Red Velvet Brownies
Valentine's day is just around the corner, and everything is being died red and pink, so I figured I would jump on the bandwagon, but the nutritionist in me couldn't get on board with all the red food dye, so I decided to jump in beets first (see what I did there).
This was an excellent chance to test out making one of my very types of dessert, the red velvet cake. The beets help keep the cake moist and develop a beautiful deep red colour without using half a bottle of dye.
Not only did I work to remove the red dye from these delicious red velvet wonders, I decided to go for it and make them gluten-free and vegan, so maybe these guys might not be paleo. I have removed many of the top allergens and inflammatory agents that end up being the main parts of most of our Valentine's day goodies.
The last beautiful thing about these red velvet brownies (as if there could be more) is that they are so effortless. As someone who isn't a fan of baking, it must be super simple. This recipe requires a blender and a fork or spatula, and an 8x8 casserole dish.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp cacao powder
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup sliced frozen beets, thawed
1 1/2 cups coconut sugar
1/2 cup avocado oil
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
1 tsp coconut oil + more to cover the casserole dish
Directions:
preheat oven to 350F
Place oats into a blender and pulse until oats turn into a fine flour, transfer into a large mixing bowl.
Add baking powder, salt, cacao, and stir together with a fork in a mixing bowl.
Place beets, coconut milk, coconut sugar, lemon juice and vanilla in a blender and blend until smooth. Once smooth, pour beet mixture out into mixed dry ingredients and fold in with a spatula, be sure not to over mix.
Using a paper towel, scoop up some coconut oil and rub it onto the casserole dish. Pour the batter into the coated dish and place it into the preheated oven bake for 30-35 minutes. You will know it's done when you can stick a toothpick in, and it comes out clean.
While the brownies cool, microwave chocolate chips and coconut oil in bouts of 30 seconds, mixing each time. Drizzle melted chocolate over the brownies. Once the brownies are cooled, cut into 12 squares and enjoy.
