You'll never guess what's in these brownies!
This is the ultimate brownie recipe... with one secret ingredient that no body will ever guess!! I've made brownies with black beans before, and you can find that amazing recipe here. But these particular brownies are oil-free, so rich, decadent and super fudgey... and no one would ever know there is something hidden in there!
Are you ready to find out what the ingredient is?
I present you.........
The humble zucchini!!!
Zucchini are really underestimated because they are just so versatile in cooking! They are perfect grilled on their own or breaded to make oven baked zucchini fries but something not many know... They are especially good in baking.
They just add so much moisture and it seems that baked items with zucchini are even BETTER the next day! These brownies are super moist and delicious… and no one would ever know they have zucchini in them (nor will the kids)! They are rich and chocolatey and just perfectly delicious! Of course these Zucchini Brownies are great the day they’re made but they’re even better on the second day.
So here is the recipe!
Fudgey, Chocolatey, Delicious Zucchini Brownies
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Serves: 8
Difficulty: Easy!
Ingredients:
1 medium zucchini, peeled and sliced, then measured at 150g
1/4 cup pure maple syrup or honey
1/2 cup natural peanut or almond butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup superfine oat flour (just place rolled oats in a blender)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup milk or dark chocolate chips (your preference)
Method:
Spray a nonstick 9x5 loaf pan with nonstick spray well on the bottom and sides. These will stick bad if you don't spray the pan! Preheat the oven to 180 C degrees.
Peel and slice the zucchini and add it in with the remaining ingredients, except the chocolate chips, to a food processor. Process until smooth. Scrape the sides and process for another minute. It should be very smooth and runny. Taste and you will see the batter is not very sweet, since there is chocolate chips added, but if you want the base sweeter, add 1-2 tbsp of a dry granulated sugar.
Stir in the chocolate chips (do not blend). Pour the batter into the prepared pan, making sure to really scrape out all of that chocolatey goodness out. Sprinkle some extra chocolate chips on top.
Bake for 22-25 minutes until they have a dry/shiny look on top and have pulled away from the edges. The toothpick can have a tiny bit of sticky crumbs, but not super wet batter. I baked mine for 22 minutes and they were cooked perfectly fudgy. If you prefer a cake-ier brownie, cook a few minutes longer until the toothpick comes out CLEAN. But still check the brownies at 22 minutes.
Let them cool in the pan for about 45 minutes because they will firm up while they cool.
Slice into desired size and carefully remove. Eat as is or with a delicious scoop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Enjoy!!
ADM xx
Joyce Haddad, Director of A Dietitian's Mission, is an Adelaide based Dietitian, Nutritionist and Master Personal Trainer with a passion for health and wellbeing. ADM aims to help the public make informed and realistic nutritional choices and ensure everyone has a healthy relationship with their body and with food.
