Raw Brownies with Peanut Butter Frosting


I recently decided that, even as I cut back on calories overall, I need more chocolate in my life. More and more research is coming out about the health benefits of chocolate, with the only caveat I see is that it comes with unhealthy fats and refined sugars we don't want. So let's eat chocolate in forms that are healthier and still enjoy the benefits (including deliciousness)! This recipe gets its sweetness from agave syrup and dates, and the fats come from nuts and legumes.


I adapted this recipe from a few others, and really, you can adjust ingredients and amounts to make this your own.

Brownies:
1 cup raw walnuts
1 cup raw pecans
2 cups pitted dates
1 cup raw cacao powder
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut shreds
1/2 cup agave syrup
dash of salt

In food processor, chop walnuts and pecans coarsely.  

Add dates and cacao powder and chop together until a fine crumble; then add coconut, salt, and agave syrup.  

Run food processor until the mixture forms a coarse paste or dough.  Press into a 9x12" pan.

Peanut Butter Frosting:
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup coconut flour
2 tablespoons agave syrup
1/2 cup water

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and mix until smooth.  Spread on top of brownies.









Cut into 18 squares and enjoy!  (Note: what is shown in the photo above is a half recipe.)


Nutrition info per square: 255 Calories, 32g Carbs (5g Fiber, 23g Sugars), 14g Fat (3g Saturated, 4g Polyunsaturated, 3g Monounsaturated), 5g Protein, 2% Calcium, 6% Iron.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Peanut Oatmeal Raisin Breakfast Cookies

Image
I haven't posted anything in quite a long time, apart from finally pressing "Publish" on a 3-year-old draft just now. (I didn't even check for typos - sorry, folks - I'm clearly not a blogger.) But I threw together this recipe today, and it worked out quite well, so I thought I would share. I did not think to take photos while making them, so there's just the one of the end product. Here goes it. 1. Preheat oven to 350 F. 2. Cover with hot or boiling water and let sit: 2/3 cup raisins 3. Mix wet ingredients thoroughly (using electric mixer if possible): 1/2 cup peanut butter (I used "natural" chunky) 1/2 very ripe banana 1 Tablespoon molasses 1/3 - 1/2 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup but could reduce that) 1/4 cup maple syrup 1 tsp vanilla 1 flax egg (1 T ground flax + 3 T water, let sit for a couple minutes) 4. Mix separately then add to wet mixture: 1 cup flour 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 5. Fold in until well distributed: 1-2/3 cup rolled oats 1/3
Read more

Joy of Cooking Waffles, Veganized

Image
Growing up, The Joy of Cooking was my family's go-to cookbook. My mother gave me a brand-new copy when I moved into my first apartment. I haven't used it much in recent years, as it's not terribly vegan-friendly, but I still refer to it occasionally for "standard" recipes that I can modify. I love waffles, and I never was quite satisfied with the vegan ones I was making. Worse, it is a family tradition to eat waffles on Christmas morning, and mine are always shunned in favor of the egg-and-butter variety my brother makes. When I splurged on a new waffle maker  this year, I decided to figure out the secret to the perfect waffle. So I turned to the Joy of Cooking. The Joy of Cooking recipe calls for egg whites, whipped into stiff peaks, folded into the batter. Aha, I said, I can do that with aquafaba ! And thus the veganizing began. I used flax eggs in place of the egg yolks and also used vegan buttermilk (soy milk + vinegar) to give it more height. I played
Read more

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Image
I'm not the best cake decorator, but this cake is tasty! My Favorite Cake Vegan chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting Today* is my birthday, so I baked my favorite cake for myself. This cake can be made as cupcakes, a sheet cake, or layer cake. I have 4-inch diameter cake pans that I like to use for this purpose. This recipe made 3 of those plus 4 cupcakes. I'll eat the one layer cake and freeze the rest. Cake Wet ingredients: 1 cup unsweetened soy milk* ⅓ cup applesauce 2 Tbsp canola oil 2 tsp vanilla extract 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar Dry ingredients: 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or all purpose flour) ½ cup raw cacao powder ¾ cup cane sugar 1 tsp baking powder ½ tsp baking soda ½ tsp salt *The combination of the soy milk and vinegar and baking soda/powder is what makes the cake rise. Soy works best here because it needs enough protein for the chemical reaction. You could also do half soy and half another kind of milk, like almond or coconut, or substitut
Read more