Champagne Thursdays: Brownies & Kitchen Gadgets

I was checking out my friend, Tina's blog, Cooking is a Whim, the other day and found a recipe for Honey-Bean Brownies and decided I needed to try them. Tina has a lot of recipes I want to try! She is so creative!

Honey-Bean Brownie Ingredients

Recipe from Cooking is a Whim

Honey-Bean Brownies

1 can (16 ounces) black beans or red kidney beans, rinsed well and drained

1/2 cup raw honey

3 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup baking cocoa

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

Dash salt

1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup pecans

Place beans in a food processor and process until fairly pureed. In a small glass bowl, microwave the honey and butter at 70% power until melted; stir until smooth. Add to the beans and process until blended; pulse in the cocoa.

Add the eggs, vanilla and salt; process just until blended. Add the chocolate chips; give a couple quick pulses. You want to stir it up a bit, but not chop up the pieces.

Pour into a greased 8-in. square baking pan and sprinkle with pecans. Bake at 350° for about 25 minutes or until top sprigs back when gently touched. Cool completely. Refrigerate for about 2 hours before cutting. Yields: 9 servings.

I used walnuts instead of pecans, because that's what I had at home and I used my new immersion blender instead of a food processor. My parents got Chris and I an Immersion blender for Christmas and I love it! I was a little skeptical at first, I didn't think it was all that different from a food processor, but it is. It is quick, easy and works great! It works great in soups. I love that you can use it, right in the pot or bowl, you are already using, so you don't need to get out some other gadget with a million pieces. It came with a chopper attachment too and chops up veggies in a flash. It's easy to clean up too, which is a major bonus. I think it will work well to make baby food in the near future.

My mom also got me a nut chopper, that I love too. Kitchen gadgets are so much fun! I only wish I had a bigger kitchen to store them all.

Immersion Blender

Walnuts Before

...and After

Anyways, back to the brownies...Parker and I are fans of the Honey-Bean brownies. They fulfilled my chocolate craving, without being too sweet. I do wish I would have had a little ice cream to go with it though. It's a treat I feel great sharing with Parker, since they are not loaded with sugar and they are made with black beans.

Since Valentine's day is coming up, I thought it would be fun to cut them into hearts and serve them. It was easy to do with a heart shaped cookie cutter.