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I love these brownies because you can just throw all the ingredients into a blender or food processor to combine- no mixing or kneading necessary. This also means that these brownies aren’t super messy to make, because the blender or food processor and pan are the only dishes used!
Let’s take a second to talk about ‘healthifying’ holiday desserts (or any dessert for that matter). I have a blog post talking more about how to eat intuitively throughout the holidays, but we may as well touch on it here. These vegan brownies use chickpeas as their base, which means they’re higher in protein, fiber, and iron than the average brownie. From my professional perspective as a Registered Dietitian, as well as my personal perspective, I see nothing wrong with the ‘healthified’ versions of certain foods, so long as they’re not seen as a direct, all-the-time replacement as the original food itself. What do I mean by this? The bottom line is that these vegan brownies are delicious. They’re chocolatey, gooey, pepperminty, and have an amazing texture. But they’re not a replacement for regular brownies to me. I eat these ‘healthified’ vegan brownies because they’re delicious, and sure, I like that there’s added protein and fiber in them. But I don’t use these as a replacement for regular vegan brownies. I don’t feel deprived after eating them. And I don’t feel ‘good’ for eating these and ‘bad’ for eating regular vegan brownies. I will be sharing holiday recipes this year that are both ‘healthified’ and ‘regular vegan’ and I love them all the same, and I hope you will too.
Okay, onto the easy peppermint vegan brownies!
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Easy Peppermint Vegan Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 can (540 mL) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup crushed candy canes
- 1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips
- 1 tsp coconut oil
Equipment
- High speed blender or food processor
- Baking pan, 9x5x3 inches
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease loaf pan with coconut oil.
- Add everything but candy canes and chocolate chips to a high-speed blender or food processor and blend until smooth. If mixture is too thick, add plant-based milk, 1 tbsp at a time, until it blends.
- Fold in chocolate chips.
- Bake at 350 F for 25 minutes, or until a fork comes out clean (may have to cook longer if added plant-based milk). Top with crushed candy cane and enjoy!
