Vegan Brownies

These are my favorite brownies. They take some more work than my other brownie recipe but if you have the time it's so worth it. I love the texture from the ground flax and the subtle taste of coconut throughout the brownie. The first time I made this was on rotation in Oregon. I didn't have a full kitchen so to grind the flax, my friend Chris and I had to pound the flax seeds with a wine bottle. That's improvisation! It was a lot of work, but this time I just bought them preground. You can also use a food processor. This recipe is from Guilty Kitchen. I actually tried a different recipe for vegan brownies and they were such a fail that I had to throw them out. Tragedy. On a happier note, baby monster feet!

1 cup coconut oil

4 oz. semisweet chocolate chips 

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp instant coffee powder

1/2 cup hot water

1 cup white sugar

1 cup dark brown sugar

2 cups white whole wheat flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp sea salt

2 Tbsp ground flax seeds

6 Tbsp hot water

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease an 8 x 8 pan.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a small bowl, stir together the ground flax and 6 tablespoons of hot water. Set aside to get goopy.

In a small pot, melt the coconut oil and chocolate chips together over low heat.

Mix the coffee powder with the 1/2 cup of hot water in a large mixing bowl. Pour in the melted chocolate mixture. Whisk in sugars and vanilla. Stir in the flax mixture.

Then stir in the dry ingredients.

Pour the batter into the greased baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. The brownies are done just when a toothpick comes out clean or just before.

Let cool completely before serving. When I make these, they puff up a lot so there are some parts that are crunchy and some that are raw. Otherwise they will completely fall apart. Once the brownies are set, they'll be a little coconut oil greasy. That's totally normal. If you store them in the fridge, they'll get a little coat of solidified coconut oil on the bottom.