no-bake chocolate fudge brownie

I've never had dates before. Or maybe I did have bites of them here and there hidden within layers of honey sponge cake, but I've never had the full-on fruit. Must say I am impressed, ESPECIALLY since they make DELICIOUS and HEALTHY brownies :)

 

To be honest I was a bit afraid of how these brownies would turn out. Using dates as the sole ingredient to make brownies? Kind of reminds me of black bean brownies, but I've never attempted that so I can't really say anything. It's on my to-do list though!

I began pitting the dates and then I cut them into smaller chunks for the blender. I pulled apart the small sticky fruit and all I saw were endless strands of fiber, tightly linked together as if refusing to let me remove the seed. Not to mention dates are very sweet--maybe a bit too sweet--even for someone like me who has a major sweet tooth, but overall quite delicious.

The brownies turned out to be super fudge-y and creamy, just like how brownies should taste! The natural sweetness of the dates makes this recipe easily sugar-free, but I found my brownies to be a bit on the sweeter side, so I'll probably reduce the amount of dates and add walnuts and almonds next time. Also because I omitted nuts from my recipe, the brownie turned out more compact but smaller, so nuts are definitely a must in the future!

Since the brownie was so creamy, I used it as a chocolate spread on some whole wheat bread and it tasted preeettyy good :) I believe I've just come up with a new breakfast idea, pretty stoked for tomorrow's breakfast now.


No-Bake Chocolate Fudge Brownie

adapted from The Healthy Chef
yields 12 servings

Ingredients:

1 cup walnuts
1 cup almonds
10-12 soft mejool dates, pitted
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup cocoa powder
salt

Directions:

- Combine the nuts in a food processor until roughly chopped. Then add the dates, vanilla extract, cocoa powder, and salt and process again until combined.
- If the mixture seems a bit dry or clumped together, add a tiny splash of water or orange juice (I added a bit of ricemilk) and then process again.
- Scoop out the mixture into a small baking tin lined with grease proof paper. Press the mixture down until it is compact, and the brownie should come together.
- Put the brownie in the fridge and allow an hour for it to set. Cut, add toppings if desired, and serve.