Healthy Secret-Ingredient Brownies

Healthy, moist, rich brownies with a secret ingredient. Hint: it's not avocado, beans, or banana!

Author: hungry hannahs

makes 16 2-inch brownies

Ingredients:

◈3/4 cup oats, measured and then ground into flour (any type of flour will work here)

◈1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp cococa powder (I used half dark chocolate/dutch and half regular)

◈1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp sweetener of your choice (sugar in the raw, coconut sugar, or regular ol’ white sugar)*

◈1/2 tsp baking soda

◈1/4 tsp salt

◈1/2 cup pureed prunes (2 5-oz containers of baby food works perfectly)

◈1 egg, whisked (or 1 Tbsp ground chia or flax seeds for vegan)

◈1.5 Tbsp honey or maple syrup

◈1.5 tsp vanilla extract

◈1 Tbsp butter or coconut oil, melted (optional)

◈1/3 cup chopped dark or semi-sweet chocolate

*If using stevia or other concentrated sweetener, be sure to follow baking directions on the package as a little goes a long way.

And the secret ingredient!

You can use prunes with apples if you feel better about it.

Directions:

✖Preheat oven to 350ºF and spray an 8×8″ baking dish thoroughly with cooking spray.

✖In a medium mixing bowl, combine all of your dry ingredients: oat flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Whisk well and set aside.

✖In a large mixing bowl, combine wet ingredients: pureed prunes, egg, honey, vanilla extract, oil/butter, and whisk. 

✖Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until combined. Fold in chopped chocolate.

✖Pour into your greased baking dish and bake for 17 – 18 minutes (18 was perfect for mine), or until a toothpick inserted into brownies comes out clean. Let cool before serving, and enjoy with a glass of milk or ice cream!

Note: Because these brownies are so moist and slightly sticky, they may require extra care when slicing them. Chilling them before cutting will make for neater brownies, but I was too anxious to do so, which is why my brownies are rather messy looking.