Black Bean Brownies

One thing you'll need to know about me up front is that I have a serious sweet tooth. I always snicker with disbelief when dieting articles in magazines like Cosmo suggest that you limit your dessert consumption to once a week. I should try limiting my dessert consumption to once a day. Sometimes I have dessert after breakfast.
However, with the exception of cakes (which will be the topic of another post), I often like to try to sneak some nutrition into my baked goods. I try to use whole-wheat flour. I'll add some wheat germ, use egg whites instead of whole eggs. I might even use pumpkin puree to make chocolate cupcakes.
But black bean brownies takes sneaky dessert nutrition to a whole new level.
When my friend Jenny first told me about black bean brownies, my first reaction was 'eww'! I imagined that they would be dry, have a funny aftertaste, or smell like beans.
Wrong, wrong, and wrong!
I just made them for the third time tonight, and I swear that the beans are undetectable. This batch was the best yet. I took them out of the oven at just the right time, and they were practically fudge-like, just the way I like my brownies to be.
Now, what is so good about beans that we should sneak them in our brownies? I'll tell you what's so good about beans!
One serving of black beans (1/2 cup) has only 90 calories and a half gram of fat, yet packs in 7 grams of protein, 6 grams of fiber (which is 24% of your daily needs), and 10% of your iron needs. You won't get all that in one brownie, but every little bit of extra protein, fiber, and iron helps!
At this time I'd like to give a shout-out to Goya brand black beans (that's frijoles negros in Spanish, FYI), because their can features a pull-top lid. Anytime I can avoid wrestling with a can opener is a plus.
Here is the recipe:
1 box of brownie mix. Today I used Duncan Hines, but it really doesn't matter.
1 can black beans. Make sure they are UNseasoned or you could have an UNpleasant surprise.
1 teaspoon vanilla (I use fake vanilla. Sue me, food snobs!)
about 1/2 cup of water
Handful of chocolate chips (0ptional, but I'm decadent that way)

Using a small chopper, food processor, blender, or a fork, mash the bejeezus out of your beans, adding water a tablespoon at a time, until beans are a nice smooth puree but not watery. Dump bean puree into brownie mix, add vanilla and chocolate chips, and stir. The mix will be thicker than regular brownie batter, but if it seems really dry you can add more water a tablespoon at a time. Bake the regular way for the regular time. Let cool a little, then give out to your unsuspecting children, who think you are cool for letting them eat brownies for an after school snack.