This is what happens when two roommates are bored on a Monday night:
Brownie batter happens.
Just to be clear: Lentil stew also happened Monday night. We didn’t only eat brownie batter for dinner. Although that might have been fun…
By popular demand, what follows is a sugar-free version of my Dark Chocolate Brownie Dip.
Emily and I liked this version, but I haven’t actually tried it on any of my other friends yet. So if you’re planning to bring it to a party with people not used to healthy-tasting desserts, I’d stick with the original decadent dip, linked above. (Or taste-test the following version before serving it to others. Then again, I think you should always taste-test before bringing a dish to a party!)
No-Sugar Brownie Batter Dip
Inspired by the Sugar-Free Cookie Dough Dip
- 1 can garbanzo beans, drained (250g)
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- up to 2 tbsp milk of choice
- 1/4c nut butter of choice (or oil, if you don’t want any nutty flavor)
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- a little over 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 and 1/4 cup pitted dates (I used SunMaid, from a regular grocery store)
- optional: feel free to add flaxmeal or quick oats
In a bowl, cover the dates with 1/2 cup water. Let this sit for at least 8 hours. Then add all ingredients (including the dates’ soaking liquid) to a food processor and blend until very, very smooth. It tasted much better in a food processor than in a Vitamix, so use a blender at your own risk. To make this taste more like brownie batter from a boxed mix, use dutch-processed cocoa or Hersheys special dark. This dip can be served as a dessert dip, as a spread with fruit or crackers, eaten with a spoon, mixed into oatmeal, stuffed into cupcakes, or even used to top pancakes.
If you wish, you can add some Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips.
Link Of The Day:
Hi Katie… I have a question for you, a naturally thin person… From the perspective of proper food combining, this batter you suggest is a combo abombo….my tummy would be rumbling all night and in the morning I would probably still be bloated. Does this happen to you? Do naturally thin peoples body take any combination of food and digest without bloating and gas? I don’t usually food combine properly but when I do my tummy is flat. Do thin people like you always have flat tummies? I am so curious : ) Thanks! Looks yummy : )
Oh lol no my stomach definitely does NOT always stay flat! It’s so funny… after a big meal, I can make it balloon out to look like I’m pregnant. My friends think it’s the most hilarious thing, and it’s an especially fun trick if you’re at a pool party.
I don’t know much about food combining, but I do know that I need to be careful around certain foods (like if I have savory oats, I shouldn’t plan to have a lot of veggies with the meal too… it’s just too much bulk, and my tummy feels awful afterwards). I’m especially careful around roast cauliflower. I could eat the entire head in a sitting, but I know I’d feel yucky afterwards!
Is there such a thing as too much brownie batter? = no never 🙂
I love the upside down pic with the spoon…cool shot!
Long live the Brownie Batter! I still need to make this!
I’ll have a big bowl of this, please.
As the kid who used to bemoan when the brownies went into the oven, this recipe looks awesome!
PS — made your pumpkin pizookie! Oh hells yes!
Oh my giddy aunt, this looks divine. I’m trying to avoid sugar because it makes me feel sick but am still craving desserts. Perfect, katie, as always. Your ability to keep devising new recipes astounds me-so clever!
No, there is never too much brownie batter. NEVER.
I think this would taste best with some cookies for dippage 🙂
There’s never such thing as too much brownie batter, cake batter or cookie dough. Why can’t those be considered “gourmet” desserts, ha.
I’m in! Just put garbanzo beans on my grocery list!
Mmm… this looks divine. I ordered a bunch of cans of garbanzo beans online a while back but I still haven’t used them yet. Might be about time to correct that!
Your answer to the above comment about bulk/food combining I find interesting. I know you need to take in a lot of calories to sustain yourself; do you find yourself eating beyond full just to meet that requirement? I know for me, especially as someone who is actually experiencing some reproductive issues due to inadequate energy intake coupled with vigorous exercise, I usually end up really packing it in at dinner =/ If I don’t, I’d have a hard time getting enough in in a day. And even doing that, a portion of my dinner usually becomes my pre-run snack the next morning!
Also I wanted to mention, in case one of your readers was having the same issues I was when doing vegan baking. If I didn’t use eggs or egg whites, the product was usually gooey and would collapse instead of rising. BUT, I figured out that if I add wheat gluten (a powder) to the dry ingredients, it turns out wonderful and cakey like I like =) I can only assume the necessary component is the protein, gluten being wheat protein and eggs being… uh.. egg protein. If anyone has further insight into this, I’m all ears!
Ooh that’s really smart, girl! I know my mom has a package of gluten at her house. I might have to experiment baking with it.
And yes, I do often have to eat when I’m not hungry. But I also try to eat a lot of calorie-dense foods so I don’t take up too much room in my stomach before I’m full! 🙂