Oat Brownie

Do you recall when I said a few weeks ago I would start reading directions? Well... I kind of did not take my own advice.

I decided I wanted to make the black bean brownie recipe from a few weeks ago and I thought I recalled my own recipe until I ended up pouring in 1 1/2 cups of oats into the Vitamix.

Too bad I realized my mistake right after I poured it in... yep, right after, so then I decided ok, new recipe, experimenting time! Yeah for me!

Some days I am ok with experimenting, and others? I just want the CHOCOLATE STAT! It just so happens that day was the day I wanted chocolate as soon as it was right out of the oven.

Do you have those days? Mine are usually brought on by stress... ha! There has been some of that floating around the cottage here lately...

So, after I added in the oats, I thought ok, no problem, I can make this work! I flipped the switch on the Vitamix and let it mix.

Oat Brownie

1. 1 can black beans (15 oz)
2. 1 8 oz package pitted dates
3. 1/2 c cocoa
4. 1 T olive oil
5. 1 1/2 c oats
6. 3/4 c applesauce
7. 1 t vanilla
8. 1/2 t baking soda
9. 1/2 t salt
10. 2 eggs
11. 1/2 c dark chocolate chips (divided)

I began by initially putting the black beans in the Vitamix first and then added the dates. I mixed those two items up and then my mistake began with adding in the oats.

I was so dumbfounded by my mistake, I got off track for a few minutes thinking how I could have made that mistake??

Suck it up buttercup, move on, mistakes are made in life and then sometimes those mistakes turn into really great things. I guess we will have to wait to see at the end of the recipe if this was a good mistake, or a bad one because this is life... it is not always perfect, or on track, road bumps pop up... and they certainly do around here too.

When I mixed the oats in, boy was that batter D-R-Y!

I added in the rest of my ingredients and mixed it up. Then I had a wonderful idea and was really happy I had just picked up applesauce on our last grocery order.

I added in 1/4 cup at a time and decided once I reached the 3/4 cup mark, that made the batter just perfect. I added in half of the dark chocolate chips into the batter as well so the chocolate chips were all through the batter and chopped up by the Vitamix.

Next I spooned all of the batter into my large glass pie dish. My cake pans would not work since the batter was so much larger in quantity with the oats and applesauce added in this time around.

Lastly, I sprinkled the remaining dark chocolate chips over the batter and put into the oven at 350 degrees for 32 minutes.

I always bake with a baking sheet under pans so I do not have to clean up a lot of spills. I was not entirely sure this would rise above the rim of the dish, better safe than sorry. I like the inside of our oven to stay nice. Remind you of my grandma, welp, I would agree with that one on this instance.

The cake was moist, yet dense. Those oats plumped it right up! It had chocolate in every bite and was very rich. A small piece went a long way, but it was just the thing for my sweet tooth.

I love finding ways to bake without using white table sugar and using fruit. It is so much better for us, and it makes me get creative in the kitchen.

In the end, I was okay with this mistake because, this made a delicious fudgy brownie almost cake which was so decadent and rich!

WOWSERS! This ended up being a really great recipe, so mistakes in the kitchen do not always end in disaster.

Another dessert in the books. I will admit dates are the way to sweeten recipes. I tried one recipe and it just evolved from there. Now it is the only way I seem to make baked goods.

A Sustainable Mindset has some really great ideas and deals for your home and kitchen. I found the cutest glass canister set that I have been thinking about. For some reason, I have always like canister sets... weird, I know. I have a couple sets, but always on the look out for others. 😉