I’m not going to lie, I have some BAD eating habits. These habit usually pop up whenever I forget to prep food for lunch, am stressed out, or am being generally lazy. The worst of my habits is sugar. I like sweets of all kinds and when I want them, I have them!
But, I always want to improve and I now find myself surrounded by people with good eating habits: my coworkers. Two of my coworkers eat mainly raw vegetables and fruits with the odd meat based meal thrown in. Another brings a simple salad for lunch and a sandwich for afternoon munchie bashing. And others have other good habits to emulate.
While I haven’t committed to any of their eating styles, I am taking a few ideas to help me improve. The most recent idea? One of my coworkers mentioned he was interested in trying sweets made from vegetable bases, in particular, brownies. We discussed the merits of black bean brownies, zucchini brownies, and finally decided that avocado brownies sounded like the best bet for keeping that glorious moistness we all know brownies for.
And so I set to experimenting. I wanted to see if I could come up with an avocado brownie recipe that I would actually eat. Not because I had to for some diet, but because it actually tasted good! After several trials and lots of coworker taste testing, I had it! A recipe for avocado brownies that you now get to see and hopefully make for yourselves!
Avocado Brownies with Hazelnuts
1 large avocado, mashed (1/2 cup mashed)
3-4 oz. chocolate, melted (semi sweet or unsweetened)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup hazelnuts, roughly chopped
1/4 cup cocoa
dash of salt
Combine the mashed avocado, melted chocolate, eggs, vanilla, and honey in a medium bowl. Mix well and beat until fairly smooth (some small avocado chunks are okay).
Combine flour, baking powder, hazelnuts, cocoa, and salt in a small bowl. Stir to combine.
Slowly stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Stir until well combined.
Spread mixture into a 8×8 lined or greased pan and bake at 350F for 20-30 minutes or when middle of pan no longer “jiggles.”
Let cool slightly then cut into squares and serve warm.
These brownies can be eaten warm or cool. The brownies keep up to a week in a sealed container at room temperature OR up to two weeks in a sealed container in the fridge. I have not tried freezing these brownies as of yet (they are always eaten first).
A couple things to note.
- This brownie works well with and without icing. I am currently working on a suitable icing for that matches the healthy feel of the brownie itself.
- To make a moister brownie, add more melted chocolate.
- Cut the amount of cocoa by half for less bitterness but my taste testers (coworkers) liked this recipe best as is!
- Make substitutions to make this gluten free or vegan! Almond flour in place of flour. Flax instead of eggs. And other changes as necessary.
When I saw the title of this recipe post I had to click (from Wake up Wednesdays Link Party). So interesting but makes sense. I definitely have to give it a go.
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It is amazing to me how well these turned out. I was super skeptical about tasting avocado but it leaves no taste behind whatsoever. Just chocolate-y goodness!
These look great. I’m always a little skeptical about brownies or sweets with non-traditional ingredients, but these look awesome. I’ll have to give this a try (pinning). If you are looking for snacks that satisfy your sweet craving yet are still healthy have you tried “energy bites”? Deliciously Ella has a great youtube video on how to make them and they are easily customized to your taste preferences. They are naturally sweetened with dates which also holds them together and chopped seeds and nuts add crunch protein and fiber. I was skeptical at first, but they turn out great…just an idea.
I was definitely skeptical at first too. I thought the avocado would overtake the flavour but it doesn’t at all. The best part is that the avocado makes them so moist so they soften in your mouth just like any other brownie!
And thanks. I haven’t made energy bites before but they sound interesting. Especially the dates idea. I don’t ever use dates even though I love their taste so it may be a good way for me to start cooking with them more often.
Mmmm, those sound soooo good! I am going to have to add these to my to-try list!