Valentine's Day Recipe
Ya'll know how much we love chocolate. In our world, it's a health food worth the indulgence. We especially love homemade chocolate treats made with high quality unsweetened cocoa powder which is high in iron, magnesium, and antioxidants.
We were so excited when our friends at Half the Sugar. All the Love. shared this gluten-free recipe from their new cookbook with us just in time for Valentine's Day. This is the treat we'll be making this February 14th to share with our kids.
Check out more great kid-friendly recipes in Half the Sugar. All the Love. and add this recipe to your next meal prep day (read how-to meal plan for time-saving advice).
Double Chocolate Brownies
Makes 24 brownies
Our rich, fudgy brownies hit the mark with less than half the sugar of a boxed brownie mix. The secret ingredients are ones that none of our tasters could guess: sweet potatoes and almond butter. Sweet potatoes give these brownies a natural sweetness, while almond butter adds a creamy, rich texture—plus they’re studded with chocolate chips. They don’t need flour, so they’re great for gluten-free families. If you use canned sweet potato puree, the whole recipe comes together in less than 10 minutes in the food processor, so you can satisfy chocolate cravings quickly.
Ours: 1 1/2 teaspoons
Theirs: 4 1/2 teaspoons
Ingredients
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 1/2 pound sweet potatoes, peeled, cubed, and boiled until fork-tender
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond butter
- 1/2 cup coconut oil or unsalted butter (1 stick), melted
- 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips (6 3/4 ounces)
1 Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a 13 × 9-inch baking dish with parchment paper, leaving 2 inches of overhang on each side, and coat with cooking spray.
2 Combine the sweet potatoes, almond butter, coconut oil, egg, and egg yolk in a food processor. Process until very smooth, making sure no chunks of sweet potato remain, about 1 minute.
3 Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the maple syrup and vanilla. Process until combined, about 30 seconds.
4 Add the cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda and process until all the dry ingredients are incorporated, about 1 minute more. Fold in 1 cup of the chocolate chips.
5 Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spread it into an even layer, and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons chocolate chips. Bake until the top is set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs, 27 to 30 minutes. Let the brownies cool slightly. Cut into 24 bars.
Quick Tip
You can substitute 1 cup canned sweet potato puree for the fresh sweet potato.
What Kids Can Do
Little chefs can measure the ingredients and sprinkle the chocolate chips.
Make Ahead
The brownies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Excerpted from Half the Sugar, All the Love by Jennifer Tyler Lee and Anisha Patel, MD, MSPH. Photographs by Erin Scott. Workman Publishing ©2019.
