Judith T – All Saints’ Church
Makes approximately 20 mini brownies.
This recipe is from a very trendy imaginative vegetarian book that my younger son and his wife gave me a few years ago. Actually the name of the recipe rather put me off to start with: I adore brownies, but ‘raw’ ones?! Not to say that I don’t indulge in a little spoon-licking of raw mixture whilst cooking, but consuming an entire ‘raw’ brownie?! Anyway two years ago, my desire to reverse my pre-diabetic status by seriously reducing my carbs meant that I looked beyond the name and decided to try this recipe for myself. The result is delicious! However, I’m still not sure that I’d want to advertise these nutty, chocolaty, date squares as ‘brownies’ – that builds a very different set of expectations. Also, they aren’t cheap due to all those nuts – although if you’re looking for a less extravagant version, I’m sure you could substitute rolled oats for the pecans and some of the almonds. However, they are very tasty, completely gluten-free, and very low on carbs – and can be cut into small squares.
100g almonds, skin on 250g Medjool dates, pitted (about 12) 2 tbsp set honey (raw honey if possible) 75g cocoa powder (Fairtrade if possible) ½ tsp salt 50g pecan nuts, chopped
1. Put the almonds into a food processor and whizz until you have a coarse powder.
2. Add the dates, honey, cocoa and salt and whizz again for about a minute, until the lot comes together into a dough-like ball.
3. Turn the brownie mixture into a bowl, add the chopped pecans and knead to bring them into the dough.
4. Line a 20 cm square baking tin with baking paper and turn the mixture into it, pressing it down with your fingers until you have an even layer.
5. Cover and place in the fridge to chill for 15 minutes before cutting up. Top with a dusting of cocoa.
They will keep for up to a week – if it’s hot, keep them in the fridge.
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