Delicious Chocolate Beet Brownies

So about me......About 2 months ago I ventured from my normal shopping habits to start getting things from my local csa every week (a csa is a group of local farmers that combine to provide organic fresh veggies fruit eggs etc to people). I am pretty much a creature of habit so this was a big thing for me. 

Now that I am more comfortable with it, I do a custom order to fit whatever recipes I am making that week, and I am enjoying not dragging my toddler around the grocery store's produce section.

Which leads us to beets. One of the things I recently got in my csa order was beets. You know those very distinctive deep red veggies that kids and and husbands try to avoid. Never one to back away from a veggie challenge.... right away I began asking around on Facebook how to cook them so my family will eat them. 

The answer was brownies.

Super moist rich delicious chocolatey brownies.... I would've been skeptical....but truthfully I am always looking for sneaky ways to include veggies in my diet. 

So this didn't really catch me off guard. I had a good reason to be excited. 

Don't leave.

See. Look. They are amazing and dark rich brown colored. No red in sight... unless you spill it all over your kitchen floor because the blender wasn't as tight as you thought it was. 

Oh good... You're still reading. So I did the only logical thing. I brought them to a room of hungry people to eat with their coffee, and only told a couple of people that the brownies were healthy. Everyone who ate them said they were amazing.

Of course I kept it a secret from my own family. Lol I wanted them to eat it. Duh... all is fair in love and cooking when you are feeding your family healthy stuff.

So I highly recommend you try this immediately with some coffee or really cold milk and enjoy this little secret.

Here's the recipe: 

the original recipe is from Pinch & Swirl 

Ingredients: 
3 medium fresh beets scrubbed
2 sticks of unsalted butter
8 oz of your favorite good chocolate choppe or chips
1 1/4 cup of whole wheat white flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs 
1 tsp vanilla paste or vanilla extract 
3/4 cup brown sugar packed
store bought frosting or homemade (optional) 


Instructions: 

1. Peel the beats with a veggie peeler. 

2. Cook the beets in a saucepan or small pot with a small pot of water just covering the beets. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat and cook until the beats are tender. This took me about 35 minutes. 

3. While the beets are cooking, preheat the oven to 350 F, and coat a brownie pan, a square 9 x 9 with parchment paper and either nonstick spray or butter. Set it aside. 

4. While the beets are cooking, put the sticks of butter in a saucepan and melt them with the chocolate. Stir constantly! When the chocolate has melted remove it from heat and stir until smooth and set it aside. 

5. While the beets are cooking, in a medium bowl whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together and set it aside. 

6. Carefully use a slotted spoon and put the cooked beets in a blender. The original recipe called for using a food processor but I really wanted the vegetable as smooth as possible to fly under the radar. The food processor left tiny chunks. Add a bit of cooking water if needed to get the blender going. Use your best judgment on how much water to add it will be thick. 

7. In a mixing bowl or stand mixture, mix the eggs together with the vanilla and brown sugar for at least 2 minutes until light and airy. 

8. To the egg mixture add the beets and chocolate mixture slowly on a lower speed. Then add the flour mixture until just combined. 

9. Pour the brownie batter into the baking pan and bake for 30-40 minutes. 

10. When a knife or toothpick comes out clean the brownies are done. Let them cool for 5-10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack (with the parchment) and serve. I let mine cool overnight with a clean tea towel over the top and frosted it in the morning. 


Enjoy!