Deep Chocolate Black Bean Brownies

I know, I know...you are thinking, "I love brownies and there is no way that I am putting black beans in my brownies." Sure, you have heard of people doing it, but that doesn't mean you are willing to kill brownies yourself. Well, if you enjoy rich chocolate desserts, I urge you to give it a shot. These brownies might be healthy in that they don't have much added sugar (just from the semi-sweet chocolate), they get all their only fat from the beans, and there is no flour at all, but they are pretty tasty. I wouldn't say they taste like a brownie, but they don't taste beany to me at all. When I have used white beans in desserts, I agree that you can sort of taste them if you know they are there (even with added sugar), but black beans are much more stealth. I will warn you though that they are very intense in dark chocolate flavor so if that isn't for you, you might want to add some sugar. I am all about sweets, and I thought these were great. I ate them with a fork and savored every bite. Since I was making them for people who are used to "normal" desserts I added 3/4 tbsp of sugar (not much!) and sprinkled the top with milk chocolate chips, but that's not necessary.

Deep Chocolate Black Bean Brownies
How I Did It:

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
1 egg
3/4 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup + 1 tsp Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/8 cup milk chocolate (or semi-sweet chocolate) for topping

1. Preheat oven to 350. Coat a bread pan with canola oil and set aside.

2. Carefully melt the chocolate chips in the microwave or in a double-boiler. Stir to make sure all pieces are melted. Let cool slightly (continue to stir so it does not harden).

3. Pour rinsed black beans and the melted chocolate into food processor and pulse until smooth. Add in the rest of the ingredients and continue to process until smooth, occasionally scrapping down the sides.

4. Pour into prepared bread pan and spread out evenly.Sprinkle chocolate chips across the top.

5. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until the top starts to crack. Do not over-cook or they will be dry. Wait until fully cooled before cutting into bars. They can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge (do not leave out!) for a couple days.