Naughty and Nice Brownies (Almost Sugar Free Version)

So I have this recipe for brownies.  It’s a little bit naughty but it’s also a little bit nice.

Naughty and Nice Brownies

The butter and chocolate in these are undoubtedly high in fat and chocolate has its share of refined sugar.  However, I’ve used dark chocolate, which is higher in antioxidants so that, I’ve decided, gives me a tick in the nice column :).

The nice part of this recipe comes from the fact that there’s no added sugar (apart from what’s in the chocolate).  Instead of sugar, dates sweeten this mix. A deserving big fat tick in the nice column.

My 6 year old ate these without hesitation and loved it!!  And 6 year olds are unnervingly honest when it comes to expressing their likes or disdains and will cross-examine you endlessly if they even suspect you’re trying to sneak super foods into their diet.

My 3 year old ignored the brownies and nabbed the chocolate chips instead.

The Great Chocolate Chip Heist!

Recipe for Naughty and Nice Brownies 

Ingredients

1 cup Pitted Dates

80 grams Butter

40 grams (1/3 cup) Cocoa Powder

100 grams (1/2 cup) Dark Chocolate Chips (you can use milk chocolate if you prefer)

Extra 1/3 cup Dark Chocolate Chips for sprinkling on top

1 Egg

60 grams (1/2 cup) Plain Flour

1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder

Method

Set your oven to 180C (160C if you’re using a fan forced oven). (350F/Gas4).

Line a rectangular slice tray (18cm x 28cm or 7 x 11 inch) with baking paper.  I rub a little butter or oil at the base of the pan which helps to stick the baking paper down.

Soak the dates in hot water for about 10 minutes.

Melt the butter and chocolate in a pot (over low heat) or microwave (60 degrees on Speed 2 for 4 minutes if you’re using a Thermomix).

Drain the water from your dates and blitz drained dates in your blender. (Thermomixers blend on Speed 5 for 5 seconds).

Add 1 egg and mix. (Blend on Speed 5 for 5 seconds).

In a bowl add in your flour, baking powder and cocoa powder.  Using a spoon or whisk, mix the ingredients so they’re thoroughly combined.  This will help your mix rise evenly when baked.

Add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients and stir to combine. (Blend on Speed 5 for about 10 seconds).

Pour your batter into your baking tin. It’s quite a thick batter, so I use a spatula to spread the batter out evenly.

Sprinkle your chocolate chips on top of the batter.  If you prefer, you can mix the chocolate chips through the batter instead.

Ready to go in the oven

Pop in the middle rack of your oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. When you smell the glorious scent of chocolate in the air.  It’s pretty much ready.  I like my brownies on the fudgy side, so I bake mine for a shorter time.

If you can resist, leave for 10 minutes to cool before removing from the tin.  This helps the brownie to stay intact.

Leave to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing into squares.  A cooled brownie will be easier to slice and is less likely to fall apart on you.

Don’t worry if your brownie is a little soft when you remove it from the oven.  It will continue to solidify as it cools.

If you want to bring this to another level of decadence.  You can top it with this um healthy (?) chocolate sauce (ok nope, it’s nowhere near healthy:P).

Recipe for Chocolate Sauce

1/3 cup of dark chocolate chips

2 teaspoons of coconut oil

Pinch of salt (optional)

Put chocolate, coconut oil and salt in a microwave safe bowl and melt in the microwave for 30 seconds.  Stir well.  If it’s not melted, microwave again for another 20 seconds.  Stir and if not melted, microwave again for 10 seconds.  This process will depend on how powerful your microwave is and whether it’s a cold or warm day.  It took me 50 seconds altogether to melt the chocolate completely.  Be careful not to burn the mix.

Drizzle over your brownies and enjoy!!  

BecX