Vegan Pumpkin Seed Cocoa Brownies
by Aimee
We’re more cookie people than brownie fans around here, and you’ll find more recipes for pies than bars in the archives.
In fact, this is the first brownie recipe I’ve published in five years. Now, I get the appeal of brownies; I really do! It’s just that most recipes require so much white sugar and butter, I can’t make them for my family in good conscious. Until now, that is.
My editor recently sent me a cookbook that happened to arrive just in time for my January pantry purge. At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen: Celebrating the Art of Eating Well
Today’s brownies are adapted from Amy Chaplin’s book. Finally I have a brownie recipe for the lunchbox, my afternoon tea and basically any special occasion. These are brownies well worth a five year wait.
Amy’s original recipe are almond butter brownies but I needed a nut-free treat I could send to school with my boys. I made a version using an organic pumpkin seed butter, which I have on hand for smoothies and snacks. My grocery store stocks the special seed butter so it’s actually easier to find than you would think.
I also sprinkled the top with pepitas
This is our first dessert since Christmas, more or less. Gosh, these dark chocolate morsels hit the spot. Apparently my chocolate cravings were reaching an all-time high.
It’s impossible to resist rich vegan brownies with dark chocolate chunks, nutty pumpkin seeds and sea salt. The ingredient list may be a little different that what you are used to, but make a shopping list for your local whole foods store and bake up a batch of these brownies this weekend. I think you’ll find they are your new favourite treat, too.
| Pumpkin Seed Vegan Brownies | Print |
- 1/2 cup packed pitted deglet noor dates
- 1 1/2 cups whole spelt flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/3 cup pumpkin seed butter
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, plus more to oil pan, warmed
- 3/4 cup maple syrup
- 3/4 cup maple sugar or cane sugar
- 1/3 cup plain soy milk
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped and divided
- 1/4 cup shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
- Maldon or fleur de sel, or other flaky sea salt
- Place dates in a medium bowl and cover with boiling water. Let soak for 20 minutes or until softened, then drain well.
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper; brush paper and sides of pan lightly with coconut oil, and set aside.
- Sift flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder into a medium bowl; whisk to combine and set aside.
- Place pumpkin butter butter, warm coconut oil and drained dates in a food processor; blend until smooth. It's okay if a few small date pieces are not blended.
- Add maple syrup, maple sugar, soy milk, salt and vanilla and process until smooth.
- Pour into sifted flour mixture, and stir with a rubber spatula until almost combined. Reserve 2 tablespoons chopped chocolate and stir remaining chocolate into batter, being careful not to overmix.
- Transfer batter to prepared pan and spread out evenly. Sprinkle with pepitas, remaining chocolate, and a large pinch of sea salt.
- Bake for 25-27 minutes or until edges pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted into centre comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
- For best results, refrigerate until completely cold before cutting. These brownies keep well for three or four days when stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
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