Black Bean Brownies

These intensely chocolaty treats use pureed black beans to replace some of the fat and sugar in a typical brownie recipe. No one would ever guess the secret ingredient, as there is no beany flavor — just fudgy richness. A small amount of instant coffee amplifies the chocolate notes, but if you don’t have any on hand, the recipe is still great without it. We suggest lining the pan with parchment paper, but you could also skip that step and coat the pan with cooking spray instead.

Ingredients

• 1 (15.25-ounce/432g) can low-sodium black beans, drained and rinsed

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 large eggs

• 2/3 cup (125g) light brown sugar, packed

• 1/3 cup (29g) unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon table salt

• 2/3 cup (120g) semisweet chocolate chips

Method

• Preheat oven to 350°F (180ºC). Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.

• In the bowl of a food processor, puree the black beans on high speed until almost smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add butter and vanilla; process until smooth. Add eggs; pulse 3–4 times to combine. Add sugar, cocoa, coffee, baking soda and salt; pulse 4–5 times to combine. Add chocolate chips; pulse once or until just combined.

• Spoon batter into a prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 26–30 minutes or until set. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Nutrition:  per serving - 137 kcal, 6g fat, 20g carbohydrates, 2g fibre, 2g protein

Courtesy of MyFitnessPal