Next Day Brownies

Ah, the eternal quest for good vegan brownies continues.  JUST KIDDING IT’S OVER THEY’RE RIGHT HERE.

I can’t understand why I didn’t make these before.  They’re Isa’s recipe from the Post Punk Kitchen, and clearly they are ace.  The perfect balance between fudgy and cakey brownies and a deep chocolate flavor make these epic.  The best part about them is that they get better the longer you let them sit!  Thus, I dub them “Next Day Brownies.”

(recipe courtesy of Isa)

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup flour
• 2/3 cup cold water
• 12 oz extra firm silken tofu (the vacuum packed kind, like Mori-Nu)

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocloate chips (I use Ghiradelli)

• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup oil

• 3/4 cup good quality unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Droste)
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 tsp. baking powder

Directions

• In a blender puree the tofu, flour and water until smooth. Pour it into a sauce pan, and wisk constantly over low heat until it thickens (it should not boil, if it starts to turn the heat down). This takes about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate chips, salt, vanilla and sugar. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is melted. Set the mixture aside to cool completely.

• Preheat your oven to 350.

• When mixture is cool enough mix in the oil. (It can take about 20-30 minutes to cool, give it a stir once in awhileand stick it in the fridge to make it cool faster).

• Sift the 1 1/2 cups of flour, the cocoa and the baking powder together. Fold in the tofu mixture until well combined and smooth.

• Spread evenly in a greased baking pan for 35-40 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean.

I had a party and people kind of picked at them as they cooled, but it was the breakfast brownie the next morning that made my eyes roll back in my head.  What’s the deal!?  Something about sitting in the fridge overnight allowed the chocolate chips I added to the batter to harden and the flavors to mingle together in bliss.   I added 1/4 C chocolate chips and 1/4 C walnuts to the recipe for my own preference.  I’m now imagining all the add-ins that could make these even more incredible!   These brownies are bomb.  That’s all I can say.

Brownies For the Win AKA Stop It With the Chocolate Already

These bad boys are adapted from Have Cake, Will Travel’s Butterscotch Chocolate Fudge Brownies.  Thanks for sharing!!

Original Recipe

Butterscotch Chocolate Fudge Brownies

preheat oven to 350F. prepare an 8×8 pan with non-stick cooking spray.

in a microwave-safe bowl (or in a double boiler), melt:

1 1/2 cup mix of vegan butterscotch chips and semisweet chocolate chips (if you cannot find butterscotch chips, go for all chocolate)

set aside to let cool.

place melted chocolate in a large bowl and whisk in:

1 cup sweet potato purée
2 T mild-tasting oil (vegetable, canola…)
1 t pure vanilla extract
2 T soy creamer (or milk alternative)

in a separate bowl, sift together:

1/4 cup organic powdered/icing sugar
1/2 cup light spelt flour
2 T unsweetened cocoa powder
pinch fine sea salt
1/4 t baking powder

combine sweet potato & flour preparations, fold in:

1/2 cup mix of vegan butterscotch & semisweet chocolate chips

mix until combined. pour batter into prepared pan, bake for 28 minutes. let cool on a rack, place in fridge (still in pan) once cool enough or even in the freezer for more ease of slicing. I love to eat these when they’re really cold!

My adjustments

I didn’t have access to sweet potato puree (really I’m just to lazy to puree potatoes) so I used a canned butternut squash puree.  I also can’t find vegan butterscotch chips in this neck of the woods (which is kind of unbelievable considering the monstrosity of this city).  I doubled the recipe because I’m a nut (and I wanted to share these beauties with everyone).  That last fact turned out to be a bad idea because I polished most of them off by myself.  I had a few days when I ate these for breakfast and felt heart paliptations for hours.  Wheeee!  I also used almond milk because … I had some.

When I first tried one of these, I wasn’t really sure how I felt about them.  However, after chilling them in the fridge they took on this moist, chewy texture that is amazing.  They’re very dense, which is the way I like a brownie to be.  They’re still not quite what I’m looking for as far as replacing egg/milk laden brownies, but they are definitely a giant leap in the right direction!  I think I’ll try adding flax and Earth Balance on the next trial – which will be a while from now.  I’m still recovering.