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These carob brownies have become a bit of a staple for me over the past few weeks. If you’re avoiding chocolate for health reasons or because you’re cutting back on caffeine, these indulgent little treats will definitely hit the spot.
If you’ve been missing your chocolate fix, carob is about to be your new best friend. Carob is a plant-based delicacy, and has a taste that is amazingly similar to chocolate without the caffeine or theobromine that can impact the nervous system, cardiovascular system, and digestive system for some people. Carob grows on trees, is a member of the legume family, and unlike cocoa, it’s actually naturally sweet, so you can reduce the amount of other sweeteners needed. It’s easy to find in health food stores in powder form or in the form of carob chips, and I’ve been finding all kinds of delicious uses for it lately. These brownies have been a go-to treat to keep in the freezer for anytime I’m craving something chocolatey and decadent. With no gluten and no refined sugar, they’re a healthy option that really doesn’t taste healthy at all.
Ingredients Needed for the Carob Brownies
To make these brownies, you’ll need:
- Carob powder
- Almond flour (fine ground)
- Coconut flour
- Baking powder
- Sea salt
- Raw honey
- Olive oil
- Vanilla extract
- Eggs (or a plant-based substitute)
- Walnuts
If you like to try healthy baking recipes on a regular basis, it’s likely that you already have most of these basic ingredients in your pantry. If you don’t have raw honey on hand, regular honey can be substituted, or try maple syrup or agave syrup instead. Either way, you won’t be using much since the carob powder is already so sweet. I find using almond flour in gluten-free baking also lends a certain amount of natural sweetness to recipes.
If you’re feeling fancy, a few unsweetened carob chips melted on top of these faux chocolate brownies would also be amazing.
Method for Preparing the Carob Almond Flour Brownie Recipe
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, sea salt, and carob powder. Break up any clumps in the flour with a fork and set aside.
In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the honey, olive oil, eggs, and vanilla extract and mix until everything is well blended and slightly lighter in color, about two minutes.
Slowly add the gluten-free flour and the rest of the dry ingredients, a little at a time, to the bowl with the wet ingredients, mixing continuously. Stir just until an even batter forms. Then add in the walnuts and stir until the walnuts are evenly distributed throughout the mixture.
Using a rubber spatula, transfer the mixture to a parchment-lined square baking dish and smooth the top with the spatula. Bake for about 27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Allow the brownies to cool completely in the baking pan on a wire rack, then carefully lift them out of the dish using the parchment paper and slice them into equally-sized squares.
Store the brownies in an airtight container for up to two days, or transfer them to the freezer for longer storage. For the record, these brownies are extra tasty right out of the freezer.
These carob brownies have become a bit of a staple for me over the past few weeks. If you're avoiding chocolate for health reasons or because you're cutting back on caffeine, these indulgent little treats will definitely hit the spot.
- 3/4 cup Almond flour
- 2 tbsp Coconut flour
- 1/2 cup Carob powder
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 1/4 tsp Sea salt
- 1/2 cup Olive oil
- 1/4 cup Raw honey
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 2 Eggs (or a plant-based substitute)
- 1/2 cup Chopped walnuts (optional)
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Preheat the oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, combine the almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
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In a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the honey, olive oil, eggs, and vanilla. Continue mixing until everything comes together into a smooth mixture that has slightly lightened in color.
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Slowly add the dry ingredients a little at a time, and mix until every just comes together into an even batter. Gently fold in the walnuts until they're well distributed throughout the batter.
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Transfer the brownie batter to a square baking dish lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow the brownies to cool complete in the pan on a wire cooling rack, then gently remove and slice into equal squares.
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Store in an airtight container for up to two days, or freeze for longer storage.
Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.