Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone!
Not that I am much of a Valentine’s Day person. It was probably my most dreaded holiday actually! Being single on Valentines Day kinda sucks a little more than just a normal bad day, but cheer up! I have a treat for you… These deliciously fat free vegan Two-Bite Banana Brownies! And if you do have a Valentine this year, they will love you if you make these for them!
My sweetheart told me for my Valentine’s Day gift he was going to clean the whole house for me and take me out to dinner, so I surprised him with one of these yesterday. I’m not much for material things, so thoroughly enjoy being able to just relax after making a big mess in the kitchen after cooking and photographing for you… 🙂
I was tinkering around yesterday trying to come up with something that would still be tasty even when I sucked all the unhealthy fat out of it. We have a winner for fat free vegan brownies and a great compromise for those that like to have a little treat after dinner, but not something too big or too rich.
The secret to these babies’ extra flavour is the bananas. I have to admit I am totally devoted to banana bread and always will be. And I just love packing banana into whatever baked goods I can, because honestly I never bake. I only bake for you!
Normally you’d expect a really dense rich brownie, or muffin with a chocolate chips in it, but these taste great on their own. They’re also really easy to make and even kids will love them too!
This is what they look like un decorated.
Mmm… Is your mouth watering yet for my fat free vegan brownies?
Fat Free Vegan Two-Bite Banana Brownies
Makes 24 mini muffin tin brownies
Ingredients:
1/2 cup plus 3 tbsp whole wheat flour (or gluten-free flour, see note)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp ground chia or flax seed
2 tbsp water
1/2 cup plus 3 tbsp ripe mashed bananas (about 2 large) or applesauce
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Non stick cooking spray
*Note, if making these gluten-free I suggest adding 1/4 tsp of xanthan gum to the recipe to help the batter stick together.
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Combine dry ingredients, except brown sugar and chia in a medium sized bowl.
3. Add 2 tbsp water to a small bowl. Shake in ground chia and stir until combined.
4. Add wet ingredients and brown sugar to another bowl and stir in chia.
5. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir just until mixed
6. Spray a mini muffin tin with non stick spray.
7. Spoon a teaspoon size amount into each cup, filling about 3/4 full.
8. Bake for 15-16 minutes, or until done in the centre with a toothpick.
9. Let brownies cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes to set up.
10. Remove and place on wire rack to finish cooling.
Additional Tips:
If you don’t have chia or flax, you can try using egg replacer mixed with water, use the equivalent of one “egg”. Really ripe bananas are best for this as they are sweeter and will add depth to the brownies. Almost as dark as you would use for banana bread is good. If you want to substitute applesauce you can, but they will be much plainer tasting and you might want to add a touch more sweetener. These are easily frosted or glazed if serving for a holiday or a kids birthday party. You can easily freeze these in ziploc freezer bags to have a quick treat ready to go.
If you’re like me and you’re a “seconds” kind of dessert fan, fear not! These are packed full of fibre and are low calorie too.
What are you doing for Valentines Day this year? Have you ever had a vegan two-bite brownie?
I made these into cookies, and my family really liked them. But they are softer than normal cookies. But they were very good! 🙂
#5
(Btw, this is my fifth comment for winning a free copy of your book)
If I substitute the flour with almond pulp from almond milk, how much should I use? Equal amount?
Btw, do you have a fav brand of carob powder that tastes similar to cocoa? Or there’s no way carob would taste the same? Thanks.
I have not baked with almond pulp. It’s all fat right instead of carbs so it will be high calorie and may crumble and not stick together. Gluten in wheat makes things stick together. Roasted carob might be better, raw carob really turns me off. It doesn’t taste good.
You’re welcome Ghislaine!
I made those brownies and replaced brown sugar by palm sugar. Great success !! Thank you for this very special desert.
LOL Em, it’s ok. They sell these two-bite brownies at grocery stores, drug stores and KFC and places like that.
I went to a kitchen store and by the till they had a little squeeze bottle of edible red gel for writing on cakes and cupcakes. I just put it directly onto the brownies as I didn’t want to frost them.
I had to do a prop set up and use lights and take a lot of pictures to get a few good ones! It takes work!
It depends on how big your pod is. I have these gigantic Tahitian vanilla pods, unlike the health food store tiny pods. You want to only scrape out some of the vanilla black bit inside, and not put in the hard outside part of the bean. Just scrape some into it, it’s probably not a big deal. I would go with what is affordable/feasible as to not put too many whole ones into a recipe.
No, I can’t say I’ve ever had (only) a two-bite brownie 🙁 In the days when I used to eat high-fat foods (all types and then in my later years, vegan only), I used to buy the normal-sized (large) brownies and have one or two of those in one sitting…
These look so cute – and I love the red hearts on them…what did you use to do those?
Even undecorated, you still manage to make small brown lumps on a wire rack look so attractive! I clearly am not a photographer! 🙂
I don’t have vanilla extract – just the pods. How much of a pod should I use for this amount (1 tbsp)?
Thanks!
One more adaptation…I replaced half of the brown sugar with stevia. They were plenty sweet enough without the bitter stevia taste.
I just saw this post and decided to whip up the brownies for my husband this morning. I’m really surprised by how moist and soft (not rubbery) these are without additional oil. Kudos! I made a couple of adaptations, substituting part of the cocoa powder with carob and adding a little lemon juice, because I love how the sourness brings out chocolate flavors. Thanks so much. They were a hit!