Raw Brownie Bites

**Here's another post I did for Sakara Life a couple summers ago. More holiday treat inspiration! Perfect for cocktail parties, hostess gifts, long car rides, or late-night snacking!**

If you're like me, then you're probably aboard the breakfast-for-dinner-train, solely for an excuse to eat another sweet meal. As a kid, my eating habits were far from healthy, and even though I've cleaned myself up quite a bit, my sweet tooth remains intact. If you're trying to lead more of a whole foods diet, but still can't end your day without dessert, I give you dates. I honestly don't know why this amazingly rich, sweet treat has not gone mainstream. Medjool dates are Mother Nature's caramel, and I really don't think it's my biased earthy-crunchy attitude towards food in general. This candy-like fruit grows on the date palm in large hanging clusters near the top of the tree, very similar to the coconut variety. Although most of the calories in dates come from sugar, eating just one or two can really satisfy a craving for something sweet. Take out the pits and fill them with a scoop of almond or coconut butter, and suddenly I think we should be friends. They're a great source of fiber, copper, and manganese, and have more potassium than bananas. They're also the main ingredient in most raw food desserts and bars, making this ancient fruit a perfect substitute for your daily cookie break or pre-workout energy boost.

This past summer (two summers ago) I put together a weekend with some of my favorite gal pals, filled with great music and even better snacks. We threw on our crop tops and high-waisted shorts, adorned ourselves with flower crowns, and piled into a Volkswagen, hoping to bring a bit of the 1969 Woodstock to the 2013 Nines Festival. Now typically I tend not to make big batches of desserts, no matter how raw and healthy they are, because I have no self control and will eat 45 brownie bites as quickly as I roll them out. My digestive system wishes I wouldn't. But when I have a group of fellow food lovers to share with, I'll gladly pull out all the stops. Our festival menu included these raw brownies, almond butter and coconut cups, homegrown peach salsa, a fancy quince jam and cheese board, all sorts of chips and hummus, and the most delicious huckleberry vodka and pear cocktail. We definitely got after it. Vodka milkshakes happened, too. I can't be sure what happened after that. All I know is, I woke up around 3 a.m., turned into The Hulk, and shoveled a handful of these brownies into my mouth. Surprisingly, the next morning wasn't too painful. Must be all those superfoods running through my system. 

Raw Brownie Bites
I realize maple syrup is not raw, but like, cut me some slack

12 medjool dates

1 cup raw pecans

3 tablespoons cacao powder

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Throw the pecans into a food processor and blend until crumbly. Add the dates and blend again. Mix in the cacao and maple syrup and process one last time until the dough comes together. 

Form into balls. Leave plain or roll in shredded coconut, cacao nibs, finely chopped walnuts, or extra cacao powder. Refrigerate or freeze to keep fresh (they thaw really quickly, and keep for months in the freezer!). 

Supernatural Brownies

Did You Know? The brownie, also known as the Boston Brownie, traces all the way back to the 1800s. And although sources aren't clear on the exact date the first brownie recipe was published, they do know the recipe stemmed from a Boston-based cookbook.

The name says it all. My sister needed to bring a dessert to a dinner party she was attending, and of course she turned to me to create something for her. If it hadn't been for the fact that I had just received a KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer for Christmas, I might have told her to bake something herself. But I just had to use that new mixer again. It has made cooking and baking so much more fun, and it is just so pretty. Now I hope I can crack my parents into buying a Vita-Mix, they seem to be all the rage in the blogging world, and I desperately want to whip out some homemade nut butters. Until then...

Now, back to the brownies. My sister has always been a fan of the cakey brownie, while I, along with the rest of my family, enjoy a fudgy one. Since it was for her and all, I decided to make a cakey version. So Monday night, I cranked out a batch of Moosewood Fudge Brownies, that I saw on 101 Cookbooks. Yeah, yeah, fudge brownies. But all the comments revealed how cakey these were, and with 5 eggs, I knew fudgy was one thing these probably were not.

It turns out my intuition was right. These were the cakiest (?) brownies I have ever tasted. In fact, they sort of just tasted like little squares of rich chocolate cake. They didn't taste like brownies at all, but strangely, we all really enjoyed them (especially my sister). I wouldn't recommend baking these if you're really in the mood for a brownie, but if you're looking for a different spin on a classic, and you love the cakey texture, try these out. Fresh from the oven, they have a really nice bite, and the chocolate flavor slowly develops - it's really quite strange.

So because the brownies didn't turn out as I had hoped, I had to make another batch. The perfectionist in me wouldn't let me settle on the Moosewood version if people other than my family were expecting to eat a brownie. Here's where I turned to David Lebovitz for some inspiration. His post for Supernatural Brownies, is from the book "Chocolate: From Simple Cookies to Extravagant Showstoppers," by Nick Malgieri, and it happens to be the best brownie I have ever eaten. It's fudgy, but still light enough for those cake lovers to enjoy as well. It's rich and flavorful, and the chocolate, oh that chocolate. How could you go wrong adding a bowlful of melted chocolate and butter. Trust me, you must bake these. Warm and wrapped with slowly melting vanilla ice cream, these brownies are dessert at its finest. So much for that "eat healthy" New Year's resolution. One brownie won't hurt, but good for you if you only need one.

Supernatural Brownies
2 sticks unsalted butter, each cut into thirds
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (I used 4 ounces of each), broken into pieces
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
One 13x9x2-inch pan, buttered

Set the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

Combine the butter and chocolate in a heat proof bowl and microwave in intervals of 30 seconds or so, until melted (stir in between heatings).

Whisk eggs together in a large bowl, then whisk in the salt, sugars, and vanilla. Stir in the chocolate and butter mixture, then fold in the flour.

Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for about 45 minutes, until top has formed a shiny crust. Cool in pan, or enjoy hot from the oven.

Now I'm guessing I don't have to tell you which is which, but just in case...the left is Moosewood (cakey) and the right is Supernatural (fudgy).