It was really funny making these in my house with my family around. No one knew what I was doing with the black beans. I put the unused beans in a container, and my brother thought they were some concoction of cooked beans and was about to eat them before I told him they were just the leftovers from the can. I've seen many recipes for black bean brownies, have heard they are good, and I thought now was a good time to try them out, seeing as though I have about 20 cans of beans lying around. Literally.
I definitely like baking more than cooking. And I haven't pin-pointed why yet, but I think it might be because I like to experiment with the flavors in baking. Also probably because I get to lick the spoon after putting my concoction in the pan to bake. I mean who doesn't like brownie batter? Yes, I am ServSafe Cerfified, and know that I would get in big trouble from my instructor Georgianna for even thinking about licking the spoon, but I can't help it! I feel like I am wasting when I don't--or at least that's what I'll keep telling myself.
Anyway, I know black beans in brownies aren't exactly appetizing sounding. Everyone was a little hesitant to try them once they were baked, myself included. Last week I tried to add a whole can of pumpkin to brownie batter and the end result was pretty pitiful. But these were far from pitiful. They were, in a word, superb.
Next time I will most definitely add more orange zest and/or extract. I love the chocolate/orange combination. Not as much as I like the chocolate/salt combination. This Salty Dog Bar is my absolute favorite chocolate. Though, I am really not picky when it comes chocolate. It's funny because I think last time I was in Italy, chocolate is what kept weight on my Dad and me. All the walking/biking and running around we did. We would try to find the cheapest bar of it, and we were pretty successful bargain shoppers. And the wine there is cheap too! How can you go wrong?
Back to the recipe. I think the brownies were a success, and with Valentine's Day tomorrow, I bet these would definitely yield brownie points. Ha. Especially if you cut them into a heart shape, or if you used a stencil to sprinkle heart-shaped sugar on top.
Here is the recipe:
1/2 cup cocoa
1/4 cup + 2 T canola oil
2 cups white sugar
1 cup canned or home-cooked black beans
4 eggs
1/2 small orange peel after hand juicing (I used the juice for cranberry muffin recipe)
2/3 cup rice flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp orange extract
Puree beans + 2 T liquid in food processor. Mix cocoa, oil, sugar, black bean puree and eggs until well blended--I used a wisk. Place the orange in the food processor and process until finely ground. (I didn’t even clean out the food processor after pureeing the beans. It’s all going in the same bowl, right?) Mix flour, salt, and baking powder together, then add to wet mixture. When it’s all mixed, I added a splash of orange extract for good measure--I am guessing it was about 1/2 tsp. Grease 9x13-inch pan. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
You can just use orange zest for the "small orange peel after hand juicing," but I wanted to tell you exactly what I did. The results from what I did worked, so I wanted to be thorough. I also would probably have used a different kind of flour mixture than just rice, but it worked surprisingly well. You could also substitute something else for the white sugar, and I usually do, but I figured I would splurge on the white sugar this time.
My Dad joked that my kids someday are going to get all of their nutrition in the baked goods I make with all of the added fruit, vegetables, and now beans! Who knew you could get protein and fiber from a brownie? Enjoy!
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