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"Healthy" Brownies Made With Avocado and Dates are exactly as advertised -- brownies made with avocados and dates!
Wow! It's been a month since I posted? Really? It doesn't feel like it, and I really don't have a reason. Life is just happening these days. I'm teaching a summer course. I just accepted a consulting position at Johns Hopkins University. And, well, Instagram and Facebook make it so much easier to share quick photos and ideas that the blog feels almost absolute anymore. It's sad. Well, it makes me sad. I'm turning into one of those grouchy, back-in-my-day, old ladies.
Anyway, I was running with a friend yesterday, and I mentioned these old brownies I made out of avocado. So I decided to look up the old recipe to repost.
I originally posted "Healthy" Brownies Made With Avocado and Dates five years ago while working with the California Avocado Commission. They would send me a case of avocados every month for recipe development. Boy, do I miss those days!
Here's the original post as it was in 2015 with all the step-by-step photos. Scroll to the bottom of the page for the printable version.
Healthy Brownies Made With Avocado and Dates!
I wouldn’t believe it if I didn’t make them myself, and even then I needed like a million people to try them to validate it — I made a healthy, TASTY brownie!
Yeah, yeah, “healthy” is super subjective, but these brownies are made with lots of accepted “healthy” ingredients like avocados, oats, almonds and cocoa powder. They passed the kid tests (4 and 9 year old,) The Husband test, and even the friends-at-the-gym test who all immediately asked for the recipe.
Honestly, I can’t believe how good they came out on my first attempt. I made them a second time to validate the recipe and they came out exactly the same.
So here goes…
Ingredients
8 oz pitted dates
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup coconut oil (56g)
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup almond flour (50g)
1 cup oat flour (90g)
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (40g)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs
1 ripe California avocado
2 tablespoon pure maple syrup (40g)
½ cup chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Slice the dates into small rings. This helps them soften quickly and allows you to find any pits that snuck in. I always get one or two in a bag.
Put the dates in a small saucepan with the vanilla, coconut oil, and salt. Heat over medium and stir occasionally. This will soften the dates to get them ready for the batter. Lower to a simmer once the oil gets warm.
While the dates are warming, combine the dry ingredients in a bowl (almond flour, oat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder) and set aside.
Crack the eggs into a large bowl with the avocado and maple syrup. The easiest way to add the avocado is to cut it in half, make a checkerboard pattern with your knife using the skin and then scoop into the avocado peel.
Beat the eggs and avocado until smooth. There still may be a few small avocado bits, which is OK.
By this point the dates should be soft. Simply mash them with a fork.
The first time I made them I left the larger chunks but it was the only thing the kids didn’t like (I did). The second time I smashed them more thoroughly so there’d be no date bits.
Add the smashed dates to the egg-avocado mixture and beat until well combined.
Sift the dry ingredients in and fold in with a spatula. The batter will be thick.
Spread the batter into a greased 11x7 pan.
To make the brownies more traditional — and this is totally optional — scatter the chocolate chips on top.
Once baked they will melt allowing you to spread them on top making a traditional brownie crust.
Bake for 30 minutes — the kids couldn’t wait!
Spread the melted chocolate as soon as you take it out of the oven.
It helps to wait until they cool to cut but I never have the patience.
Cut into 15 squares. It’s awesome warm out of the oven or room temp!
I’m still nodding in disbelieve on how good they are. Hope you like them!
📖 Recipe
"Healthy" Brownies Made With Avocado and Dates!
Roni Noone
Healthy Brownies. Yes, HEALTHY! These brownies are made with avocadoes, dates, almonds and oats. And yes! The kids loves them!
Slice the dates into small rings. This helps them soften quickly and allows you to find any pits that snuck in. I always get one or two in a bag.
8 oz pitted dates
Put the dates in a small saucepan with the vanilla, coconut oil, and salt. Heat over medium and stir occasionally. This will soften the dates to get them ready for the batter. Lower to a simmer once the oil gets warm.
While the dates are warming, combine the dry ingredients in a bowl (almond flour, oat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder) and set aside.
½ cup almond flour, 1 cup oat flour, ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder
Crack the eggs into a large bowl with the avocado and maple syrup. The easiest way to add the avocado is to cut it in half, make a checkerboard pattern with your knife using the skin and then scoop into the avocado peel.
2 large eggs, 1 ripe California avocado, 2 tablespoon pure maple syrup
Beat the eggs and avocado until smooth. There still may be a few small avocado bits, which is OK.
By this point, the dates should be soft. Simply mash them with a fork.
The first time I made them I left the larger chunks but it was the only thing the kids didn’t like (I did). The second time I smashed them more thoroughly so there’d be no date bits.
Add the smashed dates to the egg-avocado mixture and beat until well combined.
Sift the dry ingredients in and fold in with a spatula. The batter will be thick.
Spread the batter into a greased 11x7 pan.
To make the brownies more traditional — and this is totally optional — scatter the chocolate chips on top.
½ cup chocolate chips
Once baked they will melt allowing you to spread them on top making a traditional brownie crust.
Bake for 30 minutes — the kids couldn’t wait!
Spread the melted chocolate as soon as you take it out of the oven.
It helps to wait until they cool to cut but I never have the patience.
Cut into 15 squares. It’s awesome warm out of the oven or room temp!
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