Vegan Black-Bean Brownies

Unlike other recipes, I'll spare you the long-winded essay of how these brownies relate to my life before getting to the good stuff. I'll be a good citizen share the recipe first.

Recipe adapted to be vegan from here.

RECIPE

1 15oz can black beans (rinsed and drained)

3 flax eggs

3 tbsp oil

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp finely ground coffee (optional)

1/2 cup carob chips

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. Make your flax eggs by mixing three tablespoons of ground flax with nine tablespoons of warm water. Mix and then let sit in the fridge for 15 minutes to thicken.

3. Add the beans, flax eggs, oil, and vanilla to your blender or food processor. Blend until well mixed.

4. In a bowl, mix together cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, salt, and ground coffee.

5. Pour the wet ingredients from the blender into the bowl and mix well. Add the carob chips, mix until combined.

6. Grease an 8x8" or 9x9" pan and then line with parchment paper. Pour in batter and then bake for 30-40 minutes, depending on how gooey you like your brownies. Using the toothpick method, it can still be a little in the middle and that's totally okay. Let the brownies cool before cutting.

7. Serve on their own, or with your fave plant-based icecream!

LONG-WINDED ESSAY

And now, the long-awaited story about how these brownies relate to my life.

Cooking has always been an important part of my life. As little kids, my brother and I would always stand on a stool at the kitchen counter to help roll out pizza dough from the Kraft box, spread the sauce, and then cut up hotdogs and shred cheese for toppings. Baking was always a pasttime of ours, too. I remember making bread with my mom, and it was always the kids' job to "spank" the bread after Mom finished punching it down. My breakfast on my first day of kindergarten was homemade banana chocolate chip muffins, which I'd helped mom bake the previous evening. I make that same recipe for my kids, today, and it makes me feel like Mom is right there with me, even though she's over one thousand kilometers away.

When I moved out I had to learn how to cook. I was surprised that the food I'd grown up with wasn't necessarily 'healthy,' and looked to the internet to guide me. I discovered plant-based cooking, and became hooked. Cooking with large amounts of butter, meat, cheese, it seemed like cheating. But taking vegetables and making something delicious out of them? Magic.

Even desserts are better when vegan. Of course cakes and cookies are going to taste good when it's loaded with butter and cream cheese. But making dessert out of black beans? Now that's something I wanted to try!

The first time I made this recipe, I was hooked. And substituting the eggs for flax is a simple solution to make it vegan without compromising on taste or texture. Even my meat-and-potatoes family love these brownies, and I've made converts out of them.

Today, baking is still very important to me. I'm passing on my love of cooking in the kitchen with my little ones, letting them measure the ingredients and even crack the eggs, fishing out the little bits of shell they leave behind. Baking is a fantastic way to spend quality time with them away from screens, teach them a little bit of math, and create something delicious and (sometimes) healthy along the way.

There's something magical about cooking without butter, without cheese, without meat, and creating something so delicious that it will appeal to anyone's palette. I hope that I can pass on my love of cooking, baking, and clean eating to my children, as well as anyone else who joins me at my table.

Thanks for reading this recipe! Feel free to follow me on Twitter!

And check out my article on 5 Ways to be an Eco-Friendly Parent!