No Bake Brownies
I was inspired to make these no bake brownies because I am in need of boosting up my iron levels, and needed a fun way to do it! I basically took the idea from my walnut-date-balls and turned them into brownies.
I wanted a frosting to go with it, and I have heard of banana frosting and avocado frosting, so I experimented with both and found that I like the avocado more than the banana. I found that I wasn’t able to mask or hide the banana flavour, whereas I was able to mask the avocado. You can try it out yourself and see which you like best.
I was thinking of adding shredded coconut to them, but I changed my mind last minute, I may add them next time if I am in a coconut mood. I am thinking of adding chia seeds or oats next time as well.
You control how sweet you want them, I add the icing sugar a spoonful at a time, until I am happy with it.
What you will need for the brownie base:
- 30 Tunisian pitted dates (or any dates you have)
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/2 cup chopped almonds
- 1/4 cup cocoa preferably dark
- 3-6 tbsp icing sugar or more if desired
- 2 kitchen spoonfuls of water*
Remove pits from dates, blend in processor till dates turn into a paste like texture. Combine dates in a large bowl with the nuts, icing sugar and cocoa. You need to sprinkle the water a little at a time while blending as the mixture is dry. Stir until you get the texture that you desire, you may need more or less than 2 tablespoons of water, its best to start with little otherwise it will get too soft. Taste the base, if you want you can add more icing sugar if you want it more sweet.
* I didn’t use a measuring spoon, I used a regular soup spoon, and I would start with 1 tablespoon and add more if needed , sprinkle the water till you get a the right texture, shouldn’t be dry nor too mushy.
What you will need for the frosting:
I found that adding the vanilla helped mask the avocado, you don’t have to add it, you can taste it without it and see how you like it.
- 1 ripe avocado
- 4 tbsp cocoa
- 4 tbsp roasted almond butter
- 1 pkg vanilla sugar or 1/8 tsp vanilla bean paste (optional)
- icing sugar
Mash the avocado till smooth, combine with the almond butter, cocoa, vanilla if using, and 1 cup icing sugar, stir together till it becomes a smooth and glossy icing.
Taste the frosting and if you like you can add more icing sugar to it for added sweetness, I usually end up adding 2 cups in total, that is because I find cocoa powder to be bitter…and its still not sweet enough for my liking! I tried it out on my friends and they found it to be perfect, so you can taste as you go.
Spread frosting over the brownies and chill for one hour before cutting into . Serve the same day, freeze leftovers, and just to let you know they freeze great, you can eat them straight from the freezer. Enjoy!
