Brownies, Brownies, Everywhere!

I made two batches of brownies Monday night. There is only one of each kind left. It’s only Wednesday morning. To be fair, they were smaller batches–six in one and eight in another–but still! That’s impressive.

I initially made these in ‘his’ and ‘hers’ fashion. Andrew could have the Nutella brownies because I really shouldn’t eat Nutella anymore [boo!]. I could make the raw brownies I’ve been dying to try [thus the huge bag of dates in the pantry for weeks]. I have flawless logic, don’t I?

My flawless logic lead to having a brownie filled day yesterday. First, a pumpkin oat smoothie in a mug with a brownie. Then coconut water and raw brownies for dinner. That’s what I call a post-yoga dinner of champions! I wish I would have had it for breakfast, too, but alas the last brownies are Andrew’s, and I had a pumpkin, corn flour and buckwheat bake to eat. Again, it was far to hideous to photograph. It tasted great, though. I don’t judge books by their covers. I let my taste buds do all the judging. That said, the raw brownies were absolutely amazing. I love them. I love them more than the raw cookie dough balls. My food processor had a little bit of trouble pulling all the ingredients together, but once it did, it was like a ball of heaven. They’re chocolate-y, fudge-y, and not full of butter and eggs and all that stuff. Do not be turned off by these. Make them. Love them. And if you don’t love them, give them to me.

But first, the Nutella…

Inspiration: Haute Apple Pie

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of Nutella
• 1 egg
• 5 tablespoons flour [I used spelt]

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. Prepare a muffin tin [either 12 mini muffins or 6 regular] with liners or cooking spray.
3. Mix the ingredients together until smooth. I found if I put the Nutella jar in the microwave for a few seconds, it came out much easier.
4. Pour into the prepared pan.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes for mini muffins or 12-15 for regular. I over baked them a little [I was distracted with the raw brownies, so apparently they turned out more muffin-y in texture than brownie-like].

Ingredients

• 1 cup medjool dates
• 1 cup cashews
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1-2 teaspoons agave syrup

Preparation

1. If you don’t have the strongest food processor, you might want to start by chopping the dates before putting them in the food processor.
2. Put the rest of the ingredients in the processor.
3. Process.
4. This takes awhile. I had to work with mine because the dates kept getting stuck under the blades, lifting it up. After about 5 minutes of babysitting it and holding its hand, it all crumbled into the amazing meal you see above.
5. If you can refrain from eating it all right, press it into a container of choice. I used a 9×6 glass dish, and they were pretty thin. They stick to your hands a lot, too. You might want to wet them.
6. Place them in the fridge for 10 minutes at minimum to allow them to come together. You’ll appreciate them more. Maybe.
7. Congratulate your self-control with a brownie or two for waiting.