Revised Brownies

I assume most people reading this have seen the original Paleo Brownies that I make every few weeks. Well, I tend to mess around with these sorts of recipes. I have trouble making the same thing, the same way, twice. This month's iteration turned out really good and much more consistently-textured, so I just had to share.

The problem with the original recipe is that, in an 8x8 pan: you have to cook it for a really long time, the outer edges are a bit hard and rubbery, and the inner section is really gooey. This variation takes care of all those issues and still gives you a very yummy brownie.

First off, I had to up the amount of nuts. I use 2-1/2 cups of un-ground nuts (combined any way you want...this batch was 1-1/2 cups almonds, 1/2 cup walnuts, 1/2 cup pecans. I find just almonds to be a bit bland tasting and just walnuts are on the bitter side). After grinding them up, mix in a bowl with 1/2 cup baking cocoa, 1/2 cup coconut sugar, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp baking soda. Try to get as much lumpiness out as you can, until you have a nice even texture and all of the cocoa is incorporated.

In the same bowl (look what I did there! One bowl!), add 2 eggs, 1/2 cup maple syrup, 1/4 cup coconut oil and 1 tbls vanilla. This was a warm day, so I had no trouble with the coconut oil melting as I mixed. In winter, it might be necessary to melt first. Mix just until it has a consistent texture. Then add in about 2.5 oz of shaved dark chocolate, and fold over a few times to combine.

Use coconut oil to grease a 9x13 baking pan. Pour the batter in and use a spatula to spread it out evenly. It'll seem pretty thin, maybe 1/2 inch thick, so work it gently but make sure it's spread all the way to the edges of the pan. Bake for 30 minutes in a 325 degree oven. You might even want to check it after 20 minutes and decide how much longer. I normally have to give recipes extra time since I'm at a higher altitude, but 35 minutes for this batch was actually a little too long.

They turned out nicely cake-y (so if you're looking for gooey, definitely take the time down) and very evenly textured. Easy to cut and remove from the pan too. And they were eaten too fast to get a picture of a whole piece! I'll definitely make these again in this same way.