So I’ve been doing a little bit of experimenting with desserts lately to see how I can make them healthier or lower in calories or sugar or fat…or all of the above. Not for any particular reason but if we can have some of the things we love without completely destroying everything else, why not, right?
Well one of the things I don’t nearly as much as I used to is my favorite dessert ever: brownies. Deep chocolate and fudgy AF is my jam and I have them maybe twice a year, which yes, feel free to shed a tear or four for me.
Enter Sweet Potatoes
I know what you’re thinking, potatoes…in a brownie??? But, hear me out. We, at least Americans, eat sweet potato pie during the holiday season and black Americans have it often at Sunday dinner so sweet potatoes as a dessert isn’t all that far out.
But also? Moisture. Sweet potatoes are vegetables, which contain water so with the right combination of ingredients you can have super fudgy vegan brownies without actual fudge.
And…banana
Not to sound repetitive but bananas are great in banana pudding and banana bread so again, it’s already been dessert-ified. It also adds moisture plus sweetness to any vegan dessert recipe.
Sweetener
Here’s where real choice comes in and it will come down to what you like and what your goals are for health and/or fitness.
If you want to go with all natural, consider maple syrup or agave syrup or even molasses. If you want sugar then I recommend a mixture of dark brown sugar and vegan granulated (white) sugar.
I used dark brown sugar and molasses to give it sweetness that wasn’t overpowering.
The Rest
With those two as a starting point, it’s just a matter of getting these vegan brownies however you like them. I recommend 60 to 80 grams of unsweetened cocoa powder. If you don’t like a rich chocolate-y flavor and that deep, dark color, start experimenting at the low end, but if you know what you like crank up the grams and enjoy.
Extracts always add a little somethin’, don’t they? I keep tons of vanilla on hand but there’s always a bottle of almond and rum on my shelf. These vegan brownies contain a mix of vanilla and rum.
If you want to add extras like nuts or chocolate chips, feel free to do so.
Calorie count
I don’t usually do this because I know some people can be triggered by this but for me it’s just a fact of life these days. The recipe I used made 24 brownie bites and came in at 82 calories per bite. The major reason for this? 100 grams of peanut butter that acted as the binding agent.
Kitchen Tools
Mixing bowl
Hand mixer
(though you can totally do this by hand)
Rubber spatula
Measuring spoons
Kitchen scale
Silicon cupcake molds
Big pot (to boil sweet potato)
Ingredients
Sweet potato
Peanut butter
Banana
Brown sugar
Molasses
Baking powder
Vanilla/Rum extract
Cocoa powder
Vegan chocolate chips
Instructions
Preheat oven to 35PF/180C
Place all ingredients, except chocolate chips (or nuts) in a mixing bowl and blend until combined. Be sure to scrape the bottom because the peanut butter will stick.
Fold in chocolate chips and/or nuts.
Scoop batter into cupcake molds until about half-full. My goal was brownie bites not big ol’ cupcakes.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes, using the toothpick test to see how the batter is doing. It’s going to be crazy fudgy but not wet so look carefully to make sure before removing them from the oven.
Let these suckers cool completely before removing them from the molds because they’ll just be easier to remove. Trust me, I learned this lesson the hard way. Actually he learned it the hard way in his eagerness to taste one.
Enjoy.
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Tell me what you think about this!