Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Chocolate Avocado Brownies



I bought avocados last week to make some guacamole for taco night. Well, taco night came and went, and my avocados were still sitting in the fruit basket. I forgot to use them, and they were ready to be used. 

Meanwhile, my family was hankering for me to make a treat. I'd taken a break from treat-making since the new year, and they were starting to forage (eating chocolate chips right out of the bag, melting marshmallows on crakers, etc).  So I tried to find a brownie recipe that called for avocado. Sound crazy? I thought there HAD to be one. I made a chocolate mousse with avocados as the base a few years ago from the Deceptively Delicious cookbook that was incredible. Surely someone had incorporated avocado into brownies. 

Well, my search didn't turn up much in the way of brownies. I found some chocolate puddings and cupcakes, and some layer-bars. But I was hoping for brownies. So I decided to give it a go myself.  And I'm so glad I did! I made brownies (using avocado!) that have what I consider to be the perfect brownie consistency: slightly crispy on the outside; dense, moist and chewy on the inside (but not under-cooked). These were a crowd-pleaser AND a mommy-pleaser! My kids were getting all kinds of hidden nutrients as they gobbled them up!


Here's the recipe: 


Chocolate Avocado Brownies
Makes 24 

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup avocado puree (about 3 medium avocados)
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 eggs
1 stick butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour (I used whole wheat!)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet, but milk is fine if you prefer sweeter)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Prepare a 9"x13" baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, beat avocado puree with cocoa powder. Add eggs and beat at medium speed just until mixed. If you are using a stand mixer, use the paddle/cookie dough attachment from this point on. 
3. Mix melted butter with white sugar and add to avocado mixture. Mix in brown sugar and vanilla.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Add to wet mixture and stir well. Stir in 1 cup of chocolate chips. 
5. Spread evenly in prepared dish. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate chips on top. 
6. Bake 20 minutes. Serve warm or cooled. Perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!



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6 comments:

  1. Oh this recipe just looks amazing. Chocolate and avocado are perfect together....they make it sooo creamy.

    Thanks for linking up to Marvelous Monday on Smart Party Planning.

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  2. Sounds like the perfect brownie to me! I can't wait to give them a go. Pinned!
    Thank you for sharing with us at Merry Monday!

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  3. Oooh, these brownies look incredible! Thanks for linking up to Creative Spark! Hope you'll join us again this week :)

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  4. These sound amazing!!! Thanks for linking up with the Creative Spark Link Party!

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  5. These look so good!! Thank you so much for linking up at Tasty Tuesday! Your recipe has been pinned to the Tasty Tuesday Pinterest board! Please join us again this week!

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  6. I have never heard of avocado brownies! I can't wait to try this! Pinning and sharing! Thanks for linking this up to Totally Terrific Tuesday last week. I can't wait to see what you have this week! Party goes live tonight at 9pm CST!

    Sharon
    herorganizedchaos.com

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