Kara's Fabulous Beany Brownies! - 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community

beachgal · 03-31-2008, 02:48 PM

Okay, taken from a daily thread where it was hiding, here's Kara's (tomandkara) famous adaptation of the black bean brownie recipe!

Quote:

Kara's Fabulous Beany Brownies
1 can navy beans (see below for other bean suggestions), drained and rinsed
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon
about 1 t vanilla extract
4 egg whites
1 c nonfat dry milk powder
1/2 cup sugar-free caramel syrup (Target brand)
1/4 cup agave nectar
2 squares unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped fine (I think it would be better with sugar free chocolates, chopped - I'll have to look harder for those next time.)

Mix ingredients together in a blender/ food processor until pureed. Pour into a greased (i.e. SBD-safe "grease") 8x8 cake pan. Stir in some baking chocolate (or sugar free chocolate chips) and nuts (if desired).

Bake a half hour at 350*F, plus a couple minutes.

Kara's Review:
THIS IS THE WINNING RECIPE!
I think Great Northern beans would be fine. I prefer white beans over black beans. They have less inherent flavor. Usually I use cannellini beans, which are the same as Great Northern. I just didn't have any in the cupboard this time around.

Also, I would inform people that they are made with beans. My father-in-law has diverticulitis and ate someone's "pumpkin" pie made with kidney beans once and it made him really sick. Not a lot of people go around announcing that they have intestinal issues, so you might not know.

This recipe is GOOD! The first one I tried was an interesting bean-y concoction. This one passes for "brownie".

Schmoodle · 07-30-2008, 01:48 PM

I made a mistake in making these brownies this week that turned out great, so I thought I'd share. I jotted the ingredients down on a sticky, and I hadn't made them in a while, so where I scribbled "1 cup milk", I thought I needed a cup of liquid milk instead of dry milk powder, so I added 1 cup water and 1/3 cup dry milk (I do this instead of liquid milk in my baking). Anyway the batter was very thin and watery and I thought I'd ruined them, but when I realized what I'd done, I added the other 2/3 cup milk powder and went ahead to bake them and see if they came out edible. I had to bake them for quite a while, but they came out so moist and fudgey, yumm! So if you like moist and fudgey brownies, add some water to the batter. A cup was too much, but I think next time I'll try it with half a cup. And increase your baking time - I think mine were in for about an hour, but I'll try to get a more exact time next time I make them. Which will be soon! In the meantime if you try this, just keep an eye on them to make sure they don't burn and bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

LMocarsky · 04-14-2009, 10:21 AM

I am going to try this recipe instead of the normal black bean brownie recipe.

Question what is agave nectar and where do I find it?

cottagebythesea · 04-14-2009, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LMocarsky

I am going to try this recipe instead of the normal black bean brownie recipe.

Question what is agave nectar and where do I find it?

Agave nectar is derived from the agave plant, and is very low on the glycemic index scale. It has the consistency of honey, and the taste is similar. It is ideal as a sugar substitute for diabetics, and it doesn't trigger cravings. You can usually find it in the natural foods section of your grocery store, and at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.

LMocarsky · 04-15-2009, 07:24 PM

I will have to check as I don't think we have either of those here! So can I use Splenda in place of this?

Schmoodle · 04-15-2009, 08:28 PM

Hi LM, I see you are in MD, so am I. I don't know what part you are in, but there are some Trader Joes around Balt/Wash/Annapolis area, check their website, maybe there is one near you. If not, agave nectar can be found at health food stores, and I have started to see it in groceries too. I think I picked some up at Giant not long ago. Look where the honey and syrups are.

Just FYI, and of course it is fine to use Splenda too. When Kara was experimenting, I think she included the agave nectar to cut some of the artificial sweetener taste.

LMocarsky · 04-16-2009, 10:39 AM

OK I have to say these blow the regular bean-y brownies out of the water. Now b/c I didn't have the Agava nectar I just used 1/2 cup splenda, still YUMMO! Now these I will have to not over indulge on. I cut the 8X8 pan into 30 bite size peices! I had 2 for a mis am snack with a HUGE glass of water.

I did add some SF chocolate chips to them as well.

tammies00 · 02-09-2010, 09:03 AM

I made these. Last night while eating one I kinda thought if I added some mint to them they would be yummy. Do you think this would work?

I mixed my brownie with frozen cool whip. I smashed it all together it reminded me of oreo blizzard or something.

I didn't think the bean brownie was sweet enough, but the cool whip helps.

Tammie

tomandkara · 02-09-2010, 02:08 PM

Tammie, I usually add mint extract to regular brownies, so I'm sure it would be good in these.

I totally laughed when I read Laurie's initial post. I had no idea these were so "famous"!

jenne1017 · 03-06-2010, 06:02 PM

OMG Kara if these taste as good as the smell, I've died and gone to heaven. I followed the recipe to a tee (I was tempted to add one whole egg but held back!) and used Great Northern Beans. I can hardly wait the 30 minutes! Will let you know...

jenne1017 · 03-06-2010, 06:51 PM

OK, these were 500x better than the black bean brownies. The tweaking was almost spot on. I can't tell if I am missing sweet or not because each time I tried it, I thought I needed more sweet but then waited to actually chew and it was became sweet enough. No beany flavoring and this recipe is a lot more cake-like than others. Mine even poofed a bit in the middle before settling to cool (barely let them cool BTW).

Overall, these are excellent Kara. You done good!

litar · 03-07-2010, 07:27 AM

I'm going to try this recipe....I tried the black bean ones like you did before Jenn and I really did not like them. These that you made look so much better! Did you use Navy beans or Great Northern Beans in Kara's recipe??? Thanks

jenne1017 · 03-07-2010, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by litar

I'm going to try this recipe....I tried the black bean ones like you did before Jenn and I really did not like them. These that you made look so much better! Did you use Navy beans or Great Northern Beans in Kara's recipe??? Thanks

Hi Lisa! I used Great Northern Beans.

cottagebythesea · 03-07-2010, 03:49 PM

I finally was lured to try this recipe after reading all these comments, and I must say, these brownies are superior!

I followed the recipe exactly as Kara posted it, and I was a little worried that they would be too sweet with both the SF syrup and the agave, but they were perfect! I tossed the "other" brownie recipe and will make these often.

Thanks, Kara!

litar · 03-09-2010, 08:38 AM

Could I use SF Vanilla syrup? I don't have the SF caramel. This is the syrup that I use in my coffee in the morning? Anyone think this would work as a substitute?