Vegan Brownies (My Best Yet . . . Chocolate Craving Prayers Answered)

I have been reduced to tears by trying to make the perfect vegan brownie. Recently there was one day where not one, not two, but three batches were mixed and baked all in one afternoon. None edible. I thought I might be having a nervous breakdown. (And this would not have surprised me one bit given the state I've been in.) Comfort foods have been on the menu. A lot. Foods we can eat with our hands mostly: sandwiches, baked fries, maybe some sides of homemade slaw for good measure. The whole food thing sort of went on hiatus.  

Then this afternoon a wonderful thing happened. I craved brownies. . . again! And this time, something told me if I just threw open every recipe in every single cookbook I owned from every single expert on the matter of chocolate and brownie making, I'd bake the perfect vegan brownie. And I did. 

I channeled Maida Heatter, Rose Levy Beranbaum, Alice Medrich and Marion Cunningham (may she rest in peace). All wise baking women. Much adored by me. I poured over recipe after recipe trying to decide whether to use cocoa powder or bittersweet chocolate squares? (Cocoa powder.) Butter or oil. (Oil.) To use or not to use coffee granules? (No.) What about that stupid EGG? How much volume are we talking here? What would be the best egg replacer this go around? (Because trust me, I've been down the road with each and every one you can name and can offer you a rebuttal of pros and cons of each.) I finally landed on the Ener-G Egg Replacer, but in moderation. 

So it is with great confidence I offer you my best vegan brownie. Baked in an 8" square, dark metal pan (my mother's, if you must know--so it could be at least as old as I am), lined with parchment paper, in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. These variables are important. Because if you go off into your own baking frenzy to whip these up and one or two things are off, I cannot be held responsible for the results. 

What you will notice immediately about my version of the vegan brownie is that the "crunchy" crust thingy is there, but not like you'll find in a brownie made with eggs. The eggs, as I have come to learn, are the source of this crusty-brownie-thing. I've achieved a bit of a top crust. But don't expect it to be similar to the boxed or grandma recipe versions. You will have an interior crumb that is markedly different from say, a cake. (Which is as it should be. No brownie should look like a cake.) 

You mix with a spoon--add wet to dry ingredients. Stir until just so--then fold in chocolate chips and nuts of your choice. (I added chocolate chips AND peanut butter chips along with hazelnuts.)

Straight from the oven, here's what you'll have. I allowed them to set in the pan for five minutes, then carefully lifted them out using the parchment paper ends, placed them on a cooling rack for ten minutes more, then sliced them into pieces.

So. I've felt as if I wasn't myself here lately. It's a by-product of all this personal stress of late. Then the other sadness and suffering we've all witnessed. I sought "professional" input when sleeping took priority over eating. Grateful for the sleep. But seriously, I do need to see daylight at some point or vampire tendencies emerge. (Plus, when food takes the back seat, then I know there's a problem. Clearly brownie baking helps.) 

My knitting has returned. Instead of staring at my basket of yarn and needles (they taunt me), I finally picked up and finished my Sideways Ripples Shawl last night. Pictures to come shortly. I need to block it and weave in the ends on it. But I do love it. Next project in the works may be a shrug or some other instant-gratification-type knit because that shawl knitting went on for-ev-er. 

I've taken great solace in watching my garden transform from its dormant state--cherry tree blossoms, red buds blooming, apple and pear tree blossoms, my grapes leafing out, garlic scapes and asparagus shoots coming up--so much happening. Tons of rain has helped. But here we go again: feast or famine St. Louis. Floods now in the forecast.  

My seedlings have grown into these amazingly lush baby veggie plants: No bugs. No drought. No blight. No diseases. I'm protective of them like a mother. They went out into the greenhouse for a few days this week. Then back inside last night. Part of me wants to just keep them indoors, under lights, bug free and see whether or not I'd be able to get a tomato or two out of them. But that's slippery slope talking there. 

Mother Nature is completely in charge this year. The old saying, In May you may plant what you want will be the rule rather than the exception. (Versus last year when veggie gardens were well on their way by end of March given eighty degree temps we had experienced by then. Which is just wrong). 

 I'll take the cooler temps, thank you. I haven't forgotten the 110-120 degree days of last summer.  

These are the seedlings I began in February.

Whoa. They really loved those few days out in the greenhouse in full sunshine. Um. The basil plants are from WM. I have to have fully grown basil plants to go in the ground when my tomato plants do. So I cheated there a bit. But the rest, all my handiwork: cabbage, broccoli, leeks, cauliflower, celery, chard, kale, kohlrabi and spinach, peppers, eggplant. Just waiting for it to warm up and dry out a bit, then it's off to the races for these guys. Godspeed. 

Vegan Brownies

1 tablespoon Ener-G Egg Replacer

1/4 cup water

3/4 cup unsweetened soy milk or coconut milk (I used soy)

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon canola oil

3/4 cup Baker's Sugar (*make your own by running regular sugar through a food processor and pulsing it a few times)

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup cocoa powder (spooned into the measuring cup, then leveled with a knife--don't tap it down)

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chocolate chips or peanut butter chips (I used half and half)

1/3 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8" square baking pan with parchment paper so you have one sheet covering two sides and the other sheet over the first one to overhang on the other two sides. In a small mixing bowl, add the egg replacer and water, whisk together and set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, add the soy milk, oil, sugar and vanilla extract, whisking in the egg replacer and water mixture. In another bowl, add cocoa powder, flours, baking powder, salt and whisk together to combine. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients. Stir together with a spoon until most of the dry ingredients are moistened. You won't have a perfectly smooth batter and that is okay. Next, fold in the chocolate chips (or peanut butter chips) and nuts. Spoon into your baking pan, smooth the top a bit with the back of your spoon. Bake for 20 minutes or less! About 18 minutes into the baking time, check the middle of the brownie mix with a toothpick for doneness--a little under done is way better than over done. If your toothpick comes out with a bit of chocolate on it, and see the center is still a bit shiny and the ends sort of becoming "dull" or more cooked looking, they can be removed from the oven. (They'll continue to bake a bit longer after they're removed from the oven.) Allow the brownies to cool in the pan for about five minutes. Remove from pan and place on a plate to cool some more. About ten minutes after you have moved them, go ahead and slice them into pieces. Once they're completely cooled, you can store them in an airtight container and keep them in the fridge.