Sweet Potato Brownies with Walnuts

By Tia Ohm

Wait, did you say sweet potato? Do you mean this dessert actually has a vegetable in it? Yep, these tasty treats are just that; a treat, in every sense of the word. This is a recipe we saw on A Tasty Love Story and had to make it. They are decadent without over-doing it, not too sweet and delightfully moist. I’ll admit, they do take a bit of time and effort, but well worth it if you would like a dessert that you can eat without feeling guilty. No added sugars in this recipe, these little brownies are sweetened naturally with sugar dates and sweet potato.

The original recipe used wheat flour, but we had to make it gluten-free. So instead, we used almond meal and now it becomes grain-free too. You can actually turn this dessert into a super-food if you use cacao nibs and cacao powder; genius! Throw in some chopped walnuts for a crunch, and your ready to go. I think I’ve said enough already. Bring your kids along for the ride, and get baking.

Enjoy!

What You’ll Need:

2 1/4 cup sweet potato, roughly 2 smaller sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 pastured eggs
12 dates, pitted
just less than 1/2 cup dark chocolate, or cacao nibs
2 T coconut oil
2 heaping T cocoa powder, or cacao powder
1/3 cup almond meal
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of sea salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

What to Do:

Steam your sweet potatoes until soft, about 10 minutes. Let cool.
Preheat oven to 350°.
In a food processor, blend your steamed sweet potatoes, dates, sea salt and vanilla until creamy.
In a double boiler, melt together your dark chocolate and coconut oil.
Transfer your sweet potato mixture to a bowl and add the melted chocolate.
Add cocoa powder, baking powder and almond meal and mix until well incorporated.
Grease the bottom and sides of a 9×11 inch pan with coconut oil. Pour in your brownie mixture and spread evenly.
Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until a fork or toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.

Makes about 20 smaller brownies