School Holidays' Easy Beany Brownie Bites

Its school holidays. And it’s raining… again! These two simple statements bring shivers of dread to mothers around the world…

So what does any domesticated-wannabe-mummy-of-two do with her five year old? Well, I’ll tell you, she does stuff that she wants to do. That’s right. A very wise lady (Maureen, Petal, that’s you) gave me this advice just this weekend. She said, “…do stuff with your kids that you love to do… they will feel your passion and see your smile, its authentic...”. It makes sense, right?

(But, hey, you’ve sometimes also got to do things that they like to do, like crawling into their man-made fort for a tea party with a grasshopper (one-legged) and the ever growing ant colony on the grass, which is now starting to make you itch. Or playing Teacher-Teacher, and you’re the one being sent to the naughty chair all the time.)

Well, Maureen, I took this lovely piece of advice and gave it a bash.

I knew straight-off that my best way of spending the day indoors is to bake, elbow deep, in all things butter! So I called My Little Darling downstairs, “Pumpkinfritter, Mummy’s baking, wanna make some mud pies?” and she comes running, eagerly anticipating the very important job of ‘Egg Cracking’.

I am always in the kitchen. Sometimes it feels like I never leave the damn place. When Im in the kitchen, I’m in The Zone. A dream world of cinnamon and vanilla or cumin and coriander. I am totally present when I am doing what I love. And that, I think, is the key. So if I can impart some of that authentic lovlieness (a.k.a. sharing My Happy) onto My Little Dumplings today, then give Mummy a big gold star on her Rewards Chart of Great-Mummyness (stuck firmly on the back of my toilet door).

Easy Beany Brownie Bites, this week, is especially dedicated to all the Great Mummy’s out there looking to share with their Little Monsters, I mean, Munchkins, that involves lots of love, fun, creativity, most importantly yumminess, and even some maths!

I found this recipe years ago when I first started looking for no-wheat recipes, and saved it under, Recipes to Try One Day. It was a huge success, not just because it was tasty and moreish (it is soft, crunchy and powwow all at the same time), but because it was easy-peasy, and even more interesting because of its claim to be healthy (it’s loaded with protein and fibre and is grain free), so guess what - one less thing to feel guilty about!

Since then I have played around with the recipe (because I cannot just let it alone), substituting the nuts, and swopping some stuff that, I swear, takes it from Good to OMG! and WTF? and OTW! (Out of This World - I just made that one up, I think)

Im hoping this is how My Little Muffin will remember me; in my apron, flipping pancakes (a pan in each hand nogal - yes, Im dreaming) while she squirts the lemon and sprinkles the cinnamon sugar… And did you know the rule with pancakes is: the first one is always devoured by the cook and her trusty assistants, just to check the consistency and, you know, make sure it’s not poisonous? I get all warm and fuzzy inside when I remember being a little girl, cracking eggs and spilling milk with my mom. It’s the stuff memories are made of!

Now go, Great Mummy’s! Go and make yummy memories with your Little Sausages, they’ll thank you when they’re big (bangers)…

Easy Beany Brownie Bites

1 can beans (I used Butter Beans but any should be fine) drained and rinsed well

3 large eggs

1/3 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

½ tsp instant coffee (I used Decaf)

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup sugar (I used Xylitol) 

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup chopped soft nuts (like walnuts or flaked almonds) - Optional

Handful whole nuts (I used salted macadamias) for decorating on top - Optional 

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius.
• Butter a brownie pan (approx 27 x 17cm), or spray with non-stick cooking spray, and set aside.
• Dust off your trusty Food Processor and put the blade in.
• Place beans, eggs, melted butter, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla, coffee and sugar in the bowl of your food processor and blend until smooth.
• Remove the blade and gently stir in chocolate chips and nuts if using.  

• Pour into your prepared pan, using a spatula to spread evenly.  (Don’t forget the lick the spoon)
• Top with whole nuts (try and space them so each square will have at least one whole nut on top). In this pic below I placed my brownie cutter in the batter before cooking (to see where to put the nuts), but I recommend holding the cutter over the batter to guestimate where to place the nuts but not to cook the batter with the cutters in, it makes it messier to remove after. Rather insert the cutter after cooking and cooling time. And if you are using a normal or square shallow cake pan, ignore all of this and just cut into whatever size/shapes you want at the end...

• Bake for 30 minutes, or until just set in the middle.  Let cool completely in pan before cutting into squares and then you can sink your teeth into as many as you can fit into your mouth…

 p.s. these freeze well, cut into squares and placed in airtight container. 

Refresh in the microwave for about 15 seconds.