I love brownies! You will find quite a few brownie recipes on this blog, but, because I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes last year, I’ve been working on a version that is not only very chocolate-y, moist and low in fat, but made with low-glycemic ingredients. (See this post and this one.)
I did devise a very good low-glycemic brownie last September, which included the addition of yellow split pea puree and unsweetened applesauce. (See about the low-glycemic advantages of split peas and other pulses here.)
In this new recipe I still use my favorite low-glycemic flour combination of oat flour and chickpea flour, but, in addition to split peas and unsweetened applesauce, this new recipe utilizes prune puree , which provides sweetness (thereby cutting down on the amount of sugar needed) AND a whole lot of other goodness. (It seems that prunes contain lots of fiber, which is slow to digest, leaving you satisfied for a longer time. Prunes also have a low glycemic index count, which means that they raise the glucose [sugar] levels in your blood slowly. See this article for more about the benefits of adding prunes to your diet.
Printable Recipe
BRYANNA’S NEW MOIST AND VERY CHOCOLATE-Y LOW-FAT OAT & CHICKPEA FLOUR BROWNIES
(It also happens to be gluten-free if you use GF oatmeal.)
Makes 18 brownies
This is the latest (and maybe the last!) recipe in my quest for a really delicious dark chocolate, vegan, low-fat, low-glycemic brownie. It’s easy to make and, dare I say it, even healthful, despite being a delicious dessert item.
Oat flour and chickpea flour are both low-glycemic flours. Applesauce, prune puree and yellow split pea puree add plenty of fiber and nutrients, as well as moisture.
NOTE: I make oat flour by grinding oatmeal flakes in my Vitamix– just make sure the container is absolutely dry!
DRY MIX:
3/4 cup oat flour
1/2 cup +1 Tbsp dark cocoa powder
6 Tbsp. chickpea flour (also called besan) (or other bean flour)
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
WET MIX:
1 cup unsweetened smooth applesauce
1/2 cup Prune Puree (see end of blog for homemade recipe) OR babyfood pureed prunes in a jar
6 Tbsp. yellow split pea puree (see how to and store make below)
6 Tbsp. maple syrup or agave nectar
1 1/2 Tbsp. oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
ADDITIONAL:
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
INSTRUCTIONS:
Turn the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 7 x 11″ baking pan by lining with baking parchment.
Or, as I do, grease the bottom and sides of the inside of the pan lightly with my Homemade Palm-Oil-free, Non-Hydrogenated “Cake Releaseâ€� (Pan Coating or Professional Baker’s Grease) with GF Option.
Whisk the Dry Mix ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
In a larger bowl, whisk together the Wet Mix ingredients until smooth. Add the Dry Mix into the bowl and stir until smooth. Add the chopped walnuts and stir just to distribute evenly.
Scoop the batter into the prepared pan (using a silicone spatula to get as much as possible) and then spread it evenly into the pan with the spatula.
Bake for 18 minutes and cool thoroughly on a rack before cutting into 18 pieces.
HOW TO MAKE PRUNE PUREE:
Note: 2 cups of large pitted prunes, pressed down a bit, with make about 2 3/4 cups of prune puree.
In an appropriately-sized bowl, cover your prunes with hot water. (Make sure that they are completely covered with water.) Let the prunes sit until they are more or less lukewarm. Then pour the prunes and water into your blender and blend until VERY smooth. You can safely keep this in your refrigerator in a tightly-closed container for 2 or 3 days, or you might prefer to store it in 1/2-cup containers in the freezer.
HOW TO MAKE YELLOW SPLIT PEA PUREE (Makes 5 cups):
Mix 2 cups of dried split yellow peas with 4 cups of water in an Instant Pot and cook at high pressure for 10 minutes. (PS: You could use any other type of pressure cooker, OR you can simmer, covered, for 30 minutes in a medium saucepan on your stovetop.) The resulting soft mush just needed a few stirs to “puree”, or, if it looks a bit lumpy, you can cool it off a bit and puree it in your blender.
I refrigerate the puree in a covered container for a day or so– it will firm up considerably. You can press then the puree into silicone cupcake liners or large silicone ice cube trays in 1/4 cup portions, or into normal ice cube trays in 2 Tbsp. portions and freeze them. Then pop out the frozen portions, bag them up and place them back in the freezer for future use.
(See more about yellow split pea puree at this link.)
Enjoy!
