Besides the fact that there's no flour in them.
I first made these last fall, and am not sure why I haven't made them since. Stick everything in a blender (or a food processor, if it's not in the dishwasher already), blend, and put in a greased pan and bake for a half hour. They're very good, for what's in them.
You'll still have to wait until I tell you what's in them.
It's possible I didn't actually make them again because of the stress that ensued while I had them in my possession. Last September I got tickets to U2, one of my most favorite bands (3 times in the same week, but who's counting?). I was so excited to be able to go but I knew that I had better bring snacks, since the traffic to Foxboro was so crazy, especially on game and concert days. This particular day was no exception. I picked up a friend of mine, and we gave ourselves roughly an extra hour or so to get there, knowing the trip took about an hour in the first place. I had the brownies in the backseat.
Fast forward to nearly 3 hours later, when we were still on the road, we could see Foxboro to our left, and if you rolled down the windows and listened, you could barely hear The Edge's guitar. I was so stressed and upset I couldn't do anything, but I did have a brownie or two, and I'm fairly sure I provided some good entertainment for my friend as I slowly melted down in the driver's seat.
We finally made it to the show, and managed to see most of U2's set. This made me much happier, and the excitement definitely returned. That is, until we got back into the car to drive home. And waited in the parking lot for almost 2 hours.
Needless to say, that pan of brownies was nearly polished off by the two of us before we even hit the highway (overall, the return trip took somewhere in the vicinity of 4 hours, in case you were wondering).
I liked them then, and I still like them now, but they will forever be brandished in my mind as "the brownies I took on that horrific drive to Foxboro to see my favorite band play". Here's hoping that they aren't bad luck, and the next time I put them in my car I won't be stuck on the highway for 3 days.
So, still curious about the extra special ingredient? These brownies contain black beans. And you'd never know it unless someone told you. They taste like, well, like flourless brownies. Soft and chocolate-y, and overall, pretty damn good. I love simple recipes that taste good.
Flourless Brownies (recipe from www.wholefoods.com)
1 (15-ounce) can of black beans, drained and rinsed
3 large eggs
1/3 c. melted butter (but let it cool down a bit before adding it to the mixture-adding scalding hot butter to something with cold eggs will scramble it!)
1/4 c. cocoa powder
1/8 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. plus 2 tbsp sugar
1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 c. finely chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Grease an 8-inch baking pan with some spray butter. Put the black beans, eggs, melted butter, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla extract and sugar in the bowl of a food processor or in a blender and blend until smooth. Remove the blade (if using a food processor) and stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Transfer mixture to the pan and bake the brownies for 30 to 35 minutes, or until it is just set in the center. Cool before cutting.
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