Not so long ago I made my first batch of gluten-free brownies. While good, they relied heavily (as in it’s the main ingredient) on an absurd amount of almond butter. Not that I’m complaining..I love almond butter and could (and do!) eat it by the spoonful and as an ingredient in many baked goods. However, it made for one calorie-laden gluten-free brownie. So since I had also been experimenting with chickpeas in my baking lately (like these awesome Grain-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chips Cookies) and wondered if I could use them for some of the almond butter in this recipe.
The results? Fabulous. The chickpeas produced a slightly softer, cake-like brownie with the same richness as the original recipe. And I love that it cut back on the fat and calories while injecting a good amount of fiber. I took these to a dinner and people preferred these over the totally NOT healthy frosted sugar cookies I brought and were asking for the recipe! Yep, a keeper.
Enjoy!
- 1 c. Organic Almond Butter (no salt, oil, sugar etc added)
- 1 c. (15 oz. can) Chickpeas processed in a food processor until smooth with ¼ c. unsweetened almond milk
- 2 Eggs
- ¾ c. Honey
- 1½ T. Vanilla
- 1 T. Instant Coffee Granules dissolved in 2 T. Hot Water
- ½ c. Cocoa Powder
- 1 t. Aluminum-Free Baking Soda
- ½ t. Pink Himalayan Sea Salt (or whatever you have)
- 3 T. Dark Chocolate Chips or English Walnuts, etc (try to find chocolate chips that are not made with refined sugar, etc)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the almond butter and chickpea/almond milk mixture on medium speed until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then honey, vanilla and coffee. Beat in cocoa powder, salt and baking soda. Spread batter into the baking pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips, nuts, etc.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.