Pumpkin Brownies - Paleo style!

Each Fall, me and my girlfriends all have one huge "Girls Night" at our friend Corinne's house. The night consists of 12-15 girls who all bring atleast 2 bottles of wine each, plus a dessert; Corinne has a couple of pizza stones so she provides a variety of exquisite homemade pizzas. The whole night screams "NON" Paleo. So I figured now would be the perfect time to practice my paleo dessert baking skills. Don't get me wrong - I do plan to steal a bite of pizza and try some desserts.....and this girl is bringing 3 bottles of champagne!

But back to our Paleo talk. I love love pumpkin and wanted to do a dessert that incorporates pumpkin puree, since it was already in my cabinet. My girl Kelsey pointed me in the direction of a Pumpkin Brownies recipe found at her box's paleo blog (Found Here).

As I love organization, I first lined up all the ingredients on the counter, ready to be mixed. And then I looked at them with much doubt; I was to make brownies with JUST these ingredients?! I mean, how many times have you baked non-paleo desserts with a shit ton of flour, right?



Well, either way, I needed to give it a try! So according to this recipe, I added all of these ingredients into a bowl and mixed mixed mixed:

1 cup almond butter
3/4 cup mashed pumpkin (from a can)
1 egg
1/3 cup honey
2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsps unsweetened baking cocoa (I added this)

This one is incredibly easy, just combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. Pour into a lightly greased 8 x 8" pan. Top with a handful of pecans and/or walnuts if you prefer. Bake at 350 degrees for 26 minutes.



Of course, I had to taste-test the batter - and it tasted pretty damn tasty. I was starting to gain some hope in my lil baking experiment! The first batch didn't look very big when I put it in a pan so I decided to make a second batch:



For the second patch, I added 1/2 cup of coconut flour; why? Why not! I had the ipod going, the first batch looked promising, and I wanted to experiment! So 1/2 cup of coconut flour and more honey to taste; the batter wasn't tasting as sweet as I want it to be.



The recipe originally called for baking for 26 minutes; after cutting a slice for me and my lucky roommate to try, we decided it was still alittle too gooey so I put it back in for 5 minutes; the 2nd batch was still cooking. After that, I decided on an additional 10 more minutes for both, bringing the baking time up to 40 minutes. I don't want to dry them out and they are tasting good but I also don't want them too gooey.

The verdict....

Definitely a winner! After 40 minutes, they were still a tad mushy, but nothing eating with a fork or even just a napkin won't fix.

After eating so strict for weeks now, I've lost my desire for super sweet desserts. The only thing that really trips my trigger anymore is ice cream - and it always will. My second batch, with the coconut flour, was not very sweet at all and I found it delicious! But anyone making this recipe can taste the batter before baking to add or subtract honey to get the right level of sweetness desired.

I can't wait to serve these up tomorrow night! No one's going to know just how healthy they really are..... ;)