The Fudgiest Brownies You've Ever Tasted... with Avocado??

"Brownies with an avocado in them? Are they going to be green?", I asked myself. This post from SouthernInLaw makes them sound delicious but c'mon, lets be honest, it also sounds slightly disgusting. No one dips a Hershey's bar into guacamole for a reason. However, just because it sounds odd, doesn't mean it's necessarily bad. I gave this one a shot and if you're a chocoholic, you're in for helluva treat. If you don't have that much of a sweet tooth, this might not be the recipe for you. But it's gluten free, low fat, low in sugar, and grain free so for all of those with specific dietary needs, this might be a good dessert option!

To make these you'll need:

1 ripe avocado
2 eggs
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon of water
3.5 oz of dark chocolate (bar or chocolate chips, up to you!)
1 cup + 1 Tablespoon of cocoa powder
1/4-1/2 cup of sugar (I used 1/2 cup and should have used more, however if you want this to not be as sweet, then go for 1/4 cup)
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
Pinch of salt


Not sure if you picked a ripe avocado? Take off the tip - if it's green underneath, it's ripe. If it's brown, it's not. Also, give a squeeze. If it gives a little but doesn't leave an impression on the avocado, that's another sign it's ready to be cut open!

Start by preheating your oven to 355 and either in a food processor or mixer, combine your avocado, eggs, vanilla, and water until all lumps are gone.

In a separate bowl, melt your dark chocolate in the microwave (mine took about 1 minute), add to your avocado puree and mix until just combined.. I think next time I make this I'm going to try with milk or semi-sweet chocolate, as it was more bitter than sweet.

Next, add in your cocoa (I think the recipe is asking for a lot but that's just me), sugar (again, up to you on how sweet you want to make these), baking soda, and salt. Be careful adding the cocoa powder, as it can make quite a mess if it's all dumped in at once!

If you think it's too thick, add another Tablespoon of water. I didn't and yeah, these puppies were definitely thick!

Pour the mixture into a greased up 8"x8" pan and smooth the mixture out before baking for 20-25 minutes. Be sure to do the toothpick test (stick a toothpick in and if it comes out clean, it's all done!)

Let it cool in the pan before removing and let it chill in the fridge before serving. I've got to say, these are the fudgiest brownies I've ever had! Not cakey, very dense. You can't taste the avocado at all (and they're certainly not green) but my gosh are they chocolatey. Not for the faint of heart, these brownies are most certainly thicker than your average brownie but in small amounts, definitely fulfill your sweet tooth cravings!

And as my mother would say, "Have a glass of milk with that!"

TOTAL COSTS: About $18 (if you don't have any ingredients - prices from Vons)
$1.99 for an avocado
$2.79 for eggs
$3.49 for bag of dark chocolate chips
$3.99 for cocoa powder
$2.69 for sugar
$1.59 for baking soda
$.99 for salt
Homemade vanilla extract from scratch

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 50 minutes + overnight
30 minutes to prep
20 minutes to bake
Cool and chill overnight

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 1 out of 5
The hardest thing is picking an avocado that's ripe enough! Other than that, it's just a matter of throwing things in a bowl and then into a pan. Simple enough for even the non-baker in your family to accomplish.

No-Bake Gluten-Free Energy Balls

Today's post is a fast and easy one because you don't have to bake anything, it requires very few ingredients, and what you're about to devour isn't full of crazy preservatives so they're, dare I say, healthy! But be warned: they're very addicting. I won't tell you how many I ate in one day...

So here's what you'll need to make 8 energy balls:

* 1 cup of dry oats (which helps lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease)
* 1/2 cup of peanut butter (which has potassium, Vitamin E, and magnesium)
* 1/3 cup of honey (which is a natural source of carbohydrates which provide energy!)
* 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips (which improves your vascular functions and improves insulin sensitivity, though I suppose you could use raisins instead if you don't want chocolate)
* 1 teaspoon of vanilla (which, according to WebMD, can help stop tooth decay!)

So first, get a big bowl and add all the ingredients together. I recommend wearing gloves because this is going to get messy.

Once the dough is formed, then you're ready to make your energy balls! I decided to put them on a piece of parchment paper and put them in the fridge to harden. If you don't put them in the fridge, they'll stay very chewy but also greasy and a bit messy.

Mine didn't last very long in the fridge... not because they went bad, but because I ate them too quickly! Seriously, they're addicting. I recommend leaving them in the fridge, though, as the peanut butter tends to melt a bit once it reaches room temperature (or as soon as it's in your hand). Still, they're easy to make, they're good for you, and you don't have to turn on the oven on a hot summer's day - doesn't get much better than that!

TOTAL COSTS: About $12
$1.99 for oats
$2.79 for peanut butter
$4.29 for honey
$2.50 for chocolate chips
I used my own recipe for the homemade vanilla

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: Less than 10 minutes

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 1 out of 5
These would be a great treat to make with your kids - they're as easy as baking cookies, minus the baking part! Now if you're excuse me, I have to go make some more... omm nom nom...

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

With an exception of mint + chocolate, I think peanut butter + chocolate is close to being the best combination of flavors for any dessert. Whether it's pie or candy, ice cream or fudge, it always hits the spot for me. I saw this recipe on MoneySavingMom and thought it would be easy enough for anyone to tackle (especially because you don't have to bake anything). However, unless you have a freezer handy, this might not be the best treat to make... details below.

So go to your pantry and grab these five ingredients:

1. 1 Cup of natural peanut butter

2. 4 Tablespoons of coconut oil

3. 1 1/2 Tablespoons of maple syrup

4. 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt

5. Dark chocolate chips

Start by lining an 8x8 pan with aluminum foil. I didn't have an 8x8 pan so I just roughly measured out how big that would be in my 9x11 pan.

Next, combine all of the ingredients (except for the chocolate chips) in a bowl until it's smooth and creamy.

Once it's ready, pour the mixture into your foil-lined pan.

Sprinkle your chocolate chips on top and stick in the freezer, not the refrigerator, for 2 hours.

Note: I didn't pre-cut any pieces so I'd recommend doing that maybe an hour into the cooling process. Otherwise, you might have a hard time cutting out the pieces (though the foil does help).

Ok, so here's my problem with them. I found that they melted quite quickly the second you remove them from the refrigerator (since coconut oil has a melting point of around 76 degrees) so keep them in the freezer in a plastic bag until you're ready to devour them. Seriously, I held one for less than 3 seconds and it was already melting onto my fingers. Quite messy but still delicious!

TOTAL COSTS: About $20
$2.79 for natural peanut butter from Vons (I recommend getting a brand new jar, since you'll be using most of it!)
$5.99 for coconut oil from Whole Foods
$8.49 for maple syrup from Vons (but it's 100% maple syrup, which is why it's pricey!)
$1.99 for sea salt from Vons
$2.50 for dark chocolate chips from Vons

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 2 hours, 15 minutes
15 minutes to combine ingredients and add foil to pan
2 hours to chill

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 1 out of 5
It's easy, it's relatively fast, and with the foil, you don't have to worry about cleaning up the pan after everyone has eaten it! Just... make sure, they're very cold before serving or switch out the coconut oil for another ingredient that won't make it melt so fast!