Perfect Vegan Brownies with AQUAFABA! Fudgey, dense, sweet, chocolatey—and a perfect crackle top! (Scroll all the way down to see the new VIDEO I made—these brownies are so easy to make!)
Perfect Vegan Brownies
Ok, I’ve been teasing you with these brownies long enough. It’s time to share the recipe. I had actually hoped to share the recipe last week, but realized I needed to test it a couple more times to get it just right. I am happy to say that it is now just PERFECT! Perfect Vegan Brownies to be exact. They are rich, chocolatey, chewy, gooey, fudgey, crunchy, with the perfect signature crackle top that we have come to expect from a good brownie. You can make them in one pot on the stove. And they are AMAZING!
I have actually made these brownies 7 times now in the past 3 weeks. I know—dangerous. But somebody’s gotta do it. I actually started off with a recipe from an old not-vegan Williams-Sonoma Dessert cookbook, but I’m pretty sure the only thing they have in common now is flour and chocolate. I swapped out (and reduced) butter with coconut oil, subbed in some unrefined maple syrup, added cinnamon because it is my favorite with chocolate, and of course subbed out the eggs for magic bean juice, aka Aquafaba.
Aquafaba
I’m sure you’ve heard of Black Bean Brownies, but have you ever had Black Aquafaba Brownies? Probably not. Instead of an egg, I used the liquid from a can of black beans. I have seen lots of people using chick pea liquid in macarons and meringuess, and I’ve been using white bean liquid (due to Jonathan’s allergies), so I thought that brownies would be the perfect spot for the black bean liquid. It works not only as a great binder, but also adds moisture and allows me to reduce the oil in the recipe to just 1/4 cup!
(A note about the liquid—I have just been freezing mine in ice cube trays each time I need to use beans and storing it in the freezer until I need it. I just thaw what I need and I’m good to go. And if you’re looking for somewhere to use up those black beans—try these Frijoles de Cabo!)
^^^ These are incredible served “a la mode” with my Cinnamon Coconut Whipped Cream (recipe at the bottom of this post.)
I use a combination of brown sugar and maple syrup to give the brownies just the right amount of sweetness and chewiness. The sweeteners were actually what held me back in my experimenting. I used maple syrup the first 3 times and it was great, but I thought that maybe brown rice syrup might be better—chewier maybe. It’s not. Let me just save you the time and tell you right now. Don’t do it. I tried it 3 times. The brownies still taste amazing but bake up to have the texture of the moon. I’m not sure why, but I know it doesn’t work. Stick with the maple syrup—it’s what gives it the perfect crackly top!
Look how easy they are to make!
Ready for the recipe? Here you go! If you make these…and I KNOW you will, please take a picture and tag #frieddandelions on your favorite social media platform. Can’t wait to see how they look!
Perfect Brownies
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup coconut oil plus extra for greasing the pan
- 3 ounces ~1/2 c semi sweet chocolate chips (I like Enjoy Life)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup aquafaba liquid from a can of black beans—your can will probably have closer to 2/3 or 3/4 c—make sure you measure
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons instant coffee
- 3/4 cup all purpose white flour
- 4 1/2 ounces 3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 inch baking pan* with extra coconut oil and set aside.
- In a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat, melt 3 ounces of chocolate chips and 1/4 c coconut oil.
- When melted, remove from heat. Add in brown sugar, maple syrup and pinch of salt and whisk together.
- Measure out the aquafaba and whisk with a small whisk until slightly foamy.
- Pour the aquafaba into the chocolate mix and whisk together.
- Add vanilla, cinnamon and instant coffee and whisk to incorporate.
- Add the flour to the chocolate mixture and mix well. Fold in 4 1/2 ounces of chocolate chips.
- Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 35 minutes. The brownies will be moist but set.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for about an hour before serving.
- These taste delicious topped with my Cinnamon Coconut Whipped Cream! Enjoy!
Notes
Don’t Forget to Pin this Recipe!