Fudgy Brownie Bites—Two Ways

SERVES 20

INGREDIENTS:

¼ cup coconut cream

3 ounces dark chocolate, sugar free and dairy free

¼ cup raw cacao

¼ cup coconut oil

⅓ cup coconut flour (almond meal works but can be crumblier and contains more oil)

¼ cup arrowroot

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ cup macadamia nut oil, almond oil, or avocado oil

3 eggs

2 bananas, mashed (about ¾ cup) or ¾ cup organic canned pumpkin

⅓ cup erythritol and/or 2 to 4 tablespoons maple syrup

OPTIONAL INGREDIENT:

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Fudgy Brownie Bites with Egg

Guests often look at us a little funny when I serve these delicious Brownie Bites, because they just don’t taste healthy. The fudgy, rich chocolate and natural sweetness belie the fact that they are grainless and low glycemic. You can use either banana or canned organic pumpkin.

PREPARATION:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a small saucepan over low heat, place coconut cream, chocolate (broken into pieces if it’s a chocolate bar), cacao, and coconut oil. Stir frequently until ingredients are melted and thoroughly blended. Remove from heat.

3. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, place coconut flour, arrowroot, and baking soda. Blend together.

4. Add macadamia nut oil, eggs, and either mashed banana or canned pumpkin to dry ingredients.

5. Add chocolate mixture and erythritol or maple syrup to all other ingredients. Blend with a handheld electric mixer until wet and dry ingredients are thoroughly blended.

6. Spray a 9 x 11 baking dish with coconut oil or grease well. Pour brownie batter into pan evenly so there are no high spots.

7. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes depending on desired chewiness. Allow to cool before serving.

Serve warm or at room temperature. The longer they cool, the more “brownielike” they will be as the coconut oil sets. Store remaining brownies in an airtight container. Freeze leftovers within a couple of days.

NOTE: Refrigerate a can of coconut milk and skim the thicker cream off the top to get the coconut cream for this recipe.

NOTE: I often use erythritol in place of maple syrup to make these a very low-glycemic dessert. If you prefer a sweeter taste, or can’t use erythritol, you may use maple syrup instead, or add a couple of tablespoons of maple syrup in addition to erythritol. They will still be much healthier than traditional brownies!

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION PER SERVING: 90.0 calories, 1.3g protein, 3.6g carbohydrates, 0.8g fiber, 2.8g sugar, 8.1g fat, 4.3g saturated fat, 26mg cholesterol, 13mg sodium.

Adding 2 tablespoons of maple syrup increases the calories by 5.0 grams per serving and sugar by 1.2 grams per serving.

INGREDIENTS:

2 ounces dark chocolate, sugar free and dairy free

¼ cup coconut oil

¼ cup almond butter

¼ cup raw cocao

2 bananas, mashed

1 to 2 tablespoons arrowroot

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ cup erythritol and/or 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS:

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

pinch of salt

Grainless Brownie Bites—Vegan

This recipe is one of the simplest and lowest-glycemic dessert recipes I have created and is a wonderful option for anyone with egg allergies. The brownies will be a bit thinner than the version that contains eggs, but are delicious nonetheless. It takes about five minutes to prepare the ingredients for baking.

PREPARATION:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate, coconut oil, almond butter, and cacao. Stir frequently until ingredients are melted and thoroughly blended. Remove from heat.

3. In medium mixing bowl, place mashed banana, arrowroot, baking soda, and erythritol and/or maple syrup if desired. Blend together.

4. Add chocolate sauce to banana mixture. Using a handheld electric mixer, start mixing on the low setting and increase speed until bananas are smooth and all ingredients are well blended.

5. Spray an 8 x 8 baking dish with coconut oil or grease well. Pour brownie content into pan evenly so there are no high spots.

6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes depending on desired chewiness. Allow to cool before serving.

Serve warm or at room temperature. The longer they cool, the more “brownielike” they will be as the coconut oil sets. Store remaining brownies in an airtight container. Freeze leftovers within a couple of days.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION PER SERVING: 89.0 calories, 1.5g protein, 7.2g carbohydrates, 1.3g fiber, 3.9g sugar, 6.8g fat, 4.0g saturated fat, 1.0mg cholesterol, 12.0mg sodium.

Adding 2 tablespoons of maple syrup increases the calories by 5 grams per serving and sugar by 1.2 grams per serving. Total calories will be 94 and total sugar will be 5.1 grams.