battle of the brownies

One of my favorite baked goods is the brownie! I love them gooey and kind of raw in the middle. And definitely not the corners. I want all middle pieces. MMMMMMM. And they have to be straight from the box. But then I can also eat tons of batter...and half the pan. But okay, let's get back to the point.

For my lovely friend Rebecca's birthday, I wanted to make some vegan brownies so she could indulge (long story, she's cut out dairy because her cutie pie baby girl was having reflux while nursing). So I scour Pintrest and come up with a recipe that sounds like it could be good. And holy crap - they were!The recipe had no milk or eggs - just oil, flour, cocoa and sugar! The batter was even pretty good. It was no Betty Crocker - but I still licked that spoon.

The cooked brownies were also good! I ate one warm, and it had that gooey and yummy consistency. And Rebecca gobbled them down and agreed - very soft and delish! Hooray for vegan brownies.

So this weekend I was sad I had no brownies (or box mix), but I did have a can of black beans, so I decided to check out what my friend Pintrest had to say about black bean brownies. I figure, if they stink, I won't eat them and save the calories! Well, well, well. Pintrest did me well! Again!!

I used the Skinnytaste recipe - it was easy and yummy! In this case, the batter wasn't good. It tasted bean-ish and like a strong coffee aftertaste. I didn't have a good feeling about it. I baked them for about 25 minutes and the pick came out clean. I let them cool completely (as instructed) and then cut myself a brownie.

SUCCESS!!! These brownies were also soft and chewy, but in a different way than the vegan ones. The vegan ones felt soft in an oily way (to me at least) - while these ones felt soft in a different way. I loved the chocolate chips in them too. It made them extra chocolately. They had that gooeyness too. I was sad I couldn't eat them warm, but they were worth the wait!!

For me - the black bean brownies win! Great flavor and a brownie like consistency.  It doesn't mean I won't ever want boxed brownies, but if I can make these babies and get SO much fiber in a sweet treat, why wouldn't I?

What are you favorite Pintrest recipes for healthified foods?