[ohiomomma]

Did anyone make the black bean brownies from the recipe posted last week in Peggy's recipe of the week?

I made them in accordance to the recipe, last week. The recipe called for coffee. Unfortunately, all you could taste was coffee. There tasted gag - me horrible, had to throw the whole batch out.

I like the idea of making a no wheat / gluten free brownie using black beans. Does anyone have another black bean recipe they've tried? Or do you think I could make peggy's recipe and just skip the coffee, or replace it with something else? Does the recipe really need coffee?

Carol

 

[cathe]

I see what the problem is - the recipe should have been 2 1/2 teaspoons not tablespoons of coffee powder. I'm really sorry about the misprint and that you wasted all your ingredients.

If you're not too disgusted - try them again with that amount. Again, I apologize. I know how frustrating it is to try a recipe and have it come out lousy.

 

[snoodess]

Made these last night. Didn't have coffee substitute so just I used a teaspoon of vanilla and a scant teaspoon of instant chai tea mix. I used chopped almonds and they are excellent! My husband could not guess that they didn't have flour in them and couldn't believe when I told him they were black bean brownies. Since I only had a can of Goya beans I drained and rinsed them because of the high sodium content, wasn't sure if this was needed but seemed to make sense at the time. They did not process as easily as they would have with the bean liquid. If I have a can of Eden beans I may try it with the liquid next time.

Cathe, I was wondering if you know how sweetener substitutions work? I had brown rice syrup that I wanted to try in this but wasn't sure if it works ounce for ounce as a sub for the maple.

Excellent recipe!

Thanks so much!

 

[cathe]

Glad you liked it. I too was surprised the first time I tried it. Chai powder sounds yummy.

As for sweeteners, when I sub maple syrup or honey for sugar, I use less because they are sweeter. Brown rice syrup is not quite as sweet as either of those so you might need a little more. The best way is to taste the batter and see if you think it's sweet enough.

 

[~Megan~]

I missed that one! Can someone email it or post it here please?

 

[village idiot]

I hope it's ok to do this.

Black Bean Brownies

By Cathe Olson Author of Simply Natural Baby Food available at www.simplynaturalbooks.com
Moderator of Mothering's Good Eating! Discussion Forum

I cannot take credit for the idea of using black beans in brownies. The original recipe was from "The Brilliant Bean" by Sally and Martin Stone. However, I have modified it to use half the amount of butter, maple syrup for sugar, and grain coffee substitute instead of real coffee. Even with these changes, this is a rich, moist, fudgy brownie that is sure to satisfy your chocolate craving. Best of all, you can feel good that you are getting lots of calcium and protein from the beans and eggs. There is no flour in this recipe either for those on a low-carb or gluten-free diet.
4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil
4 eggs
3/4 cup maple syrup
2 cups or 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, pureed
2 1/2 tablespoons instant grain coffee substitute (like Cafix or Inka)
1 cup chopped pecans, walnuts, almonds, or other nut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil or butter an 8-inch baking pan. Melt chocolate and butter or oil together in small saucepan. In mixing bowl, beat eggs and maple syrup together. Add melted chocolate mixture and beat well. Beat in bean puree and coffee substitute. Fold in nuts. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until set. If you press your finger in the middle, it should make a little dent. Don't overbake. Cool. Cut into 2-inch squares.

Yield: 16

Note: Puree beans in food processor or blender. If using food processor, chop nuts first and set them aside. Then puree beans. That way, you only have to wash the food processor once.

 

[cathe]

I just rechecked the original recipe and it did call for 3 tablespoons of coffee powder which I reduced to 2 1/2 tablespoons in my recipe. It does have a very strong mocha taste. I don't think there would be any problem to reduce it or eliminate it completely or take snoodess's idea and use some chai.

Someone emailed asking about using regular sugar so I'll post the answer in case anyone else wanted to know.

The orginal recipe called for 2 cups sugar and 1 full cup butter. If you don't like maple syrup, you could also use brown rice sweetener or honey.

Please continue to give me comments as I am thinking to include this recipe in my next book.

 

[morninglark]

Thanks for posting the recipe here. I can't wait to try them!

 

[SmashingHP]

More questions! LOL I'll use 2.5 teaspoons of coffee, is that okay? Should i use unsalted butter, unsalted beans? Drain the beans or keep in the liquid to puree? Sorry for all the questions but i just want to do it right!

 

[cathe]

Yes - unsalted butter and unsalted beans. And for the coffee - it would probably be good to start with a lesser amount for the first time and if you think it needs more, add more the next time.

 

[village idiot]

When I posted the recipe, I edited the amount of coffee after seeing Cathe's post about the wrong amount. Hope that didn't confuse or mess anyone up.

 

[cathe]

I'm glad you reduced the coffee - especially after ohiomamma's reaction. I am going to try it again with less coffee myself to see how it tastes. I think less is probably better than more and if anyone wants a stronger coffee taste they can adjust it.

 

[momsgotmilk4two]

Do you think I could substitute apple sauce for the butter and just use egg whites instead of whole eggs to make them lower in fat? I'm going to try this recipe and see how my family likes it. It sounds very different

 

[cathe]

I don't know about using applesauce but you could try it. I will caution that this recipe if very moist already so I don't know if the applesauce will make it runny. What might work is pureed prunes (soak prunes in boiling water and then puree in food processor) but be sure to cut down the sweetener. If you do the prune thing - try 4 T prune puree and 4 T butter first to see how it works.

Actually 1/2 cup butter is not very much considering this makes a very large batch and they are rich enough that you won't eat that much. (remember the original recipe had 1 whole cup)

As for using only egg whites, I don't usually recommend that - there is not that much fat in eggs but there is so much nutrition. Also the yolks contain lecitin which helps the body to burn the fat - but as for taste and texture, I think it would probably work fine.

Also, keep in mind that fat in sweet recipes is important to help the sugar to be absorbed more slowly and to give you a full feeling. It is very common for people to overeat low or non-fat sweets because they do not fill you up. I would also add that moderate amounts of fat don't put weight on but usually too many carbs or hydrogenated fats are the culprit.

Sorry, didn't mean to add a lecture - if you try the low-fat substitutes, I'd be interested to know how they turn out.

 

[snoodess]

I can second Cathe's statement that this recipe makes a very large batch. Unfortunately we had to toss half a panful because they were getting kinda funky. Since there's only two of us it was much more than we would have been able to eat. They are very rich and just a wee 2" square is plenty! I wonder if they would freeze well?

 

[cathe]

We had that problem too, Snoodess. Beans ferment pretty easily, I'll keep them refrigerated next time. I see no reason these wouldn't freeze well. I'll make another batch and try and let you know.