chocolate almond butter brownies with sea salt (vegan)

This was our week….

Thank Abi, Isaac, Aaron and Seth… It was so much FUN!

When you are in the mood for a rich chocolate treat, these really hit the spot. They are divine and decadent. I ended up cutting these squares into quarters for smaller bite-size pieces.

tip

I used Medjool dates, which are very moist, so there was no need to soak them. But if you are using regular dry dates, soak them for 20 minutes and drain them well before adding them to the blender.

CHOCOLATE ALMOND BUTTER BROWNIES WITH SEA SALT

Original recipe here.

If you’re a serious chocolate lover and prefer the intensity of the chocolate flavour using a darker percentage of chocolate, you may want to refer to the original recipe above. I prefer a less intense chocolate flavour, less bitter, and more sweetness.

ingredients 

½ cup Medjool dates, pitted 

1½ cups whole-spelt flour

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1½ tsp aluminium-free baking powder

¼ cup homemade almond butter  + 2 Tbsp

¾ cup oil (I used ½ coconut oil & ¼ olive oil)

¾ cup maple syrup

½ cup light brown sugar

¼ cup homemade almond milk  (can use plain soy)

¼ tsp sea salt

1 Tbsp vanilla essence

½ cup 55% dark chocolate chips or a roughly chopped dark chocolate bar

½ cup toasted pecans/almonds, chopped

a sprinkling of flakey sea salt

preparation 

1. Preheat the oven to 350F /180C.  Line a 13 x 9-inch pan with parchment paper.  Brush paper and sides of pan lightly with oil, and set aside.
2. Sift flour, cocoa powder and baking powder into a medium bowl – whisk to combine and set aside.
3. In a blender or food processor, place almond butter, oil, maple syrup, sugar, almond milk, salt, vanilla, and dates – blend until smooth (It’s okay if a few small date pieces are not blended).
4. Pour into sifted flour mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until almost combined.
5. Stir the chocolate pieces into the batter, being careful not to over-mix.
6. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread out evenly.  The batter will be thick.  Sprinkle with toasted pecans/almonds and a sprinkling of flakey salt.
7. Bake for 25 minutes or until edges pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.  Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

Goodness shared from Stacey