I created these gluten free, refined sugar free vegan brownies for one of my favourite brands, Indigo Herbs. I have been a massive fan of their products for while now especially their cacao powder so I was excited to create a festive recipe for them using it! I also used their cacao butter, maple syrup, cranberry powder and walnut butter for this delicious brownie recipe.
I have never used walnut butter before and was amazed as how tasty it is, it is fast becoming my new favourite nut butter. This means a lot coming from a serious peanut butter addict! I found that it helps give the brownies a soft, dense texture and is complemented perfectly by the sharpness of the cranberry powder. I consider these FODMAP friendly as I can tolerate small amounts of dried fruit so hopefully some dried cranberry agrees with you too!
These festive free-from brownies are the perfect healthier alternative for a Christmas treat!
Makes 12
Takes 60 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
2 tbsp chia seeds
6 tbsp cold water
250ml rice milk
100g Indigo Herbs walnut butter
50g coconut oil, melted
75g gluten free oat flour
75g ground almonds
2 tbsp Indigo Herbs cranberry powder
For the topping:
4 tbsp Indigo Herbs cacao powder
3 tbsp Indigo Herbs maple syrup
1 tsp Indigo Indigo Herbs cranberry powder
Equipment:
Blender/food processor
Oven
8×8 inch brownie tin
Bowls
Saucepan
Spatula
Cutlery
Greaseproof paper
METHOD:
- Preheat the oven to 165oc and line a 8×8 inch brownie tin with greaseproof paper
- Mix the chia seeds and water together in a bowl and leave for 10 minutes until the chia seeds have absorbed all the water
- In a blender of food processor combine the chia seed gel, rice milk, walnut butter, melted coconut oil and maple syrup until smooth
- In a large bowl mix together the cacao powder, oat flour, ground almonds and cranberry powder
- Pour the wet ingredients in with the dry ingredients and stir with your spatula until it is completely combined (you can mix everything your blender/food processor if you prefer)
- Pour the brownie batter into the lined tin and bake for 15 minutes
- Leave the brownies to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before cutting them into squares and placing them on a cooling rack until completely cooled
- To make the chocolate topping, melt the cacao butter in a bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water
- Remove the bowl from the heat and whisk in the cacao powder, maple syrup and cranberry powder
- Leave the chocolate to cool for 5 to 10 minutes to cool slightly and starts to thicken
- Finely chop the walnuts and dried cranberries
- When the brownies have cooled, drizzle the chocolate topping over them and then sprinkle over the chopped cranberries and walnuts
- Store in an airtight container
- Enjoy!