Born Again Black Bean Brownies

I may never eat a regular brownie again.  I am converted…a born again brownie eater.

I know, it sounds…gross.  Black bean brownies?  What is this, some kind of sick joke?  Sneaking a legume into a sweet?  What?!

My dear friend Kelly unknowingly inspired me to seek out this insanity :)  I needed to try it.

Well guess what, it happened, and it was amazing!  I snagged my recipe from HERE after spending an hour or so browsing recipes online, trying to find something that sounded suitable, and doable.  I hit the jackpot with this one.

And I forgot to take a picture!  P.S. Mine looked way more awesome than they look in the above link…

I made only minor adjustments, and I stuck to the recommendation that you use a food processor, not a blender.  We have one of those tiny, 3 cup, processors, but it magically fit all of the ingredients in it.  (I blended after adding each ingredient, to make sure there was room for everything.)

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups black beans (1-15-oz can, drained and rinsed well)

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 cup oats (I used old fashioned oats because that's what we had on hand)

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup pure maple syrup or agave (Honey will work, too; I used maple agave syrup…because that's what we had :))

1/4 cup coconut oil

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp baking powder

1-10 oz. package chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet chocolate chips…AH-MAZING…save ~1/4 cup to top brownies)

Directions

-Preheat oven to 350 F.
-Combine all ingredients except chips in food processor, and blend until completely smooth.  A blender is allegedly okay to use (according to the author) but she strongly suggested the food processor instead (for taste and texture) so that's what I did.
-Stir in the chips, then pour into a greased 8×8 pan. [Note: sprinkle extra chocolate chips over the top (you won't be mad you did).]  [Note: I used a 8x9 Pyrex (glass) dish and it was the perfect size for this recipe.]
-Bake 15-18 minutes, then let cool ~20 minutes before cutting. Makes 9-12 brownies.

This are so delicious!  Geof was even impressed!  Super chocolatey, and the texture is fantastic.  

Enjoy!