Doesn’t this look delicious?

How about this one?  mmmm… no drooling on your keyboard or iPhone now!

I promised in the Craving Sweets post that I would be back to share my experience with two different recipes for Black Bean Brownies.  I first tried a black bean brownie a few months back and I was instantly smitten with this healthier alternative to a regular brownie.  This past week, the summer intern at our office had his last day, and I wanted to bring something in to share, so I figured it would be the perfect opportunity for these intriguing brownies to be taste-tested!

The recipe used for the first brownie pictured above (with the nuts) comes from one of my favorite blogs, No Meat Athlete.  Matt’s sister Christine is a fabulous baker and I knew it would be her recipe I had to try for this round of Battle of the Brownies.  It is completely vegan and therefore dairy-free and egg-free.  It is not gluten-free, as it does contain whole wheat flour.

The recipe used for the second brownie pictured comes from a site called Happy Herbivore.  I’ve made this recipe a few times in the past with great success.  It too is vegan, with no dairy or eggs.  It also contains no flour and uses oats and bananas as its base.

The NMA brownie comes out truly like a brownie, with a great cakey texture (below, on the left).  The HH brownie is denser with a definite banana flavor, and a dense almost fudge-like consistency (below, right).

I tried to stay very true to each recipe to be fair to the chefs who created them, other than not having a couple of ingredients and making those adjustments.

Christine’s NMA brownie calls for hazelnuts, and I couldn’t find them ANYWHERE in the store, so I chose to use raw crushed cashews on the top.  Also I didn’t have the instant decaf coffee, so I brewed up some decaf and used it in place of the water in the recipe.

In the HH brownie, I used half carob powder and half cocoa powder, did NOT add the optional raw sugar and used ground old fashioned oats in lieu of instant.

Both are super alternatives for having a homemade dessert to snack on when the chocolate cravings strike!

So which one won?

From a taste perspective, Christine’s NMA brownie won.  Many in the office really liked the NMA brownie cake texture, while some preferred the HH banana bread flavor of the denser brownie.  Personally my vote on taste alone was the NMA brownie, hands down.  Actually to a fault!  Because I had to put the remaining NMA brownies in the freezer as I was having a hard time keeping my hands off!  MSP also voted for the NMA brownie, but said that next time I make them I can cut back on the sugar.

From a nutritional profile perspective (and if you are in a weight loss program) I’d be more inclined to recommend the HH ones.  The raw sugar is optional (which I didn’t use), and the amount of agave in the recipe is negligible.  The main ingredients are bananas, beans and oats, whereas the NMA brownies use a fair amount of raw sugar and whole wheat.

In my opinion, I think you should try them BOTH!  And definitely take them to your next social gathering – telling people that the main ingredient is BLACK BEANS is definitely a conversation starter!  You really won’t believe it till you try them – you don’t even know the beans are there!

Enjoy a little chocolate (and black bean) decadence this holiday weekend!

– Shari B. =)

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