These gluten free black bean brownies are a bit two faced. On one hand the brownie itself is as healthy as a ‘proper’ brownie can get, but then youΒ have all these deliciously sugary S’mores toppings that throw the whole health idea out of the window. π But the combination is stillΒ much healthier than whatΒ a standard s’mores brownie would be and that’s for sure!
Can you taste the black beans?
Absolutely not!Β I promise. lol And the texture is perfect; who knew black beans work so well for baking!?
How sweet are these gluten free black bean brownies?
Not very sweet, especially compared to the average brownie. If you’re after sweeter, more decadent brownies, add chocolate chips to the batter. π
Do you need to add flour?
No not at all. It all depends on what texture you want. The less, the gooeyier; the more, the cakier. I added 4 tablespoon to mine for a fairly caky result.
How can they be healthy if they’re BROWNIES?
First of all they’re much lower in calories than they could have been if using a normal flour recipe.Β These are about 200 calories, including the s’mores toppings. But remove the toppings and you drop down to 148 calories. Remove the little bit of flour I added and you drop another 10 calories per brownie.
They’re also less sweet and thanks to the black beans, you actually get some nutrition from these! Including 10% of your daily iron requirement (1.5 mg) and nearly 20% of folate (35.9 mg) per brownie, among other things.
Not too bad for a normally nutritionally bankrupt treat. π
Side note: this recipe is based on Gluten Free on a Shoestring’s Flourless Black Bean Brownies. ExceptΒ I made mine with butter instead of oil, with a bit of flour, without chocolate chips or coffee and with s’mores on top.Β Credit goes to her for inspiring the making of these gluten free black bean brownies. π
Gluten freeΒ black bean brownies recipe:
- 1 x 400g *240g when drained) canned black beans
- ¼ cup (50g) unsalted butter
- 2 eggs (95g)
- ¾ cup (65g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¾ cup (175g) sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 0 to 4 Tbsp self-raising flour (see explanation above - I used Doves Farm)
- Pinch of salt
- Optional: chocolate chips (I didn't personally put any)
- 12 marshmallows
- Chocolate buttons
- Gluten free digestive cookies (or graham crackers if you can find any)
Directions
- Pre-heat the oven to 160C (325F).
- Put all ingredients (except the flour) in a food processor (or heavy duty blender) and blend until smooth. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water if necessary.
- At this point you can choose to add flour or not, depending on what texture you want (I added four tablespoons), as well as chocolate chips (for sweeter, gooeyier brownies).
- Spray a muffin tin or baking tray with a low calorie cooking oil spray.
- Pour the brownie batter (about 2 heaped Tbsp per muffin cup).
- Bake on the middle shelf for about 25 minutes. Note: the top should feel bouncy and for caky brownies, a tooth pick or knife poked in the centre should come out relatively clean. As you can imagine, it’s a bit harder to tell with gooey ones, but 25 mins should be about right.
- Turn the oven to grill, add the toppings immediately (I held back with only one marshmallow per brownie, but feel free to go crazy lol) and put under the grill for about 1 minutes or until the marshmallows turn golden brown.
- Let them cool completely before cutting or taking them out of the muffin tin. If using a muffin tin, use a spoon to scrape the sides gently and they should come out easily.
Enjoy!
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