Try These Dark-Chocolate Brownies with a Secret Healthy Twist ASAP

'Tis the season for eating, so we're always looking for ways to make our favorite treats a little healthier. Enter this brownie recipe by Rebecca Andexler, author of cooking, baking, and parenting blog A Homemaker's Habitat. Andexler created the dark-chocolate sweets in collaboration with Bush's, which explains their secret nutritious ingredient: black beans. The beans give the brownies an extra healthy fiber boost, and no one ever needs to know your secret.

ingredients
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 each large piece of parchment paper
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (optional topping)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional topping)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Line 8"x8"x2" baking pan with parchment paper and grease with butter.

3. Combine beans, chocolate chips, flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, eggs, oil and vanilla extract in bowl of food processor.

4. Secure food processor lid and blend until mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes.

5. Spread batter evenly into prepared baking pan, using rubber spatula to scrape batter from bowl. If desired, sprinkle chocolate chips and walnuts evenly over top.

6. Bake 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of brownies comes out clean.

7. Remove pan from oven and allow brownies to cool completely before cutting into squares.

Servings: 16
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Culled from: shine.yahoocom