Peppermint Grain Free Fudgy Brownies

Being die hard dessert adorers and avid swooners over all things saccarine, we decided for our next column post on Brooke and Maxxs Culinary Crafts to do something, surprise, surprise, sweet. Something comforting, wintery and rich. And who doesn’t love a good brownie? Fudgy, chocolatey, sweet, so delicious and satisfying. However, much to many peoples disheartenment, brownies tend to be calorie bombs laden with grain/flour, dairy and sugar.

I am psyched to report to you eager eaters though, that this recipe has no gluten/grains, is dairy free (save for egg), and has almost no sugar. How bout that for a sweet treat. Even better, these take just minutes to mix up. The one tough part: having to wait for them to cool overnight. But as someone who sampled them both warm as well as chilled can attest, there is a major difference. Its well worth the wait.

Ingredients

6 tablespoons of butter or ghee, your call

3-4 tablespoons of oil (we used grape seed oil)

1/2 cup of chocolate chips (I like the brand Enjoy Life which are vegan)

1 large egg, plus 1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/2 cup of canned pumpkin

3/4 cup of almond flour (this is essentially just ground up almonds. You can do this using a food processor, or can buy almond flour already set to go)

1/2 cup of cocoa powder (I recommend Hershey’s Dark)

3 tablespoons of coconut sugar (Or, I used Whole Earth which is a blend of raw sugar and stevia, with 50% less sugar)

For the Peppermint Cream Layer

1 cup of coconut cream (this is different from coconut milk. You should be able to find it in the foreign food section of the grocery store)

1 egg

2-3 tablespoons of coconut sugar (again, I used Whole Earth which is a blend of raw sugar and stevia, with 50% less sugar)

1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease an 8×8 baking pan.
Melt the chocolate chips and butter in the microwave in a medium size bowl. Be careful not to heat on too high of a temperature or the chocolate will burn.
Stir the egg, vanilla extract, and pumpkin into the melted chocolate mixture.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (the almond flour, cocoa powder and sugar).
Then stir the dry ingredients into the chocolate mixture.
Add in the tablespoons of oil last. They should make the batter semi-moist. If it seems to dry, add in a spoonful or two more of oil. Though be careful not to add in too much.
Spoon the batter into the greased pan. Do not put in the oven just yet.
In a separate, new bowl, whisk together the coconut cream and egg. Then stir in the sugar and peppermint extract.
Spread the finished peppermint cream topping on top of the brownie batter, in an even layer.
Shake on some sprinkles, if you feel so inclined.
Bake the brownies for about 40 minutes. Insert a knife or toothpick into them to check doneness. When it comes out clean, they are finished.
Important and crucial step: chill the brownies in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours before eating, though I recommend overnight. I promise, its worth it. Major difference in taste.