Recipe: Black Bean Brownies

You may have already heard the trick, where you add a can of black beans to a boxed brownie mix. This is kind of like that, but from scratch. I also did it without flour - because I can. These brownies are moist and fudgy, and no one will ever guess that they're made from black beans.

Ingredients:
4 c. black beans (2 - 17.6 oz. cartons)
1/2 c. melted butter
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 c. cacao powder
1/2 c. sugar

First, drain the water from the black beans and rinse well. Put the beans in a measuring cup so you know when you have 4 cups. I used two cartons that were 17.6 ounces each. If you use beans from a can, you can probably get away with two of the standard size 15 ounce cans. It's close enough.

Pour the black beans in a blender and puree. After a minute, add the melted butter and eggs to the blender. The liquid really helps it along. Puree completely! You don't want to bite into a brownie and get a piece of bean. Gross.

Pour the pureed mixture into a bowl. It looks kind of like chocolate pudding.

Gently add in the vanilla, salt, cacao powder, and sugar.

Spread the batter evenly in an 8-inch square pan.

Bake the brownie in a preheated 350° oven for 30 minutes. A toothpick should come out clean, but it will still be soft.

Cut into squares and eat! They're great warm.

I love brownies!

Printable: Black Bean Brownies