Recipe: Whole-Wheat Beet Brownie Bites (dairy-free)

I made over 300 of these beet brownie bites this past weekend for the Citibabes Holiday Shopping Event.  I created them as a way to display that healthy treats can be just as tasty, if not tastier, than their unhealthy counterparts.  Loaded with beets, fresh squeezed orange, unsweetened applesauce, whole-grain flour, and coconut oil, they were a hit with everyone I met, kids big and small inlcuded.   And they’re not sneaky or deceptive, unless you want them to be.

Whole-Wheat Beet Brownie Bites (dairy-free)

12 months + up

Makes 48 bites

• 3 small beets, washed, peeled and cut into small pieces
• 1 (12oz.) bag dark chocolate chips (I use 63%)
• 3/4 cup coconut oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar of choice (I use Florida Crystals, you could also use organic white sugar, turbinado, or coconut palm sugar)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• Juice from 1/2 orange (about 1/2 cup)
• 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

** (The batter will make 2 mini-muffin pans worth of brownie bites – either work in batches or make brownies in a large baking pan instead.  If you make them in a pan, allow to cook for an extra 5-8 minutes.)

Boil beets until tender and easily pierced with a fork, about 15 minutes. Drain and let cool slightly.  Blend beets in a food processor until smooth; set aside.

Preheat oven to 350.  Coat a mini-muffin pan with cooking spray.  Spray it again.  You can’t have enough here.

Place the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a heatproof bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water. Stir with a rubber spatula until smooth and melted.

In another bowl, beat the eggs and sugar with a hand mixer until smooth and creamy.  Stir in the applesauce, orange juice, puréed beets, and melted chocolate.  Sift in the flours, baking powder and salt.  Lightly mix until combined.

Spoon a generous teaspoon of batter into each muffin tin (you don’t want the brownie bites to have muffin tops so try to keep the batter under the top of the tin).  Bake for 15 minutes.  Let cool slightly and finish cooling on a wire rack.

*For a gluten-free version, simply sub out the whole wheat and all-purpose flour for 1 ¼ cups gluten-free all purpose flour mix, such as King Arthur’s. I’ve made them this way and they’re just as delicious.