Not-So-Beany Bean Brownies

I'll admit it.  Will you?  Black bean brownies just aren't good.  I mean, I'll eat them...cuz they're on my counter...but they aren't crave worthy, nor brownie-craving quenching.  They make neither good brownies, nor good beans!  I'm done trying to pretend!

Nevertheless, earlier this week I was having a craving and also needed a tasty but somewhat healthy after-school snack for the kids.  We'd all been living on leftover (bready) stuffing from a dinner over the weekend, so we didn't need any more empty carbs.  I remembered I had some fava bean flour in the pantry a friend had passed on to me, and that got my wheels turning.  I've mentioned before I'm far from an expert on the science of gluten-free baking; so, kids, I winged (wung?) it.  There was a recipe for banana bread on the back of the fava bean flour bag, so I gauged the amount of accompanying GF-friendly ingredients I thought would meet my brownie needs and was pretty happy with the outcome!  I daresay these are even better than some of the other vegan brownies I've made with white/wheat flours. 

1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup potato flour
3/4 cup fava bean flour
2 Tbsp tapioca starch
1/4 tsp xantham gum
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup chocolate nondairy milk *
1/3 cup sunflower oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips

*I had a single-serve box of EdenSoy brand chocolate milk in the fridge I had bought for a field trip and needed to use up before the expiration date.  This brand is sweetened with maple syrup and has other nice features, but is NOT gluten free - if you're making these for billy goats with GF needs.

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.  Add the wet ingredients, and mix.  Fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour into a sprayed 8 x 8-inch baking pan...

...and bake for 30 minutes. 

The billy goats and girls gobbled a couple of these down with some organic strawberries, and then chased each other around the house with chocolate on their faces.  If they only knew they were eating beans...sort of.