Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Gluten-Free Chickpea Brownies


Okay, I wasn't going to get this up so soon, as I have this massive backlog of posts to get up, but all I've been hearing after showing a couple of sneak peeks on Instagram and Facebook is….GIVE US THE RECIPE.

And I'm only here to please!

My aunt from Canada is adorable, she's bright, bubbly, crazy about sales and the Goodwill shop, and also quite into her food. On her most recent visit to Melbourne, she brought down this recipe that she had photocopied at work, from the a 2010 Healthy Cooking magazine, with me in mind. 



It's quite interesting watching the general awareness of gluten allergies go up over the past couple of years. I'm not celiac, but I used to get the worst tummy pains from eating a lot of bread, cake, pizza etc so went cold turkey from gluten for many, many, many years (I started being gluten free when I was in grade 8).

I'm a little bit naughtier these days, as my body has slowly readjusted and I will tuck into a slice of gorgeous bread every now and again, but I am super appreciative that there are so many options, especially in Melbourne, to go gluten free with. 

I've never had an issue with making gluten free brownies before, I've always just used gluten free flour, and to me, you can hardly tell the difference if they're done well. And really, it's not that hard to do brownies well. 



However, chickpeas are one of those ingredients that you just would never put into sweets…yet here we are. Chocolate and chickpeas. 

It sounds incredulous, but it works. Or at least all three times I've made the recipe now. The lack of flour, instead being replaced with chickpeas give you beautifully dense and moist (MOIIIIST) brownies, and surprisingly you really don't get the flavour of the chickpeas at all. I've given these to a room of boys playing videogames (how I spend my afternoons every now and again…) and asked them what they thought was in it. They all looked at me puzzled until I told them the secret ingredient!


What I also love about this recipe is that there is no butter. No butter and only 2 tablespoons of oil. So they're like, kinda healthy. Surely. Protein brownies I say! (Or so I tell myself when I come home from the gym and scoff down two or three.)


And one more thing I love about this recipe (cause I clearly don't love it enough already), it's so freaking fast. Brownies are in the oven before you can even begin contemplating if you should lick that chocolate spoon clean….

Gluten-Free Chickpea Brownies

15 minutes to prep
30 minutes baking time

1 and 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate (I used 200g of chocolate, but nothing stopping from you using a little more!)
1 can (400g) garbanzo beans or chickpeas, rinsed and drained
3 egg whites
1 egg
2 tablespoons instant coffee granules (magazine said optional, I think essential, gives more roundness to brownie flavour)
2 tablespoon canola oil (I used rice bran oil)
1 and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
Dash of salt

Method
1. Pre-heat oven to 160C

2. Melt chocolate using preferred method (I bain marie it) and stir until smooth. Allow to cool.

3. Place beans, egg whites, egg, coffee granules, oil and vanilla in a food processor (if you don't have a food processor, you could probably just pop it in the blender). Process all until smooth. 

4. In a small bowl combine the brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Add it into the processor with the bean mixture. Process until combined.

5. Gradually add chocolate into the processor and process until blended.

6. Pour the batter into a 9 inch square baking pan, either sprayed with cooking spray or lined with baking paper. Bake in a fan force oven at 150-160C for 30 minutes. When ready, a toothpick or skewer inserted into the middle of the brownie should have moist crumbs on it, you don't want it to come out clean otherwise it's overcooked!

7. Cool completely on a wire wrack.

8. Devour in 5 minutes!



I've only just realised that my recipe was uploaded in a very timely manner, as I can also participate in this month's Sweet Adventures Blog Hop of Cake and Three Veg! Excite!

Thanks to 84th and 3rd for hosting this month's SABH!







31 comments:

  1. love it! this looks fabulous :) i just posted about gluten free brownies too hahaha snaps

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  2. Seriously, when I first started reading words like avocado and spinach (and now chickpea?!) in sweet recipes I was sure the internet was playing a mean trick on me :) These look delicious however and I am mighty tempted to give them a go.

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    1. It's crazy how creative recipes and people are getting these days...but it works and hey, it makes those desserts a lil bit healthier...kinda.. ;)

      And yes do try them out! Would love to hear how you find them!

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  3. Oh this is beautiful! Bookmarking to try!

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  4. Awesome! I made a chocolate slice with chickpeas in it recently and it turned out almost like fudge. I like the cakier look and coffee in yours.

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    1. Mmm, although that does sound good too! I think the egg whites also help give it a bit of lightness as well!

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  5. LOL, I bought a can of chickpeas the other day to bake a sweet treat and haven't used them yet so I'm psyched I found your recipe to give me some guidance! Brownies are my all-time favorite dessert! Just need some dark chocolate and I'll be baking these up in a jiffy! will let you know how they turn out. Happy Thanksgiving!!

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    1. Oh what good timing! :) Looking forward to seeing what you think! Happy Thanksgiving to you too!

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  6. I've been making black bean brownies for ages but love the chickpeas in this version - nice one!

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    1. Ooh, black beans? That would be interesting too, maybe will switch it up next time!

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  7. Oh Ash I didn't know that you were a little intolerant towards bread and other glutenny things :) glad that you're body has readjusted and you don't get sick anymore.

    This is a fantastic recipe! I honestly have never thought of it chickpeas and chocolate but they look incredible fudgey and yum! Definitely have friends who are gluten intolerant and will try this recipe :D

    Thank you for posting it up so quickly!

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    1. Hehe, you're welcome! Everybody has been asking for it, so figured better to get it up sooner than not! :)

      Hope the recipe works out well for you as well!

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  8. Chickpeas? In a brownie? Wow, that is OUT THERE, Ashley but these look so great and moist. Love!

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    1. I know right! Love them though :) Do try them out sometime!

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  9. I actually prefer chickpea blondies, but brownies are pretty awesome too! You could try chickpea "cookie dough" dip next. Is goooooood.

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    1. Oooooh. Chickpea blondie and cookie dough both sound good. Noms!

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  10. I can vouch that this recipe is to die for!!! Thanks so much Ash for sharing it with us I wanna make it for other ppl too and tell them abt my cool friend who's an awesome food blogger with a great personality who shared this to me first =)

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    1. Naaawww, you always say such nice things Wince! :) I hope your friends like it too!!

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  11. So cool! I have to try this some time. I can imagine chick peas making these brownies really fudgy :))

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    1. Yah they do! But still kinda brownie cakey like too...all the noms!

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  12. They look so fabolous! You would never notice chickpeas being in it.

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  13. Looks lovely, have definitely bookmarked this to try!

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  14. Finally made them and they are soooo good (and guilt-free!). Have had to print the recipe for a few people too.

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  15. Made these today for a BBQ and they were a hit! Thanks for sharing.
    Do you find them to have a different texture, almost like there's oatmeal in them? Maybe I need to keep them in the food processor longer. I liked the texture but a couple others who are texture sensitive were less impressed.
    Tricked my picky nephew much to the pleasure of his mom who is adding the recipe to her stash.

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    1. I've always chucked mine in the blender for ages, although I can probably see where you're coming from. Thus far though, I've been able to trick everyone I've been giving them too! Mine have generally come out really dense and fudgy.

      Maybe you could try putting in some nuts in the mix as well just to give it a different texture as well? :)

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  16. I will try blending them a little longer but whatever, if my boys won't eat them it is more reason for me to hog the goods. Good call on adding the nuts.
    Thanks again!

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  17. Hi
    Can I make these in the Microwave(NOT MICROWAVE OVEN-JUST PLAIN MICROWAVE) too?.Thanks-Renu.

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  18. Hi
    Can I make these in the Microwave(NOT MICROWAVE OVEN-JUST PLAIN MICROWAVE) too?.Thanks-Renu.

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  19. Hi
    Can I make these in the Microwave too(NOT MICROWAVE OVEN-JUST PLAIN MICROWAVE)?.I just loved the idea of chickpeas in a dessert and it looks devine!I will definitely give it a try.Thanks-Renu.

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