brownies Archives - Makin' it Mo'Betta

Toffee Brownies {4 Ingredients!}

Kim

I love quick and easy recipes and this one satisfies a chocolate craving with just 4 ingredients. It’s a take on one of my blog’s most popular recipes, Chocolate Pudding Dump Cake but uses one of my favorite candies…Heath!

I’ve shared the recipe for these deliciously easy Toffee Brownies over at , where I am a contributing writer. I’d love for you to head over and check it out!

Black Bean Brownies – Take 2

Kim

You’ve probably heard of making desserts with chickpeas, avocados and black beans. Have you tried any? I was on the chickpea train for a while, and now I’ve made black bean brownies for the second time. All of my avocados end up as guacamole, except that time I attempted to make chocolate pudding (you should read it, it’s comical), but I plan on giving it another shot (and follow a recipe this time). So anyway, I’m here to tell you, desserts can be made healthier AND still taste good. These brownies are a perfect example!

Fudge-y, chocolate-y, and no, they do not taste like beans at all. As a matter of fact, the only difference between black bean brownies and regular brownies is the texture. It’s not a bad texture, just a little different. They are moist without being too gooey and they are not crumbly.

This recipe came from the cookbook by Kelsey Kinser.

I was interested in reviewing the cookbook because my family definitely does not eat enough beans. Since beans are loaded with protein, vitamins, and minerals (and they are cheap!) I would love to incorporate more into our diets. Even if it is in brownie form!

I also want to try Kelsey’s Chickpea Cupcakes and plan on making the Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas very soon! Of course, if you are a more ‘traditional’ bean eater, there are salads, soups, burgers, etc. to choose from.

Black Bean Brownies from

(reprinted with permission)

Either you’ve heard of this recipe before and love it or you are scratching your head and thinking, “There is no way this is going to be good.” Trust me. It’s good. It’s really, really good. Also, this recipe benefits from the surprising bonus of being a gluten-free dessert option. So go ahead and try it. With about 5 to 10 minutes of actual active cooking time and a brief and inexpensive ingredient list (for which you probably already have everything already), you have nothing to lose and a delicious, fudgy, surprisingly guilt-free world to gain. Canned black beans are used in this recipe for convenience, and the point is to not taste that is made from beans so the quality of flavor is not as important, but feel free to substitute 2 cups of well-cooked black beans.

(Note: This recipe produces a more fudge-like brownie. If you prefer yours more on the cakelike side, double the amount of flax seeds and water.)

Serves 9 to 12

1 (15.5-ounce) can of black beans, rinsed and drained (or 2 cups of well-cooked black beans)

3 tablespoons vegetable oil (coconut oil can be used but will result in a slight coconut taste)

2 1/2 tablespoons of fresh ground flax seeds whisked into 3 tablespoon of warm water*

1⁄4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1⁄4 cup and 1 tablespoon cocoa powder (sifted if need be)

1 teaspoon baking powder

pinch salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon coffee (optional but worth it; can be left over from the morning)

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

walnuts or dairy-free chocolate or carob chips for topping (optional)

*Blogger’s Note: if not vegan, can use an egg in the place of flax and water

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Using either a food processor or blender, combine all ingredients except for toppings. Blend well, stopping at least once to scrape down the sides of the blender carafe and blending again. You do not want any large chunks of beans in this batter. It should be very smooth.

Pour batter into 8- by 8-inch glass baking dish. *Blogger’s Note: I suggest spraying pan with cooking spray.

Bake on middle rack of oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a knife poked into the center comes out clean.

Cool for at least half an hour before cutting and serving.

*I added chocolate chips to the tops after removing from oven

Do you have any “unconventional” desserts that you and your family enjoy? My kids have actually enjoyed my bean desserts, and considering how uber picky they are, that’s saying a lot! (If interested in checking them out. – Biscoff Cookie Dough Dip, Double Dark Chocolate Cookie Balls, Deep Dish Cookie Pie)

I was sent the above cookbook for review. No compensation was received, all opinions are my own.

This recipe was featured at:

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Soft Batch Double Fudge Brownie Cookies

Kim

Sometimes I crave chocolate. (Okay, if I’m being honest, I crave chocolate almost ALL the time, but that’s beside the point.) Sometimes I crave my chocolate in the form of cookies. Sometimes, I don’t feel like getting in the kitchen and baking said cookies. That’s why it is nice to have some very simple cookie recipes that you can turn over to your kids to make. Child labor at it’s best.

Please excuse the poor photos…it gets dark way to early nowadays!

My 12 year old wanted to make cookies around Halloween, and I had these cute little orange and chocolate morsels, so we checked out my Pinterest Board and found this cookie recipe that uses a brownie mix. I knew my kid could handle it, so I set her on her way to make me some cookies.

Soft Batch Double Fudge Brownie Cookies

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup water
2 large eggs, beaten
1 box Fudge Brownie Mix (around 18 oz)
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup orange and semi sweet chocolate chips (*use any you like)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (Ghiradelli)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a medium bowl, mix the butter, water, eggs, brownie mix and flour until just combined.
3. Stir in chocolate chips.

4. Scoop dough on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone mat. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes (depending on the size of your cookies, I think ours were about a tablespoon.)
5. Cool on a wire rack.

*it is best to slightly undercook these so that they still look a little wet and shiny, otherwise they will get dry.

Recipe adapted from

These cookies taste like brownies. Enough said if you are a chocolate freak like myself.

Brownie Graduation Hats

Kim

For Mr. Three’s pre-school graduation party last week, I made little graduation hats. (I can’t believe my baby is going to Kindergarten in the Fall!)

(You may have seen this pic on already.) I got the idea from Pinterest (of course), but most used a Reese Cup as the base. Mine needed to be peanut free, since my son and another classmate are allergic. So, I decided on brownies, baked in a mini muffin pan. (You could buy pre-made brownie bites making these a quick, no-bake treat!)

I thought they turned out pretty cute for my first attempt, and the kids & parents alike enjoyed them. {Yes, I was *that* mom who brought in something cutesy off Pinterest. But hey, sometimes I’m that “crap! I forgot to buy something for the party, let me grab some Little Debbie snacks” mom too. It’s called balance. Can’t be on top of my game all the time. lol}

Since these were for preschoolers, the mini brownies made the perfect size snack!

Brownie Graduation Hats

1 box brownie mix, plus ingredients on box

1 package chocolate covered graham cookies

candy for ‘tassels’*

mini M and M candies

melted chocolate for ‘gluing’ everything together

Mix brownies according to directions on package (or try this egg free, lower fat version!).
Bake brownies in a mini muffin pan until done (they will not take as long to bake as directed on package since they are minis. Do I really need to point that out? probably not)
Once cool, carefully cut rounded tops off brownies so they will sit flat (if needed)
Flip brownies over, so the widest side is down.
Use some melted chocolate to attach a graham cookie to the now upside down brownie.
Use more melted chocolate to attach candy tassels to top of cookie, and the mini M candy on top of tassel.

*The candy that I used for the tassels was some rope candy I had never seen before (and don’t remember the name of). It is similar to the pull-apart Twizzlers in shape. The problem I had with this candy is that it was kind of hard and round, and it was a little difficult to get the round rope pieces to sit on top of the cookie, and they were a little too big. I ended up cutting each rope piece in half (vertically), and then cut them to the desired length. My recommendation, and what I will do in the future, is use something that is flat…like a fruit roll up, or maybe a flattened Tootsie roll? And cut it into strips. I think that would be much easier to work with.

Other tips: You could use cookie icing to “glue” your pieces together, b/c it hardens pretty quickly and comes in a handy little squeezable pouch. The only color I had on hand was red…so I ended up using melted chocolate. You don’t need that much…I might have used 1/4 cup?

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Pecan Pie Brownies

Kim

Pecan Pie. Brownies. Merged together to form a chocolate-y, gooey, pecan-y (ok, so maybe that’s not a real word, but stick with me) dessert. I made these for Thanksgiving, and they were so popular that they may make an appearance at Christmas too! I first saw them over at , and knowing how much my oldest daughter loves pecan pie, and my love for chocolate, I knew I had to give them a go.

Pecan Pie Brownies

1 package brownie mix and ingredients listed on box (9×9 size)
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon flour (I use unbleached all-purpose)
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350.
Spray a 9×9-inch pan with cooking spray (or butter it).
Prepare/mix brownie mix according to package directions.
Spread in 9×9-inch pan. (do not bake yet!)
Whisk together melted butter, brown sugar, flour, corn syrup, vanilla and eggs.
Stir in chopped pecans.
Spoon pecan mixture over uncooked brownies.
Bake 30-35 minutes.

recipe source:

Mine did not set up nice and pretty like the picture in the original post, they were more runny and gooey. That’s not a bad thing. However, my 11 y/o did most of the work on this one, so it could have been an error or they didn’t bake quite long enough or the kind of brownie mix we used. We used the Ghiradelli Triple Chocolate! Can’t have too much chocolate 😉 They were yummy all the same!

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Low Fat Brownie Sundaes

Kim

Is that an oxymoron? I thought so too, until I discovered all kinds of low fat options for baked goods on the internet. Thank you Skinny Girl, Hungry Girl, whatever girl. (But really, thank you Pinterest!) I’ve tried several different methods for reducing the fat…..cake mix and brownie mix with the can of diet soda – the cake mix works very well. The brownie mix works well if you like a really fudge-y brownie (like that could be a bad thing!) I’ve done the applesauce in place of oil thing. It works, but gives everything a weird texture. But now, now I’ve discovered the brownie mix plus yogurt thing! And it’s definitely my favorite so far. The texture is much closer to “normal”. {Now, some of you might be saying, ‘just don’t eat the brownies‘. Well, that would be like telling a hoarder to just throw all their sh*t away!}

Besides, the yogurt + brownie mix is an easy, egg-free way to make brownies that everyone can enjoy! Last night I made (another!) batch to take to a friend’s house, and my little allergy boy said “can I have one?” I said ‘yes, mommy made those with no eggs, so you can have one in a little while’. He threw his arms around me and said “Thank you mama for making them no eggs!” That kid is so sweet, he melts my heart 🙂

All you need is brownie mix (this is Ghiradelli Triple Chocolate. Don’t judge.), and 1/2 cup non-fat plain yogurt (I would assume vanilla would be fine too) and the amount of water called for on the box of mix. No eggs, no oil. Bake according to directions on the box.

Then you can add fat-free Breyer’s Vanilla Ice Cream (no eggs!) and a little sugar free syrup.

If so inclined.

This was a yummy treat for the kids and I – much lower in fat than the ‘traditional’ version. However, it is definitely still a “treat” b/c it is loaded with sugar!

You just can’t win them all 😉

Want a chocolate treat that is a little healthier? Check out the Healthier Chocolate Truffles and Haystacks!

On the blog 1 year ago : Pickles, Pickles and more Pickles!

On the blog 2 years ago: Homemade Popcorn in the Microwave!

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