Delicious Chocolate “Dessert”
In order to keep these brownies free of both gluten and dairy, you’re going to be getting a little bit creative with the ingredients that you use. Instead of refined white flour, you’ll be using coconut flour. And in place of milk chocolate, you’ll be using cocoa powder. By using cocoa powder to make the brownies, not only can you keep them dairy free, but you’ll also be adding quite a few solid health benefits as well. Polyphenols found in cocoa have quite a few beneficial properties, especially when it comes to helping protect against cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases. (1)
Since cocoa powder isn’t quite as sweet as milk chocolate is, you’ll also be adding in a bit of honey to use as an all natural sweetener. Honey also has the added benefit of being incredibly nutrient-dense as well. It’s packed full of antioxidants, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals. You’ll be mixing your honey with three eggs until the mixture is a pale yellow color. Next, gradually add in the almond milk and melted coconut oil until everything is combined. With that done, you can then combine this mixture with your coconut flour and cocoa powder mixture.
The final step is to fold in your dark chocolate chips to add even more chocolate goodness to your brownies. Along with the cocoa powder, the recipe uses dark chocolate to keep things completely dairy free. Dark chocolate also provides quite a few benefits when it comes to your cardiovascular health, and it’s a great source of heart healthy monounsaturated fats and antioxidants as well. (2)
When you add everything together, what you end up with is a decadent chocolate dessert offering that has a surprising amount of nutritional value as well. If you really like your brownies packed with as much chocolatey goodness as possible, you can also feel free to sprinkle extra dark chocolate chips over top of the brownie batter before baking as well if you’d like.
After trying out this recipe, if you’re still looking for some more ideas to satisfy your chocolate cravings in a completely paleo friendly ways, we’ve got more than a few great recipes that you can indulge in. How about some quick and easy homemade chocolate pudding? Or a dark chocolate paleo pie with a homemade crust? Or one of my personal favorites, this fantastic double chocolate banana bread recipe. Decisions, decisions!
Ingredients
- ½ cup coconut flour
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- pinch of salt
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup honey
- 2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
- ½ cup melted coconut oil
- ½ cup paleo approved (no dairy, no sugar) dark chocolate chips plus extra for decoration
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Line an 8 inch square brownie pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a bowl sift together the coconut flour, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs and honey on medium speed until pale yellow.
- Add in the almond milk and melted coconut oil and beat to combine.
- Add in the coconut flour mixture and beat until smooth.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Let the batter sit for 5-10 minutes so it can thicken.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out with spatula.
- Sprinkle with extra chocolate chips (if using).
- Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick insert in the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before serving.
I made these last night and like them! I was out of paleo chocolate so I did substitute walnuts; I think the chocolate would have been even better. The recipe was super easy to throw together quickly, and I found the baking time to be accurate (about 35 minutes was perfect for me). My boyfriend loved them and said they remind him of boxed brownie mixes as a kid, which is absolutely a compliment, and pretty amazing for just being sweetened with a little honey! If I made them again, I think I would add another tablespoon of honey or maybe maple syrup (the chocolate as recommended by the recipe probably would have added this sweetness though – so it’s really my fault for not going exactly by the recipe). I also really appreciate that this recipe makes the perfect amount of batter; I threw it in a slightly smaller glass dish (roughly 5 by 7 inches) because that was what I had, and it’s the perfect amount to snack on brownies for a few days without feeling like some might go to waste.
They didn’t quite hit the “I’ll only make this brownie recipe from now on” level for me, but they’re quite good and I’m looking forward to eating another couple of these brownies today! I’m looking forward to trying out the other brownie recipes on here and comparing. If you’re thinking about making these, definitely give them a try!