Healthy-ish Chocolate Heaven Two Ways

This recipe was born when I decided to play around in the kitchen and make some cookies.  The plan for what kind of cookie I was going to make changed multiple times over the course of about five minutes, but I eventually settled on chocolate cookies.  

I say that these are healthy-ish because they’re made with oat flour.  They’re also made with less sugar and less oil than traditional recipes.  That doesn’t mean that they lose any flavor! I love baking, but flour tends to make me not feel so great (even gluten free flour blends – it’s all so refined and calorie dense that it just leaves me not feeling the best).  So, whenever I can, I try and make things with just oat flour. No gums, no fancy expensive flours, just oat flour made from grinding up oats in my blender. Oat flour hits my system really differently than any other flours do.  As long as I keep the sugar and the oil to moderate levels in my recipes, I can enjoy a slice of cake (or a few brownie bites) and still feel great afterwards. I hope you enjoy!

I’d love to hear which version of this you’re more excited about.  Cake with almond butter icing or macadamia nut brownie bites? Let me know in the comments below!

*Oats are something that can frequently be cross contaminated with gluten.  Be sure to use certified gluten free oats to keep this recipe safe for gluten free people.

Print

Healthy-ish Chocolate Heaven Two Ways (Vegan, Gluten Free):

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 24 brownie bites

Ingredients

Batter

• 2 flax eggs
• 1 1/2 cups certified gluten free oats ground into flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 6 Tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup coconut oil*
• 1/4 cup gluten free sweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup dry roasted macadamia nuts for the brownie bites

Icing

• 1/4 cup unsalted almond butter
• 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
• 3 Tablespoons Earth Balance vegan butter** room temperature
• 1 Tablespoon gluten free sweetened vanilla almond milk

Instructions

Brownie Bites

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a reusable silicone baking mat.
3. Make two flax eggs by mixing 2 Tablespoons of ground flaxseed with 5 Tablespoons of water. Let rest for 5 minutes until it’s turned into a gel.
4. Melt the coconut oil and let cool a bit.

5. Grind your gluten free old fashioned oats into flour using a blender.

6. Whisk together the oat flour, baking powder, fine sea salt, cocoa powder, and light brown sugar in a large bowl.
7. Add in the flax eggs, pure vanilla extract, almond milk, and melted coconut oil. Mix until just combined.
8. Fold in the dry roasted macadamia nuts.
9. Form into 24 1” balls and place on the baking sheet 1” apart (they won’t expand much during baking).
10. Bake for 15 minutes.

Cake

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Make two flax eggs by mixing 2 Tablespoons of ground flaxseed with 5 Tablespoons of water. Let rest for 5 minutes until it’s turned into a gel.
3. Melt the coconut oil in a medium sized cast iron skillet and let cool a bit. I used a vintage size 6 cast iron skillet - this is roughly 9” in diameter and it works perfectly.
4. Whisk together the oat flour, baking powder, fine sea salt, cocoa powder, and light brown sugar in a large bowl.
5. Add in the flax eggs, pure vanilla extract, almond milk, and melted coconut oil. Don’t wipe out the skillet - the remaining oil is what will grease the pan for baking. Mix until just combined.
6. Place batter in the oiled skillet. Press it down and out until it reaches the edges of the pan.
7. Bake for 25 minutes.

Icing

1. Combine all ingredients and blend with either a stand mixer or a handheld electric mixer until completely combined. It should be a pale tan, very creamy, a little fluffy, and not overly sweet.

Recipe Notes

*I’ve tried making the batter with vegan butter instead of coconut oil and the cake was more dry, I definitely recommend using coconut oil if you can.

**I’ve tried making this icing with other vegan butters and the result wasn’t the same. It came out more caramel-y and less savory almond butter-y. I recommend using Earth Balance butter in this icing.