

every once in a while, i feel the need to stock the freezer with desserts .. and these desserts need to be gluten and dairy free, and relatively healthy.. at least 'food' if not low calorie/fat..  I like my desserts to be lower in empty calories.  that way, when i want to eat a brownie for breakfast - its not all refined sugar and flour.

I recently got a Vitamix.. i eat a TON of hummus, i've never been able to make my own, until now!!  I made 2 batches of amazing hummus, and that inspired me to bust out the black beans and make some black bean brownies - inspired by this recipe.

• one heaping cup of cooked, rinsed black beans (i used dry beans, cooked then frozen, then thawed, you could also use one can of black beans, drained and rinsed)
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• Pinch salt
• 1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Coat 8 x 8-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. I used my vitamix to process the beans, sugar, oil, cocoa powder, vanilla, & salt, until smooth and creamy.  Add the eggs and baking powder and process until well combined.  Add ¼ cup of the chips and mix on low speed briefly until the chips are incorporated.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup chocolate chips.
4. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

you would NEVER know these were made from beans and not flour. never. I think the vitamix helped for sure.

I think next i'm going to try these in muffin tins as brownie cupcakes...

I also made this recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie for the 2nd time tonight, but with the Vitamix instead of a barely working food processor. it made a HUGE difference..

Chocolate chip blondie (aka Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie) - made with chickpeas! 

•  2 heaping cups chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
• 1 cup oats (I used regular, quick oats will work too)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce OR pumpkin puree (no difference in taste)
• 3 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar (i did 1/2 raw, 1/2 coconut)
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Blend everything (except the chips) very well in the Vitamix or a good food processor.  Add in chips, STIR, and pour into an oiled 8x8 pan.  Cook at 350F for around 35-40 minutes. Let stand at least 10 minutes before removing from the pan.

 I wrapped the bars in press and seal wrap and froze them in a gallon ziplock bag - now i don't HAVE to eat them all at once, or let my kids eat them all at once  - instead they are in the freezer with the 2 dozen extra cookies i made a few weeks ago. 

Oh, and here is the beautiful hummus i made - a basic recipe right out of the vitamix cook book.