kitchen sink brownie sandwiches

Okay, I have no idea what to call these. I was in the mood to bake, and I also wanted to try to experiment so that I had something interesting to post on the blog. At first I wanted to make Ina's brownies, with a few twists. Namely, eliminating some of the fat and calories. I was thinking of adding black beans or chickpeas so I started researching and found this recipe. I still didn't want to use that much butter so I thought I would use what I knew of baking (which isn't that much), use what I had on hand, and try out my own recipe.

Kitchen Sink Brownies:

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate

1 stick unsalted butter

1/2 cup applesauce

1 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 tbsp instant espresso

¼ teaspoon sea salt

4 large eggs

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

Line a jellyroll pan (13 by 18 inches) with parchment paper & spray with cooking spray.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a glass bowl in the microwave for 1 1/2.
Stir with a spoon to melt the chocolate completely.

Add the vanilla and applesauce to the chocolate mixture.

Put the beans into a food processor and whip until smooth.

If you need more liquid, add some of the chocolate mixture.

It will be really thick.

Combine the chocolate mixture and the bean mixture, adding the espresso & salt. Set aside.

With an electric mixer beat the eggs until light and creamy, about 1 minute.

Add the brown sugar and mix until well blended.
Take 1/2 cup of the egg mixture out and set aside.

Add the combined chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and mix until smooth.

Take the semi-sweet chocolate chips and mix with about a tablespoon of flour.

Fold this into the brownie mix.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Drizzle the 1/2 cup egg mixture over the brownie batter.

Dredge across with a spatula creating a marble pattern.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until set.

Remove from the oven and let cool down.

Brownies will be soft, let set up in the fridge.

My brownies turned out a lot thinner than the inspiration pieces, but I was kind of expecting that since my pan was about 2 inches taller. I also only baked for about 20 minutes.

Since they turned out thin, I thought I would turn them up a notch and make sandwiches by adding peanut butter frosting.

Peanut Butter Frosting:

(adapted from Ina's PB Frosting)

2 tbsp butter, room temperature

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar

pinch of salt

skim milk

Mix the butter, peanut butter until smooth.

Add the powdered sugar and salt.

Add milk until spreading consistency.

With the help of my hubby, I transferred the brownies to a cutting board, and cut in half.

I then topped half with the frosting, covered with the bottom half and cut!

Enjoy the gooey goodness!