Did Someone Say "Brownies!?"

Happy Monday!

Did Someone say "brownie?"

As I mentioned last week, I bought the Alicia Silverstone book, The Kind Diet. Well, I made the Coffee Fudge Brownies...and in my opinion..they rocked! Before I shared the recipe, I wanted to taste test it on some other people...you see myself and my kiddos are getting used to all these other flavors - maple syrup, molasses, brown rice and buckwheat flour, etc.  I wanted people who were maybe not used to these ingredients to try them out. So, in the very "unSuperbowl" like fashion, I made (semi) vegan brownies for the Superbowl party we went to.

Did Someone Say "Brownies!?"

This version is not vegan due to my glaze. I made some changes to the recipe to accommodate the ingredients I already had on hand...so, this recipe is adapted/inspired by the Coffee Fudge Brownie recipe, The Kind Diet, Page 181

Dry Ingredients

3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup unsweetened (organic) cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon (sea) salt

Wet Ingredients

3/4 (good quality) maple syrup

3/4 cup soy/rice/almond milk

3/4 cup brewed decaf coffee (I used instant)

1/2 cup canola oil*

Optional

1/2 cup toasted and chopped nuts

Glaze

1 cups grain sweetened non dairy chocolate or carob chips**

(my version was only semi-vegan because I did use regular organic chocolate chips for this)

4 Tablespoons organic butter (original recipe calls for 1/2 cup Earth Balance Butter)

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Butter or oil an 8x8 or 9x9 square baking pan.

Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

In another bowl, mix the wet ingredients together.

Add the wet to the dry.

Add nuts (optional).

Pour batter into the pan and bake for approximately 25 to 30 minutes...until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack

To make glaze:***

Melt chocolate chips and butter together in a double boiler (I did not use a double boiler...I used a regular sauce pan on low heat with constant stirring.)

Melt until smooth.

Pour the warm glaze over the brownies, smoothing it out over the surface of the brownies.

Chill until the glaze has set.

Notes:

*I am considering trying this with coconut oil instead of canola oil...but have not done so...I'll let you know. We do not use canola oil here very much (if at all)...so I am sure there must be a good substitute...I just wanted to try to get the rest of the recipe right before I started messing with it anymore.

**The sell vegan chocolate chips at Whole Foods for about $3.00 a bag.

***I always have extra glaze...the glaze is almost like a frosting and is pretty rich.

The Verdict:

The ladies at the party and the kids liked the brownies a lot. The men stuck with the Rice Krispie treats and chips. Now, I LOVE a good brownie - one of my many downfalls and have never made homemade brownies myself (for a good reason...like not needing an extra 10 pounds). I really think these are good brownies - they are not ooey-gooey fudgey brownies, but very tasty...and I will continue to make them again and again. It was also a really quick and easy recipe.

So, what do ya think? Are you up for trying some (semi) vegan brownies?

Happy Baking!

Holly