Black Bean Brownies. I'm now a believer.

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I have a friend who is a little too healthy for my taste. Actually she's great and wonderful and amazing, but so much that even a simple conversation with her makes me feel pretty unhealthy, like pure lard is flowing through my arteries and I have the athletic stamina of a three-toed tree sloth.
So there's a lot to be learned from this friend.
At a recent playdate she threw out this story of how she made brownies with a can of black beans.
"HA HAHAHA HAHAHA" was my response, because for someone who loves black beans, I couldn't imagine them being in a brownie. I'm a firm believer of "if you're gonna have a cookie, have a cookie."
But on a whim, I gave these BBB's try today. And like the title says, I'm a believer. Sure, they're a little different than regular brownies, but not different enough that my kids can tell. And if I can sneak it by them, for sure I can sneak it by my husband, which is really the ultimate goal, right?

Black Bean Brownies

1 family size box of brownie mix (I used Duncan Hines)
1 15 oz. can black beans

Puree the snot out of the entire can of beans, liquid and all, and stir in the mix by hand. Don't add eggs, oil, or water, just keep stirring until it's all combined.
Then bake as usual on the package.

Quote from my son, "wow, mom, these are good. Can I have another one?"
Quote from my baby ('cause these puppies are dairy-free! whoo-yah!) "mmmm bababa dada mama bbbaaa mmmm."
p.s. That photo? That's the actual brownie, just before my kid ate it. No beans visible, so the eyes will be fooled. A few hours later, though, the nose might not be. :)

Comments

Bonnie Way aka the Koala Mom said…
That's great! :) I have a cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld that has more ideas like this. My "chickpea chocolate chip cookies" failed to pass muster with my hubby, however. He says he prefers chickpeas in hummus.

BTW, dropped by your Suite 101 articles and really enjoyed them. :)
May 19, 2009 at 4:02 PM
Katie said…
I decided to make the black bean brownies while everyone was away at work yesterday. When they came home and saw brownies, they started to dig in. The all raved about them, but said they were different. "How did you make these?", they asked. I then told them they were made with black beans and they all stopped and started at me. "Really, black beans are in this?...huh...", and they ate on :) When my mom asked me how I pureed them, I told her I used the food processor. Funny thing was, she did not even know we had a food processor!

Thanks for sharing the recipe, Karrie!
August 20, 2009 at 8:27 AM
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