Besides being too "cookie cutter" for my tastes, the problem with most of those pre-boxed treats is that they're not necessarily allergy-friendly (and if they are, they're often bland and dry). Along with my own slew of intolerances, we have one vegan, two vegetarians and a girl with celiac and a dairy allergy. I made two different desserts at Christmastime (one with wheat, eggs and dairy, the other GF / vegan) but this time around I wanted to promote inclusiveness with something everyone would not only be able to eat, but would enjoy. I was so grateful to stumble onto Chrystal's recipe which, with a few easy modifications, is almost entirely allergy-free and diabetic friendly to boot. If you can believe it, absolutely zero flour goes into these rich, fudgy vegan bites of awesome! Yes, zero - the bulk of these chocolatey, (mostly) stevia-and agave-sweetened squares is made up of purple sweet potato (ube), vegan protein powder, ground flax and Ghirardelli Chocolate Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa - no nuts, no flours or starches, no gums, no eggs and no milk. Now, the Ghirardelli does contain a small amount of sugar, so these aren't 100% sugar free... but that too is easily remedied with a switch to regular cocoa and a few extra pops of stevia.
My favourite thing about these bars was when I cut into them and hit a pocket of not-quite-pureed sweet potato. All of a sudden a flash of violet appeared in the middle of the rich brown, giving a marbled, unique appearance without really changing much in the way of texture or flavour. After it cooled, I proceeded to thoroughly drench the pan in that shiny Cocoa Icing, creating a dessert that looked and tasted absolutely sinful and verboten for restricted diets but in reality was anything but!
Shared with Gluten Free Fridays and Wellness Weekend
Flourless Chocolate Brownies
Makes 1 8" pan, 16 2" squares
1 medium-large sweet potato, any colour (I used purple), cooked and mashed very smooth
¼ cup (1 scoop) vegan chocolate protein powder (I used Sunwarrior Chocolate Classic)
⅓ cup Ghirardelli Chocolate Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa (see above for 100% sugar free substitution)
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp amber agave nectar
¼ cup hot coffee
5 Pure Via All Natural Stevia and Turbinado Raw Cane Sugar Blend Packets (or 5 tsp raw sugar)
¼ cup ground flaxseed
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease an 8” square pan.
- By hand, beat all the ingredients together until smooth and thick.
- Bake for 20 minutes, until firm and a toothpick comes out with barely any moist crumbs.
- Cool completely (ideally, chill overnight) before cutting.
- If glazing or frosting, bring to room temperature first!
Calories: 54.9
Total Fat: 2.5 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 8.7 mg
Total Carbs: 7.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.1 g
Protein: 1.7 g
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