Black Bean Brownies

http://www.frugallocalkitchen.com/blog/black-bean-brownies/

This black bean recipe which I adapted from one I found at The Frugal Farm Wife meets my criteria and comes very close to the real thing. I’ll admit that I’m still tinkering with the recipe to increase the fudgey texture, though this version comes pretty close. One of the changes I made was pureeing the beans with the eggs first. This is a technique I learned from the 101 Cookbook’s Black Bean Brownie Recipe. Pureeing the beans first makes the brownie smoother, i.e. less gritty. The addition of sour cream gives the brownies a richer taste without resorting to real chocolate like the 101 Cookbook recipe.

This recipe can be doubled in a food processor if it’s big enough. Mine is a 10 or 12 cup one, and handled the additional amounts easily. If I had a smaller food processor, I would do a double batch of the beans first, and then make up each batch separately with half of the bean puree.
Black Bean Brownies

Adapted from The Frugal Farm Wife’s Black Bean Brownie recipe

2 cups cooked, drained black beans*
4 eggs
1/3 c. melted butter or 1/3 c. melted coconut oil
1/2 c. cocoa powder
1/8 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 c. organic sugar
1/2 cup sour cream

Lightly grease an 8×8 glass baking dish.

Puree beans first in a food processor with the eggs, making sure the beans are completely pureed. This step creates a smoother brownie.

Add the butter/coconut oil, cocoa, salt, vanilla, sour cream, and sugar until smooth. Pour batter into prepared baking dish. Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees or until center is set. Let the brownies completely cool before cutting.