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Brownie Bake Off

I met Arielle this fall when we both took the same newsletter workshop downtown and ended up taking the six train uptown together to the exact same stop. Turns out we have a bunch of friends in common, too! Arielle is the queen of healthy living, but not in a granola-y way. One day we were chatting about brownies and she claimed to have a healthy version. I just couldn’t believe that brownies could ever be healthy so we came up with the idea of doing a brownie bake off.
Last week, we both baked up a storm and then had firefighters from Engine 22, Ladder 13 be our official taste testers. Here’s how it all played out:
2 avocados, ripe
1 cup coconut palm sugar
2 tsp coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup oats, ground
1/4 cup unsweetened raw cocoa powder
2 tsp  vanilla extract
1 tsp peppermint extract
1/2 tsp sea salt
(optional) “Peppermint Candy Cane” Toppings:
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1 raw or cooked beet, peeled and sliced
sprinkle peppermint extract
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside
3. In a large bowl, mash together avocados, coconut palm, and coconut oil.
4. Add ground oats (you can blend rolled oats in blender until powdery), cocoa powder, vanilla extract, peppermint extract and sea salt. Mix until creamy.
5. Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes. Cool and then place in refrigerator
6. Cut out fun shapes and then put some toppings on.
7. To make Red and White Peppermint “Candy Cane” topping: in a baggie, shake up chocolate chips, beets and peppermint extract. Then place a towel over bag and use a hammer or knife and bang until chips are crushed. Sprinkle on top of brownie and Voila!
Baker’s One Bowl Brownie
(from the back of the Baker’s box!)

1 pkg.  (4 oz.) Baker’s Unsweetened Chocolate
3/4 cup butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
3  eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1. Heat oven to 350 F. Grease 13×9-inch baking pan.
2. Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwavable bowl for 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.
3. Stir sugar into chocolate mixture until well blended. Mix in eggs and vanilla until well blended. Stir in flour until well blended. Pour into pan.
4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out with fudgy crumbs. Do NOT overbake. Cool in pan. Cut into squares.
Whenever I watch the cooking competition shows on the Food Network, I always wonder how I would fare on a show like that. This was just my chance… turns out that I completely (unsurprisingly) crack under pressure. 
I went to the grocery store the night before to get more chocolate, but the store was completely out of all Baker’s chocolate. I ended up going to another store in the morning, but they were also out. I had to go to a few more stores before I found unsweetened chocolate. By then, I’m cutting it close to being behind schedule. Of course, the brownies take longer than usual to cook. I ended up having to cut them while they were still warm, which made them crumble a bit. (Although, they were legitimately still warm when we got to the firehouse, so I’m sure it was appreciated.)
Our taste testers!!! The verdict? Mine won 😉 I mean, you can’t say no to butter and sugar. 
Right after sampling the brownies, they got called to a fire at the American Museum of Natural History. Can’t make this up.

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10 Comments

A Peachy Sonder

I love that y'all took your creations over to the firehouse. Those men and women work so hard and I'm sure they loved your treat! I can't wait to try your recipe!

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Farrah

I make a lot of healthy dishes, including desserts, but there's certain things, like sugar cookies, brownies, or even cakes, that are not as good without gluten, butter, and sugar!

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