Posted on by Ann

Gluten Free Flax Pinto Brownie Bites

Vata: Decreases

Pitta: Decreases

Kapha: Neutral

Season: Winter/Valentine’s Day

For a special treat, I always love the Flax 4 Life Chocolate Brownie Gluten-Free Flax Mini Muffins —  but why don’t they have organic ingredients?  And for Chinese New Year (the year of the Rabbit), I was trying to find a sweet pinto bean recipe. And what brings it all together? Chocolate! Yes, this would be a treat to have one at lunch after your meal before 2pm. And sweet will reduce Vata and Pitta. But watch out Kapha and be sure to use palm sugar instead of jaggery. If you have a heart-shaped muffin tin, these can be great for Valentine’s Day and Ojas building foods. 

Ingredients:

  • 2 heaping tbsp ground flax + 6 tbsp water
  • 1 cup cooked pinto beans (rinsed)
  • 1½ tbsp coconut oil, melted (or sunflower oil)
  • 3 tbsp almond butter (add to oil)
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • ⅓ cup cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • Pinch of pink salt
  • ½ cup sugar (brown/white combo or coconut palm or granulated jaggery)
  • 1 egg (or 2 tbsp apple sauce)
  • ¼ cup gluten free flour (tapioca, rice or sorghum or combo)
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp aluminum free baking powder

Optional:

  • ¼ cup chopped pecans or walnuts + more for topping
  • ⅓ cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350* F, grease a standard sized muffin tin and set aside. Fill two cups with water.
  2. Mix together the ground flax and water in the bowl of a food processor and set aside for a few minutes. 
  3. Drain and rinse the beans. Add to the Cuisinart.
  4. Mix together the melted coconut oil and almond butter until smooth and creamy
  5. Add all ingredients, except the optional, to the food processor and process until smooth, scraping down the sides. Add them in order. Add a couple tablespoons of oil or water if batter is too thick and won’t blend
  6. Fold in optional ingredients until just incorporated
  7. Transfer batter to prepared muffin tin, using about 2 tbsp per slot and sprinkle with chopped walnuts or half pecan
  8. Bake for 20 minutes until the edges start to pull away from the sides. These are meant to be super moist and fudgy so don’t worry if they fail the toothpick test
  9. Allow to cool 5-10 before removing the brownies from the muffin tin