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Saturday, January 15, 2011

Not so bad for you Blueberry Banana Brownies

I was in the mood for blueberries.  And chocolate.  And bananas.    I remembered how much I enjoyed eating the chocolate covered blueberries I used to get at Trader Joe's. So I thought why not fold fresh blueberries into banana brownies?  I also just happened to have some whole wheat pastry flour to use up.  If you like a fudgy brownie with a shiny, crackly top that has some fruit hidden in it, these are for you!  You could probably use dried blueberries or some other dried fruit-be creative!
I had two taste testers-one just got her braces and didn't want to be photographed with chocolate teeth-the other one would do anything for a brownie!  Here is my lovely niece Lilah ready to eat her second brownie.... They both gave the brownies two thumbs-up!
As you can see below, you might want to have a few blueberries ready to poke into the batter after you pour it into the pan so they look like they are more evenly distributed.

Here is the recipe:
6 oz semi sweet chocolate (or about 1 cup of chips)
6 tablespoons salted butter
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs  lightly beaten
1/2 of a small banana-well mashed
1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup regular sifted all-purpose flour
1 T unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt plus a pinch
1/2 cup fresh (***or frozen), washed and patted dry blueberries
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup lightly toasted chopped pecans
*** If using frozen blueberries, take them out up the freezer about five minutes before you are going to mix them into the batter.  Toss them with a little bit of flour in a small bowl to completely coat them before mixing them into the batter.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray cooking spray on bottom only of an 8 inch metal pan.
Or use non-stick foil to line the pan.
Mix flour, cocoa, and salt together and set aside.
Combine sugar, eggs, and banana in a separate bowl-stir until combined (I use a hand-held mixer on low for about 15 seconds).
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium low heat, then reduce heat to low and add 1 cup of chocolate chips. Cook and stir over low heat until smooth. Cool 5 minutes.
Pour melted chocolate into sugar, egg, banana mixture-stir quickly until combined.
Stir dry ingredients into chocolate mixture until just combined.
Fold in that last 1/2 cup chips and toasted nuts.
Gently fold in blueberries.  Save a few for poking into the batter after it is in the pan.
Bake 45 min to 53 minutes, but check at 45  (my oven runs hot so I bake them for 53 minutes at 320°).
Cool completely before cutting.  I use plastic knives to cut brownies-you may break a few of the knives, but nothing sticks to the plastic so the cuts are clean!


2 comments:

  1. I really love all kinds of brownies... even better when I know that they are not completely bad for me :)

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  2. Gloria, enjoy sunny Florida! By the way, did you see the latest Fine Cooking? They have a recipe for banana brownies. They spiffed it up quite a bit and added marshmallows.

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