Ok, I might be a bit cheeky calling these good for you, but they certainly aren’t bad for you. And I’ve had some bad brownies!
These are a nice idea if you want to contribute to some Easter sweets but not have the mad sugar rush that comes with this weekend. Obviously they are yummy any time, and you don’t have to worry about the refined sugar and gluten content.
INGREDIENTS
– 125 g 80%+ dark chocolate, chopped – if you want to use chocolate with less cocoa solids then you will need to reduce the coconut sugar as it will be a little too sweet.
– 1/4 cup (50 g) coconut oil, softened at room temperature (but not melted)
– 3 medium eggs, room temperature
– 3/4 – 1 1/4 cups (100 – 175 g) coconut sugar (less if you’re using chocolate with a lower cocoa solids percentage)
– 1 cup (90 g) almond flour
– 1/4 cup (30 g) cocoa powder
– pinch of salt
– 1/2 – 1 cup dark chocolate chunks – I like to use a block and roughly chop it for big, gooey chunks.
This is on top of the chocolate that you will mix into the brownies, so if you have milk, or even white chocolate in the cupboard, I say throw it in. It will affect your overall sugar content, just keep that in mind.
– 1/3 C chopped walnuts, optional.
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 ºC and line an 20x20cm baking pan with greaseproof/baking paper.
- In a heat-proof bowl above a pot of simmering water, melt the dark chocolate and coconut oil together. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or a hand mixer with the double beater attachments, whisk the eggs and coconut sugar until pale, fluffy and tripled in volume. This will take about 5 – 7 minutes. It’s important to not cut this step short; the increased volume of the eggs will help the brownie to rise.
- Slowly drizzle in the melted chocolate while whisking on low speed. Whisk until the chocolate is fully incorporated.
- Sift the almond flour, cocoa powder and salt into the egg-chocolate mixture, and gently fold in the dry ingredients (using a spatula) until no clumps remain.
- Stir most of the chocolate chunks -and walnuts if using- into the brownie batter, then transfer the batter into the prepared baking pan. Smooth out the top, and sprinkle over the rest of the chocolate bits.
- Bake in the pre-heated oven at 180 ºC for 18 – 20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out with moist crumbs attached (for fudgy brownies) or even with some half-baked batter attached (for gooey brownies).
- Cool slightly and then cut into squares. These will happily last 3-4 days in a container.
Go forth and enjoy! Just keep your eye on the cooking time so they don’t over-bake!
~ Kristen
