You’re going to be seeing a lot of hearts this week.
Probably some red garments. Quite a bit of chocolate. A fair number of roses.
Possibly a few people saying ‘He went to Jared!’ and singing ’Every kiss begins with Kay…’
Ew.
You’re also going to need to call me Hot Lips this entire week.
Double ew.
And totally just kidding.
Let’s just stick with Hot Lips Socks – significantly less awkward.
This is how we do brownies in the AZ.
Where do you live?
This is how you should do brownies in Denver.
This is how you should do brownies in Cleveland.
This is probably how you should do brownies in Okeechobee.
This is definitely how you should do brownies in Palo Alto.
Don’t be intimidated by this bean situation. The flavors here just work.
Black beans, processed to a rich paste, simply act as a sort of foundation upon which you build your flavor casa.
Cocoa. Salt. Honey. Vanilla. And glistening eaves of instant espresso powder.
This casa is one you want to move into. Unpack your suitcase. Stay awhile. Perhaps take up current residence until you are forcibly removed by either the previous residents or an empty brownie pan, whichever comes first.
I cut my brownies into differently sized circles. They’re very rich, and I wanted people to be able to pick their poison. So to speak.
There’s no actual poison in this casa!
Just like there’s no longer any Black Bean Brownies left in this casa!
Oh well. What can I say? Hot Lips Socks out.
Black Bean Brownies
adapted from Baking With Agave Nectar
1/4 c. cocoa powder, unsweetened
1 c. unsalted butter, melted
2 c. black beans (I used well-drained, rinsed, canned beans – feel free to go the short-cut route.)
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1/4 c. instant espresso powder
1/4 tsp. salt
4 large eggs
1 c. honey
Preheat oven to 350°.
Line a 9″ x 13″ baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, place the beans, cocoa powder, melted butter, vanilla extract, salt, espresso powder and eggs. Process until smooth and remove to a large bowl. Stir in the honey. Pour the mixture into the lined pan and bake for 45-47 minutes. Cooked brownies will be solid, fragrant and dark, and will not jiggle when the pan is shaken.
Allow brownies to cool to room temperature before unmolding. I also recommend refrigerating the brownies, possibly even overnight, if you are going to use a cookie cutter on them as I did. Slicing the brownies into squares is perfectly fine, though, especially if you just don’t want to wait.
YIELD: 1- 9″ x 13″ tray of brownies, sliced and served as you choose
Made this for our Valentine’s Day dessert–delicious! Looking forward to sharing more of these fragrant and unique brownies with some good friends.
Hi Meagan!
These brownies look awesome! I’ve not had any sugar for 2 months now, but feel ready to try something made with honey and these look perfect
I can’t have coffee, would it affect the texture if I simple omitted it?
Also I’m in the UK and black beans don’t seem to be easily available~ is there another type of bean that could work?
Shared on Pinterest and Facebook~ I think my fellow wheat-free friends will be trying this one!
~Kaz x
Hi Karen! First, good for you for going cold turkey on the sugar! These brownies should be a lovely way to work something sweet back into your diet! You can absolutely omit the coffee without impacting the texture of the final product. You can also use other types of beans in this recipe. If you used, say, a pinto bean, the finished ‘brownies’ will be a color similar to that of these blondies, but shouldn’t be too different in texture and flavor: http://scarlettabakes.com/pinto-bean-blondies/. Let me know how your bars turn out!
Wonderful thank you!
Yes I’ll try them soon, promise, and let you know how they work
Excellent blog~ thank you for being so generous with your baking knowledge!!
~Kaz x
Meagan, do you think I can freeze these for about two weeks before serving? I haven’t made them before but I want to include them in a Mexican Feast dinner I am doing but time won’t allow to bake just before the dinner. Freeze or not to freeze? Thanks!
I do think these would freeze well, Catherine. They’re so dense that as long as they are fully defrosted when you serve them they should be just fine. Enjoy!
Thank you Meagan! BTW – the Sangrita cake looks wonderful!
Okay, so it took me awhile, but we love the Black Bean Brownies. Thanks for the inspiration.
Your brownies look AMAZING, Catherine! So glad they were a hit.
Searching the web for gluten-free goodies and this fits the bill! I like that I can get the protein of beans into my picky eater without her knowing. Brilliant to cut them into different sizes, now I can justify those cute round cookie cutters I just had to have.
Since someone made me a batch of black-bean brownies for my birthday (woah, alliteration!), I’ve been berserk (more alliteration!) about them. I love the idea of cutting them into shapes, though: I knew I bought a Brontosaurus cookie cutter for a reason…
fooled my family who detests my experimental baking! i added some shaved/chopped 70% dark chocolate to it and made it in muffin cups — turned out wonderfully dark and rich! i’d like to be able to adapt it to have more health value though…would egg whites only and half oil, half applesauce ruin the recipe? otherwise, great stuff!
I think you could absolutely get away with the substitutions that you mention. I think the flavor would still be fantastic, especially with the addition of the applesauce, and I think the only difference would be a slightly lighter, less dense brownie. Let me know how they turn out!
these brownies are in the oven!!
i’m so excited!! i didn’t have parchment paper though, so i just omitted that and sprayed my glass dish really well. was that a mistake? why use the parchment paper?
I simply prefer lining with parchment – it’s my ‘no worries’ way of ensuring that nothing ever sticks to the pan. That said, a good greasing should work just as well. How did the brownies turn out??
Great post! Special congratulations on the Food Buzz top 9 list! So excited when I saw your black bean brownies by Scarletta Bakes! I said to myself, “I KNOW her!” Congrats from your newest fan — Catherine of the chipotle sweet potato fame!
Absolutely Dahlicious looking. I love the beans inside- it really helps with guilt feelings.
These look great, love the circle shape idea! And there is really no bean taste? At all?
Nope! Not to this palate!
I have seen similar recipes with black beans in them but haven’t tried them. A bit skeptical I guess. Do you taste the beans at all? Or they are just there for texture and consistency and to cut the fat?
They are just adorable.
I really don’t get any bean flavor at all. It’s all about the texture and consistency.
This is such an interesting idea! I am always looking for low sugar treats and this is perfect! Thanks!
Hi…this recipe sounds FANTASTIC! I’m wondering what you think about subbing applesauce for the butter? I know, I know but I’m trying to fit this into my diet plan. Thank for your help!
Give it a shot but I do think that you’ll need some sort of fat to make these really work. Even a light butter or oil… or maybe a light cream cheese? They’re already super moist because of the beans, but I think that having even a little fat helps to pull everything together.
Great post! Love it! I think I can even taste this brownies from the pictures! I always wanted to make my own black beans cakes. I worked with Korean ladies for some time, and fell in love with their cuisine. They have similar cakes made out of red beans. I will definitely try this recipe! Thanks for sharing.
Can you replace brown sugar with honey? I don’t have enough honey at home. Was wondering would it affect the texture with brown sugar?
Hmm, I don’t know about this one. The liquid consistency of the honey really loosens the batter up; if you substitute brown sugar your finished brownies might be awfully hard. I would even go for maple syrup over brown sugar. But, you know, give it a try and it may work. I would recommend using 1/2 c. brown sugar. Let me know how they turn out!
This dessert looks great! I would love it if you linked up this recipe to my blog hop for a chance to win a cookbook prize package: http://bit.ly/wJSl1h
I’ve actually had a version of these before and you’re right, the flavors DO work very well together. The black beans add a nice texture as well, almost an extra depth of chewiness. Great recipe!
Hi Meagan
I’m definitely going to try these!
Meagan, just wanted to just check that 1 cup of unsalted butter, melted is about a packet of butter in London, won’t this make it quite oily/greasy? Also could I use agave syrup instead of honey or would that be much sweeter? Also do you think I could use this for cake pops
– oops sorry soo many questions but l looking forward to making these! 
No sweat, Deepika! I’ve got answers!
1. The recipe truly does call for 1 cup of butter and the finished product is not greasy at all. I would guess that the beans sort of counteract the fat because while the brownies are quite moist they are not at all oily. If you are still nervous about it, though, you could probably reduce the amount of butter that you use. Maybe try it with just 2/3 cup.
2. Absolutely yes on the agave syrup! That’s what the original recipe actually calls for instead of honey. I just personally love honey and chocolate together.
3. Yes, yes, 1,000,000 times YES on the cake pops! I am fervently clinging on to the scraps that resulted from my circular cuts – I think that their super-moistness will yield amazing cake pops.
Any suggestions on what to substitute for expresso-I do not like coffee.
Thanks
How about cinnamon? I think that the coffee is a really nice compliment to the chocolate here, so you would want something that works just as well with that dominant flavor of the cocoa. But, of course, if you do go with cinnamon, I would not add a full quarter cup of it. Maybe just a few teaspoons.
I add chili powder to my brownies – only about 1/4 tsp. I sometimes add cinamon, ground cloves and a pinch of ginger too. It’s awesome.
Looking forward to trying this recipe (on cheat day!).
I have made black bean brownies from a box of brownies mix (just pureed the black beans and added them to the mix, omitting everything else). I loved them! They were very moist, dense, and fudgey–just how I like my brownies! But I have been trying to do more from-scratch baking. I can’t wait to try some homemade black bean brownies! Thanks for sharing!
would you be able to substitute a vegetable oil for the butter in the black bean brownie recipe?
Yes! Oil for butter would be a fine substitution in this recipe.
Amazing brownie recipe! I love the measuring spoon.
Can’t wait to try these! Is there a substitute for the espresso powder?
You know, I think you could probably go with plain coffee grounds. I wouldn’t omit the coffee, though: the combination of the chocolate and coffee flavors together is probably one of the best parts of these brownies!
I made this exact same thing, except, in a cake!
Sup, Hot Lips?
I don’t know exactly why, but I think I trust you about the brownies. Probably because they almost look like fudge so moist and I think the black beans added a good part to that.
Cheers,
Tobias
I love black bean brownies and the concept of a brownie having fiber is awesome! It would be nice to include nutritiional info if you can.
I love black bean brownies, and I’ll definitely give this recipe a try. Just started cutting my brownies into shapes. A bit more work, and you can always make cake pops with the left-overs… Beautiful photos and very clear description.
What a great way to get kids to eat something healthy!!!!
Ewe, now I see the bugs too! Power of suggestion. I’ve ate Back Bean brownies before and loved them. The beans keep them very moist. But the recipes were always complicated. Love that this one is sooo simple. Thanks!
Can you not add the honey into the food processor with the other stuff or after the other stuff has been processed? Just trying to avoid washing a second bowl.
Thanks, and looking forward to trying this one – I love black bean brownies, but also easy recipes and yours is the easiest looking I’ve seen.
Absolutely, yes. I adapted this recipe to be as simple as possible but made that one adjustment to get a photograph. Feel free to just throw everything in the food processor together.
Wow I’ve never even dreamt of using black beans in a dessert… but then it makes sense! I mean the Japanese have been using red beans in desserts forever and we use soy beans and all different types of beans in a variety of desserts
These look fantastic and I love the photo of your ‘hot lips’ socks hehe
Hope you had a wonderful V-day!
I’ve been meaning to try black bean brownies for a while now… these look awesome and so chewy. Will def try now!
What a fun brownie recipe. I love that you cut yours into circles!
Genius!
Holy smokes, that’s a delicious looking stack!
Lovely. And so moist!
I love black bean brownies. I think they are so under-rated!! Truly. Yours look awesome!
When I looked at the picture of your socks my first thought was: Why in the world she wear socks with white bugs on red welts?
Lips?
No, I didn’t see lips. I saw bugs.
By the way, nice socks.
Ink blot! I saw lips, you saw bugs. Now I see bugs. We are clearly two halves of a whole brain.
Black beans. Who wouldda thunk? Must try this. Thanks for spilling the beans.
Nice socks!
Your measuring spoon is a heart! That’s awesome. And I have to admit I am totally scared to try these, but they are worth a shot!
My mom first told me about these and I didn’t believer her. There was no way these could be good. I was wrong and she was right. (That wasn’t the first time.)
Meagan you made the brownies I have been wanting to make forever! I must give these a try. PS- LOVE the socks & measuring spoon!
Oooh, shudder. These make me so nervous, but from your description I think I want to try! I’ve done my fair share of white bean desserts, but this will be a new frontier… here we go!
Woot! Let me know how it goes!!
Chocolate cake made with beets doesn’t scare me. Gingerbread muffins with zucchini in them don’t scare me. Black bean brownies scare me — I’ll have to be an unwitting victim — er — consumer — of them: just don’t tell me before hand.
I make brownies with black beans whenever my husband is not around to see the evidence. He happily eats them up. Nothing says Happy Valentine’s Day like the black beans.
Fantastic!
I have been seeing BBBrownies for years on blogs but have never actually made them. I admit, I’m scared that they will taste like my brownies met hummus along the way and never fully became full-on brownies. You have me almost convinced though
Trust me – no hummus here. The black beans add so much to the texture and consistency of the brownies, but almost nothing to the flavor. I say go for it!
I love the idea of black beans in brownies! These sound delicious and I would love a big pan of them for Valentine’s day
! Nice socks!
I made these with my dad a while back and loved them!
I really, really want to try these….but I’d have to be mum about the secret ingredient…and see what my family thinks
After this past week I’m almost ready to give up chocolate altogether, but I will make one last exception for these. Espresso and black beans? I have to taste that to believe it!
I have been wanting to try the black beans in brownies thing for awhile, but it has made me nervous. Going to have to give in and just try it! Plus I am only 45 minutes from Denver, and since this is how they do it there, I feel the need to fit in
Now you have us fat and farting? You’re really on a run here…
Um, there are so many directions I could go with this reply. Between ‘fat and farting’ and ‘on a run’…
I’m a lady. I’ll use self-restraint and simply thank you for your comment.
I’m a lady. I’m a lady. I’m a lady. I’m a lady…
Another incredible recipe and hilarious post. Your writing style always puts a smile on my face. Love your heart shaped measuring spoon and socks!
I’ve never made a dessert using black beans, now I’m really compelled to experiment with it in the kitchen. Thanks for sharing Meagan, hope you have a fabulous Valentine’s Day <3
What did you do with all those leftover edge pieces? Cooks perks I hope! These look gorgeous and beautifully moist, yum
Uh, you’ll have to ask my tummy about those edge pieces.
Yum! These look so fudgy!
This post made me smile, and crave brownies. I’m totally not intimidated by the bean situation. Black beans are the bees knees. I could live off of them…..but then I’d get scurvy, and die. Valentine’s day makes me dramatic.
I’m going to try these out, and give one to my husband without telling him about the bean situation. I love telling him AFTER he’s devoured every crumb.
I like your strategy with regard to information sharing. I like it so much that I smiled until my face fell off. Valentine’s Day makes me dramatic too.
Love this post. These brownies look super easy, and good to have around in an emergency when you need to whip up a dessert but don’t have any flour. (Not that, er. . . I’m that disorganized or anything. I mean, I, too, know exactly where my Valentine’s themed footwear is. Roughly.)
OMG I want one right now. Excellent idea, I can taste how soft they must be. YUM. I also have “Every kiss begins with Kay” stuck in my head now, thanks alot