I joined Weight Watchers about 4 weeks ago to get rid of those pesky few extra pounds that don't seem to want to leave with my regular diet and exercise routine. I attend the weekly meetings and find lots of inspiration and new ideas there. The most unusual cooking tip I got at my last meeting was Black Bean Brownies. My leader, Teri, assured me that she had made them herself and they were very tasty. And, at only 110 calories and 1/2 gram of fat per brownie (compared to 190 calories and 9 grams of fat for the regular version), they are figure-friendly as well. They are also a fairly decent source of fiber (the beans added 5 grams of fiber for the entire batch).
Here's what you do:
1 box brownie mix (I used Betty Crocker Fudge Brownie mix)
1 can black beans
- Rinse/drain the beans. Put the beans back into the can and then fill it with water to the same level the liquid was at when you first opened the can. This is supposed to remove some of the "gas factor" from the beans.
- Puree the heck out of the beans/water in a blender until there are virtually no bits or chunks left. I tried using my Kitchen-Aid mixer first but it didn't get them as smooth as they needed to be so I finished them off in my blender.
- Mix the pureed beans with the powdered brownie mix and bake according to the package directions. I used a 9x13 pan and they came out about 1/2 thick and fairly dense. This was a good thing because we prefer our brownies more rich and moist and less cake-like.
There was no trace of bean smell or taste in either the batter (yes, I had to lick the batter just to check) or the finished brownies. Cameron ate 4 of them and said, "These are the best brownies ever!" And no, I did not tell him or Sierra that they were made with beans. I did tell Jason about the beans and he said they were delicious and he would never have known that there was anything different about them.
I hope you decide to try them for yourself. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
