Chocolate Mint Black Bean Brownies

I stumbled upon this recipe when I was researching whether Hershey's mint truffle kisses were gluten-free. We received some at Christmas and I finally looked them up (from everything I could find, they are, and we didn't have any reactions). I wanted to try these, but decided to use Andes mints instead.

They started smelling great while they were baking, but I still took a very hesitant first bite. They were beyond good. You'd never know their secret ingredient. The girls devoured them, and the ultimate test -- my husband who doesn't care for chocolate all that much -- proved they were indeed good. He really enjoyed them. We are intrigued at what else we can use beans as dessert for, and will no doubt be trying out more variations in the future. (I'm thinking cherries, pecans, chili, orange, the possibilities are endless ...)

The texture is more like a really moist cake, but they definitely pass for brownies. I promise you can't taste beans at all. If you want to make this recipe soy-free and dairy-free, just don't use any additions (like the mints) that contain those ingredients. The rest of the recipe is naturally free of both.

Because I used the exact recipe at this link, minus the kisses, I won't type it all here (I'll just give photos). Just know I replaced the kisses with broken Andes mints and projected time for prep is 10 minutes with a projected bake time of 30-35 minutes. Make sure to use gluten-free, aluminum-free baking powder and pure vanilla. I also used organic sugar.

Just try them. You won't be sorry.

Enjoy!