Mexican (Chickpea) Brownies & Brownie Donuts--gf, vegan-friendly

Which is which? Top is the chickpea brownie, bottom the regular brownie

New favorite activity to do when friends visit: catch-up while baking in the kitchen. Even better, skype in another friend while you're at it. That's what happened earlier this week, and the result, after some quick-fix substitutions and adjustments, were some amazing brownies. Given that there were two of us, we decided to each tackle a recipe and compare them in a taste test afterward. I'd been wanting to try a bean-based brownie, as well as a 'Mexican brownie'--essentially with the addition of cayenne pepper and cinnamon. Lucky for me, someone had already combined the best of both worlds, so I had a recipe to play around with. Some changes were intentional, others not so much. Like when I realized one 15oz. can of chickpeas did not measure up to 2 cups, I ended up supplementing with some cooked quinoa and tahini...because that's what I had in the fridge. And while the recipe is both gluten-free and vegan, I just used whole milk and non-vegan chocolate chips, again out of availability. Then, I made goof #2: adding a 1/2 cup extra of milk after a memory lapse in which I 'remembered' that I had yet to add in the other 1/2 cup of milk. I realized my error when the final batter was thin and resembled a cake batter rather than brownie, so I proceeded to alternate adding in additional cocoa powder and almond flour with the occasional sprinkle of sugar and cayenne pepper until the consistency thickened. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as I ended up with enough batter to generously fill an 8x8 brownie pan *and* a 12-count mini donut pan. I'm now a fan of brownie donuts [brownuts/drownies?? jk jk] But, I will say my best improvement of the recipe was using chili chocolate bars rather than just plain chocolate chips, so each bite of warm brownie also included melty chocolate that came with its own kick. 

Overall, I loved that this recipe didn't call for eggs to begin with, and merely needed 25 minutes of bake time! Some other recipes I looked at required at least 40 minutes. If even 25 is too long to wait for you, then good thing the brownie donuts only need 15.  

As for the taste test, both were good in their own way! The 'regular' brownies, which were labeled 'cake-like' turned out to be just that, rich like a brownie but with a soft, cake-like texture and fine crumb. The addition of walnuts gave it a nice crunch throughout. For the chickpea brownies, the spicy flavors and melted chocolate complemented its dense texture. I'm happy to say multiple tasters happily finished off their share and remarked they never would have guessed there was anything along the lines of chickpeas in them. So, going back to the quinoa/tahini sub-in-- looks like it turned out okay! Though if you had an extra can of chickpeas or black beans, that's not a bad idea to use as originally called for. 

|| Mexican (Chickpea) Brownies||

Adapted from Food52
Makes 1 8x8" pan and 12 mini-donuts

Ingredients**

• 4 oz. chili dark chocolate bar
• 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
• 3 Tb. coconut oil
• 1 shot espresso (or 1 Tb. instant coffee + 5 Tb. hot water)
• 2 cups canned chickpeas, drained*
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 3 Tb. Dutch-processed cocoa
• 2 cups almond meal 
• 2/3 cup loose-packed brown sugar 
• 3 Tb. honey
• 3/4 cup + 2 Tb. cocoa powder
• 2 tsp. baking powder 
• 3 Tb. potato starch
• 1/2 heaping tsp. cayenne powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon 

* I just used a normal can of chickpeas which had some salt in it. If you use salt-free, add in 1/2 tsp salt. Also, save the liquid (aka aquafaba) to make things like vegan meringue/macarons! Also, if you're like me and have only 1 can of chickpeas, you *can* make up the difference using 1/2 cup of cooked quinoa and 2 Tb. tahini.

**To make vegan, substitute the milk, honey and chocolate chips accordingly.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F, grease an 8x8" brownie pan and mini-donut pan (or cake-pop pan or some other baking pan of your choosing) then coat with cocoa powder. 
2. Microwave half of the chocolate bar and chocolate chips with coconut oil in 20 second intervals, stirring thoroughly each time. After 3-4 cycles, chocolate should be completely melted and smooth. Add espresso or hot coffee and mix until combined. 
3. Using a food processor, combine chickpeas, milk and almond meal, blending until mixture becomes a smooth paste. Transfer to large bowl,  add sugar and honey and mix until smooth. 
4. In a small bowl, combine remaining dry ingredients and mix well. 
5. Add dry ingredients to the chickpea batter and mix, then add melted chocolate and mix until smooth. Batter should be thick, if too thin, add equal parts cocoa powder and almond meal 1-2 Tb. each at a time until batter thickens. 
6. Break up chili chocolate bar into smaller chunks and add along with remaining chocolate chips to the batter. 
7. Pour into prepared baking pans and bake for 25 minutes. Keep in mind, middle will still be a bit moist when poked with knife. Let cool (some) and enjoy! Same thing for the donut pan--just bake for 15 minutes!
8. Serve and enjoy~

Guess again--
Chickpea on the left, regular on the right