When I first started this blog I never imagined I’d be posting a recipe whose star ingredient is black beans.  Believe it or not, Black Bean Brownies are the most popular recipe on my blog. Maybe it’s because they’re delicious, maybe it’s because we feel less guilty about eating the entire pan….who knows? I decided to up the ante on my Black Bean Brownie recipe by adding peanut butter to the mix.  The gamble was worth it.  These brownies are super fudgy and the peanut butter just makes them more perfect. I highly recommend having your family and friends taste one BEFORE telling them they’re made with black beans.

Ingredients:

• 1 398ml can black beans, drained and well-rinsed
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup oats, ground to a fine powder*
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter + 1/3 cup for swirling into the batter
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup chocolate chunks or chips, plus more for sprinkling

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9×9 baking pan with non stick spray.
2. Using a food processor, combine all ingredients except chocolate chips and 1/3 cup of peanut butter.  Blend until completely smooth.  This may take a few minutes.
3. Using a wooden spoon, stir chocolate chips into batter.
4. Spread batter into prepared pan.
5. Warm remaining peanut butter until it is an easily spreadable consistency. You can do this in a small pan on the stove top or in the microwave. Drop spoonfuls of the peanut butter onto the brownie batter and use the tip of a knife to swirl the peanut butter into the batter.
6. Sprinkle a few chocolate chips on top.
7. Bake for 15-18 minutes.  Let brownies cool completely before slicing. Do not attempt to slice these brownies before they have cooled — they are extremely soft when they come out of the oven and will fall apart.

*Yield: 9-12 brownies

* You can use a blender to grind down whole oats to a fine flour.