Locavore Is One Sweet Chick(Pea)
Chickpeas might sound peculiar, but think of this recipe as a chocolate hummus with eggs, natural sugar, and love. They are truly sublime!
Aside from being scrumptious, these brownies are high in protein, fiber, and are gluten free, too. I developed the recipe for a client who was an athlete and extremely gluten intolerant—and was still passionate about having his brownies. Instead of flour, the chickpeas worked perfectly. The added bonus for him was that the chickpeas provided him with added protein, which was necessary in his diet. Likewise, these brownies are very portable. Unfortunately, many of the protein bars in the market for fitness enthusiasts have so much junk in them. This recipe is a great alternative to protein bars as it contains a few clean and natural ingredients. Likewise, these brownies make a great after-school snack for kids—or as a dessert for dinner.
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips (Sunspire organic chips highly recommended)
1 15 oz. canned organic garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed), or 1 ½ cups cooked garbanzo beans
2 eggs
¾ cups Sucanat or Turbinado sugar (also known as sugar in the raw)
1/3 cup coconut oil (another neutral-tasting oil can also be used, such as sunflower oil)
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ cup walnuts (optional)
zest of one orange (optional, but it really adds another special essence of flavor)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, letting the paper overlap to create handles. Spray the two sides of the pan where the parchment is not touching.
Place the chocolate chips on a double boiler and melt the chocolate until smooth.
Combine beans and eggs in the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor—sucanat, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, vanilla, melted chocolate, coconut oil—and blend until thoroughly combined.
Fold in the walnuts and orange zest, if using. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan.
Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the brownies comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack before lifting the brownies out of the pan. Cut into 16 pieces.
These will last at room temperature for 3 days, that is, if you have self-control.
