Paleo Brownies

Hello. My name is Rayna, and I am a brownie addict. It is incredibly difficult for me to ever turn down a hot, warm, gooey, fudgy brownie. Even just talking about it is making my mouth water! In my mind, it is the epitome of noms.


So when I saw a recipe for paleo brownies I was both excited and skeptical. On one hand YES! On the other hand is it too good to be true? So I decided to test it out...and LOVED the results! I am big on the texture and consistency of foods, and this was just like a regular brownie (more on the cakey texture side than the fudgy side, but I was honestly too thrilled with the taste to be picky!). Using the almond butter made it taste like an almond brownie, and sweet baby Jesus it was delicious! This is a recipe that automatically went to the "KEEP FOREVER" pile. If you love chocolate and/or brownies, I highly recommend this one!

Ingredients

~1 cup pure maple syrup
~3/4 cup natural cocoa powder
~1 cup almond butter
~2 tsp vanilla extract
~1/2 tsp baking powder
~1/2 tsp salt
~1 egg
~1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (which I had a VERY hard time finding!)

Directions

1. Heat syrup on low heat on the stove. Stir in cocoa powder over low heat until smooth. Cocoa can burn very quickly, so make sure to keep your eye on it and keep the temperature down.
2. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients until thoroughly mixed.
3. Pour into an 8x8 baking pan greased with olive oil or coconut oil (I used coconut). Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 40-50 minutes. Use a toothpick to make sure it's cooked through. Let cool before cutting/serving.


**Disclaimer: Some hardcore paleo followers would probably not find this recipe very paleo due to the baking powder. But if you just NEED brownies, this is a sensible, mostly paleo, healthier alternative.

**Second disclaimer: They are SO delicious. As a good wife should I offered my husband a brownie. And then I proceeded to eat the rest of the pan over the next 24 hours. #soworthit ;-)