Chipotle Cacao Raw Brownies
Quick: You are traveling, you don’t have any of your own kitchen equipment and someone asks you to bring a raw dessert to dinner. What to do? Raw Brownies! I recently posted a brownie recipe but instead of making the same recipe, I found myself thinking, “What else can I do with this raw recipe?”. The thought of adding a little heat and smoke to the chocolate was irresistible. I was so pleased with how these came out, I thought it was worth sharing with you.
This time around I decided to use walnuts instead of hazelnuts and throw in some ground chipotle powder to get the aforementioned heat and smoke. I rounded it out with cinnamon, an exciting addition of figs that created depth and a chipotle ganache. Gourmet raw brownies, here we come!
Walnuts are a great source of Omega-3’s, heart healthy monounsaturated fats, anti-oxidants to support your immune system and L-arginine, an essential amino acid which promotes healthy blood pressure.
Chipotle Cacao Raw Brownies
MAKES 16 2x2 inch Brownies
Brownies
- 2 cups walnuts
- 1 cup cacao powder
- 1 teaspoon ground chipotle powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch Himalayan salt
- 2 cups Medjool dates
- 1/2 cup dried figs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
- Process the walnuts in the food processor until finely ground.
- Add cacao, chipotle powder, cinnamon and salt. Pulse until combined.
- Add figs and dates, 1/4 cup at a time until all ingredients are well combined. Pulse in optional vanilla.
- Pat into 8 x 8-inch pan.
Chipotle Ganache
- 1/2 cup cacao
- 1/2 cup agave nectar or liquid sweetener of your choice
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- Whisk all ingredients together. Pour over top of brownies and chill until set.
- Cut into 2″ squares.
Mary wrote on February 18, 2012
Yum, yum, yum. I made these tonight for my mom’s birthday. I actually left out the Chipotle as I wasn’t sure my mom would like the heat, but next time I’ll go hot. In any case, it is delicious! No one could believe what moist brownies I’d made, and had no clue they were raw. Fantastic!
Sheila wrote on January 21, 2012
Hello, these brownies do look amazing; however, I’m new the the raw food world and find it somewhat intimidating! Help! Where do I start? I just purchased a juicer and will be juicing first thing every morning, but I want to get away from mainstream cooking/eating, SAD, I believe it what you called it. I definitely want to purchase one of your cookbooks, but as I dabble into the world of RAW, I feel like a young bride who has no cooking skills whatsoever…lol…I’m 54. Raw eating seems to be time consuming and expensive..and I often find myself wondering where to find some of the ingredients.
I need help to transition. Any suggestions?
Susan wrote on January 21, 2012
Check “articles” under the category button on the right. There are tons of articles on the post that answer all your questions. 🙂
Kate wrote on January 14, 2012
Well, that indulged my chocolate fix! Made these yesterday. (I’m a raw newbie.) What a great recipe. The chipotle chili powder worried me at first because it’s such a pronounced flavor, but it’s an intelligent addition! Thank you for a wonderfully complex and rich dessert! I’ll definitely make these again!
Helen Dowty wrote on January 8, 2012
Wow !!!! I love these. so easy and so delicious. I can’t wait to be invited somewhere and bring these yummy treats. mmm Thanks
Saskia wrote on January 4, 2012
these look really yummy! I have a bit of an allergy to walnuts, can you think of another nut I could sub? Thanks!
Mariah wrote on January 2, 2012
In Europe the best/closest flavor to chipotle is smoked Spanish paprika, it will impart a beautiful smoky sweet chili flavor much like chipotle 🙂 I just spent six months in Ireland after being born and raised spitting distance from Mexico, I found a lot of pretty good substitutions for Mexican ingredients 🙂
Andy wrote on December 23, 2011
I wonder if you could start putting the nutrition facts for your recipes for us counting calories, fat, etc. ?
Susan wrote on December 27, 2011
Andy, honestly, I would love to but I don’t have the time or the resources. By the time I create the recipe, make it, test it, photograph it and post it, I need to move onto other things. There are some wonderful on-line calorie calculators that you can use if this is important to you.
ben wrote on December 23, 2011
Alex in Europe: A pinch of regular cayenne powder could be used if you can’t find chipotle. You can dry-roast the cayenne over very low heat until it darkens a bit, for the smoky chipotle taste.
Ben wrote on December 21, 2011
Wow! A recipe that looks amazing and doesn’t leave me scratching my head with confusion.(I like recipes to be as simple as possible) Can’t wait to try these!