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| Double Chocolate Paleo Brownie Crumbles - yum! |
Well, I ended up substituting a little TOO much. I didn't have almond butter, so I thought I'd "whip some up in my food processor". Except I made it with raw almonds and coconut oil. It was delicious, but it wasn't almond butter! I also substituted organic chocolate nibs, which I had never known what to do with, in hopes they would somehow bathe the zucchini mixture with their chocoliciousness. I mixed everything up and it smelled amazing. I poured it into a smaller pan than I should have and baked it for the recommended time.
The brownies weren't cooked enough, so I added more time. Still not done. And the chocolate nibs only dotted the mushy zucchini mixture. Oh, what to do, what to do! So I mixed in some unsweetened baking chocolate (ingredients: chocolate!) and added a bit more honey (not perfectly Paleo but good enough for me!) At least it LOOKED like brownies now! I baked them a while longer, took them out and let them cool.
The results were surprisingly good. Not to sweet and very moist and chocolatey. The brownies didn't hold together (probably because of the raw almonds). They were more of a mixture of a brownie and a granola. And by themselves they were a little bitter (they are NOT a sweet brownie at all), but who am I to ever abandon a failed recipe? I can always recycle it into something else!
I nibbled it a bit here and there that evening and found it was actually really good, just not as sweet as a brownie. And the nibs in there were awesome! Slightly crunchy and chocolatey and oh so good! The next morning I packed up some yogurt and topped it with my brownie crumbles and some dried fruit. Delicious! Today I used the crumbles for the base of my fruit "cereal" mixture. On top of the crumbles, I sliced up a banana and a kiwi, then topped it off with some pecans, walnuts and dried cherries. It was amazing! And everyone at work was jealous, which gave me the opportunity to tell them I was doing Paleo and how fantastic the food was! I don't think they were listening. They were too busy salivating over my breakfast, which took me all morning to eat!
- 1 cup raw almonds
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 1/2 cup grated zucchini
- 1/2 cup raw honey
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp baking soda
- i tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1 cup organic chocolate nibs
- 2- 1 oz squares of Baker's Unsweetened Baking Chocolate Squares
- Preheat oven to 350.
- In a food processor, grind raw almonds and then add coconut oil and grind again.
- Combine all ingredients except baker's chocolate in a large bowl.
- Pour into a greased baking pan. (I used an 8 inch round deep pie dish.)
- Bake 25-30 minutes.
- Chop baker's chocolate squares into several pieces. Remove pan from oven and scatter chocolate pieces around pan, mixing them in thoroughly to create a big chocolately mess. Drizzle another tablespoon or so of honey as well. Mix well.
- Return to over and bake 15-20 more minutes.
- Let cool, then enjoy the gooey, double dark chocolately crumbly goodness!
Notes:
Adapted from Fast Paleo's Zucchini Brownie recipe, which I will make when I have all the actual ingredients very soon! Looks delish!- Great as topping or a bottom for whatever kind of creamy or fruity dessert you'd like to make!
- You should probably refrigerate this after the first day. My first batch was eaten quickly, but alas, I had to throw a bit of my second batch out because I didn't eat it fast enough. There's nothing to keep it from molding. If in doubt, refrigerate or even freeze for later!
- Non-paleo family members who haven't given up sugar will tell you "these aren't real brownies". (Ask me how I know this, lol). That's ok, more for us!
Have you had a happy accident in your kitchen when trying to cook up a Paleo dish? Let's hear about it!
Update: I made another batch of these last night and added in way more zucchini because I had it. I threw in an extra chocolate square and a bit more honey as well. I wasn't sure how it would turn out. By the time I took it out, it still seemed a bit mushy and too much like zucchini. I let it cook ten more minutes, but was still a bit disappointed with the results. Figured I'd eat it the next morning anyhow, so let it cool overnight.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, that did the trick. This morning, the brownies were gooey, chocolatey and delicious. Yes, you could detect more zucchini (in the original, you can't even tell it's in there) but the result was quite good.
My reason for posting this- if you put too much zucchini in, no worries. Just throw in a little extra chocolate and honey, then leave overnight. Somehow the magic overnight kitchen faeries make it all right!