Reviewed: Feb. 19, 2009

My family really liked this. Texture is odd, takes some getting used to. Vegetarian friends love it!

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tysmom

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Fremont, California, USA

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Reviewed: Feb. 17, 2009

These were very good considering they had beans in them. They're healthier. I made them with the optional ingredients and the suggestions from the first reviewer. I could taste the beans, but they weren't a "Eww! Beans!" flavor I was expecting. In fact, it's more like a "BEANS! FASCINATING!" flavor. I like these a lot, and I think the chocolate really goes with the bean flavor and they compliment each other well. After 30 minutes, my brownie was set but when I cut it they stuck to the pan and kind of fell apart. I ended up scraping most of the bottoms off (still really, good), but I wish it had held together better. Perhaps 30 minutes isn't enough for mine? It was still kind of mushy. Nevertheless, this is very interesting and worth making. Chocolate + Black Beans = Love :]

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strawbificial

Cooking Level: Beginning

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Reviewed: Feb. 16, 2009

The texture of these really threw me off. They were dry and cracking on top, but the insides were still moist. I think there may have been too many eggs. However, I didn't taste the beans. They taste better with some icecream. UPDATE: These are a lot better the next day. They get 4 stars now :-)

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Cook4U

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Feb. 15, 2009

Certainly not to-die-for, but definitely not bad! They are quite fudgey. I am anxious to try one tomorrow after they've had some time to sit. With a light ganache, they would probably go over even with finicky brownie enthusiasts. NO black bean flavor. I followed it exactly, including the optional coffee and chocolate chips. The instant coffee really does make the chocolate flavor more intense, so I recommend it! **Update: Better a day or two after baking.

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FNCHEF

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Living In: Prior Lake, Minnesota, USA

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Reviewed: Feb. 14, 2009

When I first bit into these brownies I did NOT like them, but they did grow on me. They aren't very good warm - they taste too much like beans. But after they've set overnight they aren't too bad. If you know the beans are in there you can taste them but I could ignore it and still enjoy them. Also, if you're one of those people who doesn't like weird textures, they are not for you. But, if you're looking for a healthy, homemade, brownie alternative and you're willing to sacrifice just a bit, these are for you.

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Stampest

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Reviewed: Feb. 13, 2009

I used only two eggs and added 1.5 teaspoons of instant coffee, but skipped the chocolate chips. Baked on a 12x9 pan for about 20 minutes. Was incredibly moist, but I could still tell it was made with black beans. Still delicious, though, since I absolutely love black beans! After refrigeration, they taste even better!

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daidai

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

Living In: Los Angeles, California, USA

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Reviewed: Feb. 7, 2009

These are amazing. Of course they don't taste like a 350 calorie brownie, but they DO taste good. I sprinkled them with a tiny bit of andres candies crushed and used 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of sweetened applesauce and no oil. Which makes them only one point on weight watchers. Two if you sprinkle them with chocolate chips or other candy.

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Jeannie

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Stevensville, Montana, USA

Living In: Clearfield, Utah, USA

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Reviewed: Feb. 4, 2009

I cannot WAIT to make these for Valentine's Day. I have been baking for alot of years and always look for new, lower cal, innovative recipes. This looks like one of them..Will let you know how they turn out after the weekend!

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gigi444

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Reviewed: Jan. 31, 2009

I've made these several times - they're great!

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Nicole McGovern

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Reviewed: Jan. 29, 2009

I think these are delicious for what they are, a black bean brownie. I don't taste black beans or feel the skins. I don't have instant coffee so I didn't add that. I drained the beans, mashed them with my hand mixer, added the rest of ingredients, mixed until well blended. I used the choc. chips on top, I think it adds a nice touch. These are not as fudgy as the brownies I usually make, but they had nice chocolate flavor. I will make these again.

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bellydancer

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Traverse City, Michigan, USA

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Reviewed: Jan. 24, 2009

I thought these were a great healthy option for my family. My kids loved them and some of them are picky. The adults who tried them came back for more and had no idea.

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cwittorp

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Reviewed: Jan. 20, 2009

My family LOVES these!! I added the chocolate chips and also some heath pieces. If you are getting too much of an "earthy" taste make sure you rinse your beans in a collander until they don't make bubbles any more and don't use the instant coffee.

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Alexis Elizabeth

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Reviewed: Jan. 15, 2009

For some reason I really had it in my mind that I wouldn't taste too much bean flavor in this. I was wrong. Having said that, for bean-flavored brownies, these are pretty dang good. Very deep chocolate flavor. I think they would have been even better with the instant coffee (which I didn't have). I did fold in some chopped walnuts before baking. Thanks :)

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CookinBug aka JL86

Home Town: Ithaca, Michigan, USA

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Reviewed: Jan. 15, 2009

These brownies are surprisingly good. I made them and the family didn't know they had beans at all. I did add 1/2 tsp baking powder to give them a light texture. I also added 1 TBSP vanilla extract to boost the flavor, but skipped the coffee. Next time I think it needs more chocolate flavor so I plan to include more cocoa powder. Overall, a very tasty recipe, I'm amazed I can't taste the beans!

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Kassie_s

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Reviewed: Jan. 8, 2009

The brownies were very good. The texture is a big different then a regular brownie. The taste was good and you would never know that black beans were the main ingredient.

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lemmon

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Chicago, Illinois, USA

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Reviewed: Jan. 2, 2009

These were more cake-like, but even more spongy. I like chewy, dense brownies. The taste didn't bother me so much as the texture.

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Carrie Preston

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Reviewed: Dec. 30, 2008

Don't tell the kids that there are black bean in their brownies until AFTER they eat them and are raving how delicious they were. I did this for some of my students....they were STUNNED!!

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jmackinnell

Cooking Level: Professional

Home Town: Arlington, Virginia, USA

Living In: Alexandria, Virginia, USA

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Reviewed: Dec. 15, 2008

There was too strong a flavor of black bean, a slight coffee taste, and they crumpled up so they looked gross after we froze them.

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Kara Chavey

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Reviewed: Dec. 9, 2008

Thank you for a gluten-free recipe for brownies that doesn't call for an expensive assortment of exotic flours. Sure its not like traditional brownies in texture, but putting that aside, these brownies are so rich and chocolatey... And the added fiber and protein are a bonus. I've made it several times and I've done what other people have suggested such as adding baking powder and walnuts. I whip the whole thing up in my food processor and make sure to puree the beans real good first before I add everything else. This recipe never fails to impress me, its like a chocolate miracle.

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FONDUE

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Reviewed: Dec. 4, 2008

I used Splenda instead of sugar, added 1/3 of a cup of canned pumpkin, one square of unsweetened baking chocolate, and omitted the coffee. These came out looking like beautiful, real brownies! The texture was soft and medium dense. The taste, though? Sort of eggy. It grows on you, though. Would add maybe another chocolate square or the coffee to give it some more depth, or maybe even use two eggs instead of three. My version has 82 calories per square versus the recipe's 127. Will update if I play around with it a bit more.

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