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!
Gwennie says
I love, love, love this recipe! I like them better than conventional brownies. I live with POTS and am very sensitive to grains, so it’s great to have an occasional sweet treat that doesn’t leave me with brain fog and vision loss. Thank you so much!
Just wanted to share a substitution I make, for those who do not use agave. I replace the agave nectar with an equal amount of applesauce and then add a little stevia to taste. I have made it several times this way and it always turns out moist and delicious. It also bakes up a little faster with these changes, I think (though it could just be that I prefer my brownies underdone). I took my last batch out after about 20 minutes.
Erica says
I’ve had great results making this into fudge-like brownies and I use honey. This is a great recipe! I finally posted my fudge-version. Thanks once again, Elana!
Kisha says
Dear Elana,
THANK YOU SO MUCH for saving my life. I am not necessarily a person who suffers from CD, but I am someone who has had a life long addiction to sugar that had been affecting my health in many ways. Just recently…April 26th to be exact…I began fasting unhealthy sugars/sweeteners and have been using agave nectar instead. I cannot tell you how great I feel! With the change in my diet…from eating organic, low-no processed foods, and adding 100% therapeutic grade essential oils into my life, I feel better than I ever have. You have given us some of THE MOST AMAZING desserts that I have ever put into my mouth. I couldn’t belive how moist, chewy and ganache-ey your brownies were. I am eternally thankful to you for your research, resourcefulness and all of your hard work for those of us who want to live healthier lives. What a blessing that you are to so many of us!!
Kisha says
ooops…I forgot to mention that your recipes being sugar free are what drew me to your website, although, my father-in-law has CD and I can use these recipes for him as well as share them with the family. All of the food is delicious!! You really don’t even miss the “other” stuff!!
That’s all…You are such a gift!! I thank G-d for you!!
elana says
Kisha, thank you so much for your comments above! They are so very sweet and I really appreciate them. I am so glad that you are enjoying my website. I love what I do and knowing that I am able to be of help to others makes it even better! Keep me posted on how all of your cleansing goes. xoxo
Jennifer says
Elana,
These are amazing! Thank you once again for satisfying our sweet tooth without using gluten or sugar! We love you!!!
Jennifer & Audrey (26 months, who is currently saying “more brownies”).
elana says
Awww, that’s one of the sweetest comments I’ve ever received. Thanks so much, Jennifer!
Rachel says
These are the most amazingly delicious brownies I’ve ever tasted. I took half with me to a friends’ home and the rest I put in the freezer. Trust me, eating them frozen is just as yummy!!
elana says
Ooooooh, I’ll have to try freezing them, sounds yummy!
~M says
It’s great to know that these freeze well…my husband and I should not have a lasagna sized pyrex of brownies to ourselves!
Karen says
Thanks for your feedback, Elana. Once I finish off all this raw butter, I’ll look for the roasted, but it’s good to know the recipe will still work with what I have on hand.
I certainly did enjoy the ONE single brownie I had. Hubby gobbled down the rest of the pan himself, and pronounced them the best he’s ever had!
elana says
Glad you (and he) liked them!
elana says
sami congrats on your 23 day detox and I’m so glad you enjoyed the brownies. Hope the husband was fooled!
Karen -Thanks for your comment, I don’t think the problem is the measurements so much as the fact that you are using raw almond butter (the recipe calls for roasted). Either way, I hope you are enjoying them :-)
Karen says
When trying this recipe again, I realized the problem. My current almond butter is in a 9 lb. tub (Once Again Raw Almond Butter) so I measured it in cups, and used 2 cups the first time, which caused an overly mooshy middle.
The second time I used the proper equivalent: 16 oz. jar = 1 3/4 c. (according to peanutbutter.com) and the result was much better, though still a tad soft in the center.
All in all, I’ve purchased 4 different brands of almond butter and noticed a difference in how thick their textures are due to varying oil content, so this probably has some effect on the final texture of the brownie.
Rachel C says
OMG. So WONDER!!! Thanks for clearing that up! I used 1/2 a recipe last time but it was way more than 1/2 the jar when I used a cup, and it didn’t come out right. I’m so glad you posted this!!!
sami says
I ate one of these at my nutritionist’s office after I had just completed a 23 day detox diet—it was FABULOUS! I will make these and serve them to my husband who will not be able to tell the difference from a regular brownie. VERY impressive for a flourless recipe! Thanks for your website!
elana says
Kiki, thanks for stopping by! Since I only cook with celtic sea salt, I’m not sure how the recipes would turn out with a substitution. Sounds like you’ve got a good experiment on your hands. Please let us know how it goes :-)