These big batch fudgy lentil brownies get their great texture from a simple red lentil puree.
My mom has a terrific stash of sweet recipes that are made in a 9” x 13” pan. She and my aunt put great effort into searching out big-batch recipes when we were growing up, one of their tactics for keeping their large families fed (18 children between them) and their sanity intact. Especially through the teenage years when kids plow through your kitchen like a swarm of locusts, leaving the fridge and cupboards half bare and still complaining that they’re hungry.
My aunt, the mother of 11 (including seven boys), used to lock her baking supplies high in a kitchen cupboard, pocket the key and then slip down the street to our house just before the school bus arrived. She and mom would have a peaceful chat over coffee while a live version of the Sheree Fitch book, “There were monkeys in my kitchen” played out up the road in her kitchen.
When my kids make their way through the back path and in the door after school these lentil brownies are a great grab-and-go snack that’s wholesome and just sweet enough.
Don’t let the lentils in the recipe throw you off. They add great texture and help keep the brownies moist. Leftover lentil puree can be stirred into soup as a thickener.
This recipe is adapted from a Canadian Lentils recipe.
Fudgy Lentil Brownies
- ½ cup butter
- ¾ cup red lentil puree*
- ¾ cup cocoa
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- ¾ tsp salt
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup flour
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350° and line a 9″x13″ pan with parchment paper or grease it well.
- Melt butter. Mix in lentil puree, cocoa, sugar and salt.
- Add eggs, one at a time. Mix in vanilla, flour, then chocolate chips.
- Scrape batter into prepared pan and spread evenly.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool in the pan.
*Lentil Puree: Place 3/4 cup red lentils in a pot and cover generously with water. Bring to a simmer and cook until tender. Drain then blend in a food processor to make a smooth puree with a consistency like canned pumpkin. If needed, add additional water 1 Tbsp. at a time. Remember – you only need 3/4 cup of this puree, not all of it 🙂
