Mighty Macro Brownies

Brownies. Fudgy, chocolatey, dense, moist, warm, gooey brownies. Who doesn't love them! Finding a great vegan brownie is not easy. I have tried to make them using tofu, applesauce, bananas, and various egg replacers. I once even tried adding marshmallows to get that nice chewy texture (it didn't work). None was quite right, until I stumbled upon this genius recipe. The secret is in boiling the flour to make a paste. Weird, but it really does work, and I would know because I searched for 10 long brownie craving years, and I refused to settle for anything less than perfect. To me a perfect brownie is very chocolatey with a nice chewy texture.

These days, I am sticking to whole grains and natural sweeteners for their groovy goodness that has me feeling balanced and happy. I am loving eating vegan macrobiotic foods, and am feeling better than ever. This recipe is adapted from the ultimate vegan brownie recipe (linked above) to include whole grains, brown rice syrup and maple sugar. They are also topped with a cocoa frosting that is so smooth and chocolatey. Together they make Mighty Macro Brownie greatness.

Mighty Macro Brownies

Brownie Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup oat flour
1 cup cold water

3/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp ground flax meal

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1 cup natural sugar (maple sugar is really good)
3/4 cup brown rice syrup
1 tsp vanilla

Brownie Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Grease an 11x7 rectangle pan.

Mix the two flours in a large mixing bowl. Take 1/2 cup of that flour and the cup of cold water, and whisk them together in a saucepan to remove any lumps. Turn on the heat and bring the flour and water mixture to a boil, while continuing to stir. Let this thicken to a nice paste (you are looking for the consistency of porridge) and then remove from the heat to let cool.

Next, add the cocoa, salt, baking powder, and flax meal to the remaining flour in the mixing bowl. Whisk this together to break up any clumps of cocoa powder and to every distribute the dry ingredients.

In another mixing bowl, combine the melted coconut oil, sugar, brown rice syrup, and vanilla. To that, add the reserved boiled flour and water mixture and stir well to completely incorporate the oil and ensure there are no clumps of the flour mixture.

Finally, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until it is just combined. Pour into the prepared dish and bake for 25 minutes. Take the brownies out of the oven and let them cool.

Frosting Ingredients:

1/3 cup coconut oil
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp cocoa powder
4 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp vanilla

Frosting Directions:

Melt the coconut oil and stir in the rest of the ingredients, but don't cook them. Once the coconut oil is melted, you want it off any heat...it just needs to be melted to help mix everything together.

Put the frosting in the fridge for a few minutes to let it thicken up a bit before frosting your brownies. It is important to keep your eye on the frosting so you catch it between being runny and totally firming up. You want it spreadable, but not too thin. I just check on mine every few minutes...it doesn't take long for coconut oil to start to solidify at cool temperatures.

Once the brownies have cooled off and your frosting is spreadable, frost the brownies. To serve, cut into squares and dig in.

For 16 brownies. Nutritional information from caloriecount.about.com

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 76 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories  254 Calories from Fat  115

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  12.8g 20%

Saturated Fat  10.3g 52%

Trans Fat  0.0g

Cholesterol  0mg 0%

Sodium  198mg 8%

Potassium  201mg 6%

Total Carbohydrates  36.9g 12%

Dietary Fiber  2.5g 10%

Sugars  21.3g

Protein  3.0g

Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 0% Calcium 3% • Iron 9%

Nutrition Grade D-

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet