Brownie Mix to give away, or make yourself
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1½ cup white sugar
DIRECTIONS
Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt in a quart jar. Layer remaining ingredients in the order listed.
NOTE: Be sure to wipe out the inside of the jar with a dry paper towel after adding the cocoa powder, so the other layers will show through the glass. If stored in a cool, dry and dark place, your gift can last for up to 6 months, as long as all of the ingredients used to make it were fresh (i.e. the baking powder and baking soda aren’t about to expire). If the mix contains nuts, it should be used within 3 months.
Attach a tag with the following instructions: Brownie Mix in a Jar
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Empty jar of brownie mix into a large mixing bowl, and stir to blend.
- Mash a can of black beans (drained and rinsed) in ½c water with 1 tsp vanilla and 5 dates, finely chopped. Add to dry and mix thoroughly with a fork.
- Spread batter evenly into prepared baking pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely in pan before cutting into 25 squares.
FYI step 3 is where I got experimental today using substitutes to reduce the sugar and binding agents. The original recipe called for 2¼c of white sugar and you mix in 3/4 cup melted butter and 4 eggs. I reduced the sguar, used black beans as the fat/egg substitute and used dates to add natural sweetness.
It took a little while to mix in all the dry. I used a fork and was able to easily spread the batter in a silicon 9″ square pan, ungreased. It cooked really well. I cut it into 25 squares and each has about 89 Calories. Full nutritional info »
If you’re not keen on all this work, try the easy black bean brownies that I shared last week. It uses a box of mix »
