The infamous Paleo Brownie recipe! « Fearless Athletics / CrossFit South Philly: Athletic Training For Everyone in the Center City/South Philly Areas of Philadelphia

Thursday May 6, 2010

The infamous Paleo Brownie recipe!

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posted by Catlyn

OK…technically, chocolate is not Paleo, but we’ll forgive that so we can have a delicious treat every now and then, yes?

Adapted from http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2006/01/dark-chocolate-brownies.html#ixzz0c9MVVQOi

This recipe is sugar-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free. However, with the coconut and almond flour, it is NOT fat-free!

5 ounces high-quality dark chocolate (I recommend El Rey, if you can get it)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup high-quality cocoa powder (I recommend Droste)
2 organic Omega-3 eggs
1 cup light agave nectar
1/2 cup almond meal or flour (or 1/2 rounded cup almonds, processed into a fine meal)
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (or 1 teaspoon vanilla plus 2 teaspoons peppermint extract)

Optional:

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, if desired
1/2 cup extra semi-sweet or bittersweet organic chocolate chips for the top, if desired

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray cooking spray on an 8×8-inch square baking pan. Cut a length of parchment paper that is the width of the pan. It’s ok if “tails” of paper hang over the sides. Press paper into pan and spray with a little more spray.

In one mixing bowl, whisk the eggs until lighter in color. Add the other liquid ingredients to this bowl.

In a second mixing bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients.

Place the 5oz. of chocolate in a microwaveable bowl or mug. If you have one big hunk of chocolate, break it into smaller pieces. Microwave on about 80% power until the chocolate is almost melted. Chocolate will scorch very easily in a microwave, so you have to watch it and remove it while it is still slightly chunky. Use a spoon to stir the chocolate briskly so the ambient heat melts it the rest of the way.

Pour melted chocolate into dry ingredients. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. I use a whisk to beat until incorporated, or you can use a rubber spatula. If you are adding nuts, mix them in at the end.

Pour into lined baking pan. Pick up the pan and drop forcefully on the counter or table 3-4 times. This gets the air bubbles out of the batter.

Layer the semi-sweet chips all over the top of the batter and press them in slightly, if adding.

Bake in the center of a preheated 350 degree F oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the brownies are set. Don’t overcook. I remove them from the oven as soon as a pick inserted in the middle comes out MOSTLY clean, with some moist crumbs clinging to it. I prefer these brownies slightly undercooked.

Cool on a wire rack. You may be able to grip the paper “tails” to remove the brownies, but I usually first turn the pan over onto a large plate to get the brownies out and then lay a synthetic cutting board on top of the brownies and flip them onto the board to cut them.

Joanna

Looks so yummy - sweets are my Paleo downfall. The agave nectar means it’s not totally sugar-free, though… right? Where would one find your recommended chocolate and cocoa powder? I’m sure Whole Foods has some good options…
http://www.samanthahawkins.com Samantha

These brownies are the bomb! Catlyn served them at a Christmas party and they’re AMAZING.

I’m sort of confused on whether raw cocoa is technically paleo or not. It’s made from the cocoa bean, which is the dried and fully fermented fatty seed of Theobroma cacao. So I guess as it’s a seed rather than a true “bean” it must be. There seem to be a ton of paleo recipes using it, but I can’t find any info on a quick google search that says definitively that cocoa is paleo or not paleo. Raw cocoa is not a legume like carob powder (it also has less sugar, carbs and fat) so maybe it’s better in that regard, and it also has a very low glycemic index value.

Raw cacao is claimed to be absolutely packed with nutrients. However, it’s pretty bitter on its own. The higher the percentage of cocoa in whatever chocolate you’re using, the better it is for you. Most people have to sweeten it or use it as a savory seasoning (to meat for example). Lara bars sweeten their chocolate flavored bars by mixing raw cocoa powder with dates. However, dates are fairly high in sugar. To be honest, I’m not sure which is better for you, or has a higher amount of sugar: dates or agave nectar. Either way, agave nectar is way easier to use.

Most dark chocolate is made with sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa liquor, and (sometimes) vanilla. Usually, an emulsifying agent such as soy lecithin is added, though a few manufacturers prefer to exclude this ingredient for purity reasons and to remain GMO free (so check your nutrition labels). The finest, plain dark chocolate couvertures contain at least 70% cocoa (both solids and butter). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate

Processing procedures, it seems, can impact the anti-oxidant activity of cocoa/chocolate. Processing that includes very high heat or alkalization seems to negatively alter the phenolic profile the most. Go for higher quality chocolates, and Mark Sission from Mark’s Daily Apple recommends avoiding Dutch-processed cocoa for these reasons.

http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-7364540/Significant-changes-occur-in-phenolic.html#abstract

Paleo can be a highly adaptable. If your sin is chocolate (like mine), then small quantities of very dark chocolate in moderation are still going to be better for you than say a slice of pizza or a piece of cake.

There have been studies done regarding will power that essentially say that if you have a craving or urge, it’s better to give in by a small amount than to hold out cold turkey. People who hold out are more likely to break and break BIG (e.g. binge) than people who allow themselves smaller cheats over a longer period of time. Of course there are always exceptions to the rule. I’ll try to dig up that article and post it here.

I’ve actually had good luck with the dark chocolate from Trader Joes (which is a fraction of the price of the stuff at Whole Foods). It’s their store brand and really not bad… I’m pretty picky about my chocolate. I usually use Scharffen Berger which you can find at Whole Foods or Dean & Deluca, but it’s pricey.
Catlyn

That’s what she said!

Thanks for the Sisson info on Dutch-processed cocoa. I guess when I run out of this Droste, I’ll look for something different.

My personal preference for the dark chocolate is El Rey 83%, but it’s hard to find around here. Whole Foods had a shipment around Christmas and I pretty much bought it up. They haven’t had a new shipment since. You can usually find Scharffenberger and Callebaut at Whole Foods.

Life is too short for crappy chocolate!
Kristin J

This recipe is srsly phenomenal. I skimped on the cocoa powder and used Hershey’s, and regretted it. The brownies came out too bitter.
This recipe is still ridiculously high on sugar though, which means it is definitely limited to a once or twice a year treat that is made to be shared with others. I added up the grams of sugar as I made mine, and it came to roughly 270g in one batch. Yowzers!
Catlyn

Oh yeah it’s carbalicious. I would recommend experimenting with a really good cocoa powder and good quality chocolate to see if you can start cutting back on the honey or agave nectar. Now that I’ve been off sweeteners for a bit, I find that my treats don’t have to be so sweet to be satisfying. And if the batter just seems way too stiff with less syrup, you can always substitute a little raw milk or heavy cream.
http://lillafoto.wordpress.com/2011/05/15/the-infamouse-paleo-brownie/ The infamouse Paleo Brownie « Blog Archive « Lisa-Marie's amateur photography

[...] diets, I need it to be chocolate on it. This is a recipe from the Paleo diet that I found on an american blog. This decliciouse Paleo brownie is moist, powerful, sugar free, gluten free, diary free… [...]
Griffin Sturgeon

Hi Kristin I feel like the recipe I use it alittle more simple, here’s the recipe http://www.fitclick.com/recipe_Paleo_Brownies?fd=488837
Also the sugar comes from the agave nectar which is fructose which is very low in the glycemic index so it’s no worse than the carbs that come from an apple which is actually good for you! So what I”m saying is that you can think of the blue agave nectar as actually healthy!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=17300034 Kristin Jekielek

Thanks for the recipe! I’ve read that fructose is actually a very unhealthy sugar. The body prefers glucose for energy, and there have been some studies showing that cancers cells thrive on fructose (link below)! Sugar can be scary stuff either way. But if I’m going to cheat, I won’t really be thinking about it too hard
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/02/AR2010080204793.html