Black Bean Brownies

I just made these last night and they came out great! So yummy! There are a lot of very similar black bean brownie recipes on the internet. This is the one I made. So for Rebecca who buys black beans 25 lbs at a time and Mary who is looking for healthy dessert recipes, here you go!

Ingredients:
2 C cooked black beans or 1 can black beans, drained
3 eggs
1/3 C melted butter or melted coconut oil
1/4 C cocoa powder
1/8 t salt
2 t vanilla
1/2 C honey
1 t baking powder (optional) for a slightly more cakey brownie.

1/2 C chocolate chips or chocolate chunks (optional)
1/3 C chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8 baking dish. Place all but the final two ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Fold in or sprinkle on optional nuts and/or chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared baking dish. Bake for 30 min; until brownies start to pull away from the edge of the pan.

From what I read, the brownies taste better if they have been refrigerated overnight. I left mine out on the counter overnight b/c they were still hot when I went to bed. I had one this afternoon and it was delicious!

Enjoy!

Sugar Free, Microwave Hot Cocoa

Yes, I drink hot cocoa in the summer. Sometimes I need the extra chocolate in my system.

2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. Splenda
dash salt
8 oz. very hot, but not boiling milk
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Microwave the milk. While that's heating, combine cocoa powder, Splenda, and salt in a mug with a small whisk. (If you don't have a small whisk, you could combine these in a bowl and use a regular whisk.) Add a small amount of the hot milk to this mixture and whisk vigorously, tilting the cup or bowl so as to get every last bit of cocoa powder moistened. This makes a kind of slurry. Slowly add the rest of the hot milk, whisking constantly. Then whisk in the vanilla and enjoy. You may have a bit of sludge at the bottom of your cup. I eat this with a spoon.

Chocolate Pudding (with Avocado)

Ben absolutely loves this pudding. He told Jonathan that if wasn't already married to me, he would marry this pudding. I have altered the recipe, so I'll put my alterations in parentheses.

1/4 cup trans-fat free soft margarine (we use Smart Balance)
1 cup pureed avocado
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup confectioners sugar (I use 1/2 cup confectioners + 2 tbsp. Splenda)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup cornstarch

Melt the margarine in a small saucepan over low heat. Add avocado, sugar, and vanilla. Stir over low heat until thickened, about 4 minutes. Turn off the heat and mix in the cornstarch. Serve warm. Makes 3 to 4 servings. Yum!

Vegan Chocolate Cake

This is the recipe that won me over to www.allrecipes.com 7 years ago. I was looking for a cake for Colin's brother, Pat. At the time, he wasn't eating eggs. I thought I would dedicate this recipe to Bridget on her birthday and her dad who can't eat eggs (even though he can eat them baked in things). I like this recipe because it's all normal ingredients - no egg replacer or anything like that.

Ingredients:
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
• 1 cup water

Directions:
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease one 9x5 inch loaf pan.
• Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add the oil, vanilla, vinegar and water. Mix together until smooth.
• Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Chocolate Chip Cofee Cake

I got this recipe from my favorite site, allrecipes.com. I was looking for something to bake for my class when they came over. People liked it. I did, too. I like the website because they're recipes from real people, they have reviews, people make comments about substitutions (splenda for sugar, wheat flour instead of white, apple sauce instead of oil, or just cutting back on unhealthy things) and you can have an on-line recipe box. You can do searches by ingredients you want and don't want and you can print recipes out as full page, 3x5 or 4x6.

I don't have a spring-form pan. I used a 9x9 glass baking dish. It had to bake a little longer but it was good.

Ingredients:
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar, divided (save 1/4c for topping)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese and 1-1/4 cups of sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into a greased 9-in. springform pan. Combine the pecans, cinnamon and remaining sugar; sprinkle over batter.
2. Bake at 350 degrees F for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen. Remove sides of pan. Cool completely before cutting.