One of my favorite readers, Courtney, requested this brownie recipe in a comment last week.
Here is what she said, “Can we have another VOTE?? Every post I am hopeful that I might open it up to find your recipe for scrumptious dark chocolate brownies… I am NEVER disappointed by your posts, but I am still hopeful that I may experience this recipe in the future…”
Now that is just too cute. How could I say no to this sweet request? Courtney lives in Tennessee and I was fortunate enough to meet her at one of my cooking classes here in Boulder, Colorado. She has a great website with all kinds of interesting natural products on it.
Furthermore, this is my older son’s favorite treat. Whenever I ask him what he would like me to bake for him, he says, “brownies.” He loves packing these higher-protein treats in his lunch for dessert.
So, there you have it, everyone! Brownies.
Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 16 ounce jar creamy roasted almond butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1¼ cups honey
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup cacao powder
- ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a large bowl, blend almond butter until smooth with a hand blender
- Blend in eggs, then blend in honey and vanilla
- Blend in cacao, salt and baking soda, then fold in chocolate chips
- Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish
- Pour batter into dish
- Bake at 325°F for 30-40 minutes
Last spring, I discovered this great Peanut Butter Bar recipe from celiacchicks.com which gave me the idea to make treats out of nut butters. When I coached my son’s little league team, I brought either these nourishing brownies, or Almond Butter Blondies to just about every baseball game.
I recently discovered a fun website called Flavorista.com. Low and behold, I checked it out this morning and saw a fantastic write up on gluten-free by the site’s author, Barr. What I liked best about her take on this timely topic, is that she is one of the few mainstream chefs to offer an “outsider’s” perspective on the world of gluten-free. Very refreshing, witty and informative. Thanks Barr!
Steve says
Wow, these look absolutely amazing! Have you ever tried replacing the agave with dates? Much lower in fructose.
Jason says
The only thing I would change would be to add a bit of espresso powder. It really brings out the flavor of the chocolate. Learned that from the Barefoot Contessa!
Kendra says
My son is severely allergic to peanuts and hazelnuts and has a mild allergy to other tree nuts, almonds included. I am new to this Paleo Diet, having had another child 5 months ago, I want myself and my family to be healthier. Is there a substitute for almond flour? Would sun butter be a good substitute for the almond butter?
Thank you!
Kendra
Kristi says
FYI: Agave nectar is highly processed and spikes your blood sugar more than high fructose corn syrup. So, don’t use it!!!
Melissa says
I honestly had no hope that the ones I was attempting to make would resemble in any way, shape or form what was picture…but oh my goodness, not only do they look ‘right’ but they are delicious! Since going wheat free I have missed brownies so much! Thank you, thank you, Elana!
Renee says
This sounds great! I’d like to make it with sugar to make it FODMAP-friendly. How much sugar would I use & how would I go about replacing the liquid that the Agave Nectar provides? I tried to see if this was addressed in prior comments, but my iPhone crashed every time I tried to look at them. Apologies in advance if this is the case.
Barbara Ferrante says
I made these brownies and they are delicious but everytime I make them the middle falls in . Is there something I can do to prevent this.?
Stephanie says
Brilliant! Absolutely the best brownie ever. My kids ate them without even asking, “Are these healthy?” Do not let the batter fool you. They will bake up normally and still very moist.
Michelle says
I’ve made these quite a few times now and they are THE most amazing thing! THANK YOU ELENA! I have a couple of things to add as far as subs etc.
– For a great variation, beat 1 bar of cream cheese with 1 egg and 1/3c of granulated sweetener until fluffy and set aside. Make brownies then drop cream cheese mixture on top and swirl through batter with a fork for a chocolate cheesecake swirl brownie. Increase baking time to 45-50 mins and temp to between 325 and 350.
– DO NOT FORGET THE BAKING POWDER (lol). Makes a product more like fudge.
– Use room temp eggs for a fluffier brownie.
– If you want to cut out the agave and use sugar subs instead, use 1 1/4 cups of sugar free syrup (Toriani or other sucralose based syrups) PLUS 1/4-1/3 cup granulated sweetener (xylitol, erythritol, Just Like Sugar all work). Any flavor will work but I usually use vanilla.
– Nevada Manna sugar free chips (erythritol based) are a great addition, again to replace the ones with sugar.
– Using RAW almond butter is fine.
– Using CRUNCHY almond butter is not. The nuts get kind of soggy. Not horrible but not great either.
– If using UNSALTED almond butter, increase celtic sea salt to 1 teaspoon.
Leah says
Made these last night and they were the best! My whole family loved them. Thank you!!!