Fudgy Dark Chocolate Nut Butter Brownies (Vegan!)

We'll be the first to admit - it can be challenging to make excellent brownies from scratch. While not seemingly complicated ingredient-wise, there's a reason why many people choose to go the pre-mixed box route. Add into the equation an absence of eggs and gluten, and your odds for mastering that perfect brownie just moved a little further from your favor. That's why this recipe is your new best friend. When we want to bake some vegan goodies, we typically turn to one blog in particular: The Vegan 8. Brandi's recipes are always ridiculously good - and it's obvious she's put a lot of care into her work - perfecting and tweaking things so you don't have to. We also love the simplicity of her ingredients - 8 ingredients or less AND vegan?! Get out. 

This recipe was entirely adapted from her Fudgy Coconut Butter Brownies. We subbed in our Ecuadorian raw cacao powder for the cocoa, and our Dastony sprouted almond butter for the roasted almond butter. We also used our luscious stone ground Dastony coconut butter. We slightly tweaked the ratio of maple syrup and vanilla as well. Our recipe is below, but you can find the original recipe HERE - and we cannot encourage you enough to go check out ALL of Brandi's other recipes for vegan baked goods, desserts, and savory meals. You will not be dissapointed! 

The Recipe

Ingredients

3/4 cup oat flour - grind organic gluten free oats in a food processor or high speed blender until powdery

1/2 cup RawGuru raw cacao powder 

3 tablespoons tapioca starch

1/2 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt

1/2 cup mini semi-sweet, dark, vegan chocolate chips

3/4 cup pure grade B maple syrup, room temperature

3/4 cup gently melted Dastony stone ground coconut butter (not coconut oil!)

1/3 cup Dastony stone ground sprouted almond butter (or Dastony standard almond butter) 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup pure water

Instructions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees and lightly oil a 8x8 metal pan with coconut oil 

2. Mix your dry ingredients in a bowl

3. Gently melt your cocout butter over low heat, and mix together this with the maple syrup, vanilla, and water. 

4. Mix liquid into dry ingredients, stir well. Batter will be thick. Immediately spread into your pan as the oats will begin to absorb moisture and thicken the batter. 

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Check by sticking a toothpick into a brownie - it should come out with a few crumbs only, the edges of the brownies will be pulled slightly from the pan, and the top will have begun to crackle. Let cool for at least 45 minutes so that the coconut butter helps bind them together - otherwise they will crumble. Store in foil at room temperature, or in the fridge if you want an even more dense fudgy texture. ENJOY!