Humpastry Day - Sneaky Brownies

Sneaky Brownies

I was in the mood for brownies the other day and came across an unusual recipe that incorporated spinach and berries.  It was too weird not to try, so of course I had to make it!  I changed the ingredients to make it even healthier, and the result was a chocolatey, moist brownie with just a hint of cherry!  They were good!  And, the best part,  no one even noticed the hidden ingredients!  He he! :)

Ingredients:
Makes 16 brownies

Cherry Puree Ingredients:
*  1 1/2C spinach
*  3/4C fresh/frozen cherries (Note: I think you could use just about any berries for this, but I thought the choco/cherry combo sounded yummy!)
*  1/2tsp. lemon juice
*  1-2Tbl. water

Sneaky Brownie Ingredients:
*  3Tbl.earth balance  butter
*  3/4C chocolate chips
*  2 flax eggs (2Tbl. ground flax mixed with 6Tbl. water)
*  2tsp. vanilla extract
*  1/2C raw sugar
*  1/2C cherry puree
*  2Tbl. whole wheat pastry flour
*  4Tbl. whole wheat flour
*  1Tbl. amaranth flour (or you could use wheat germ, or more whole wheat pastry flour)
*  1Tbl. unsweetened cocoa powder
*  1/4C oat flour (OR 1/4C rolled oats ground in a food processor)
*  1/4tsp. salt

Directions for the Cherry Puree:
1.  Place all ingredients into a blender/processor.

2.  Process on high until smooth, stopping if needed to scrape down the sides.
3.  Add more water if needed to make a smooth puree.  Set aside.

*Note:  The ingredients make more puree then you need for the brownies.  You can either save it for future use, or serve it to your son as "cherry juice."

As you can see from his face, he absolutely LOVED this stuff!  He drank EVERY LAST SIP of that puree, then proceeded to lick the cup until he had it all!  Ha ha!











Directions for the brownies:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray the bottom of a 9" square pan and set aside.
2.  In a medium sized microwave safe bowl (you will be adding other stuff to this bowl later on),  melt the butter and chocolate chips.  Stir to combine and set aside to cool.

3. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flours,  cocoa powder, oats, and salt.
4.  To the chocolate bowl, add the flax eggs, vanilla, sugar, and cherry puree.

5.  Add the chocolate mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
6.  Pour the mixture into the 9" pan.
7.  Make sure you lick the chocolatey goodness from the mixing bowl!  Yum!!

7.  Bake for 30-35min., until a toothpick comes out clean.
8.  Allow the brownies to cool completely before cutting into them.  Then, cut into 16 bars.

I just HAD to eat one before taking the picture..ha ha!

9.  Dust with powdered sugar in desired.
10.  Enjoy!