The Double-Dare You Hot Chickpea Brownies

Ever since I made those chickpea cookies, I’ve been yearning to brownie-ify them, and I finally have the recipe down. And, since it’s getting good and hot outside now over where I live, I added in some spice to heat things up even more. Like the I DARE YOU cookies, these are a high-protein, gluten-free, dairy-free treat, made with pureed chickpeas instead of flour, and lots of eggs. With the nuttiness of chickpeas, the warm, deep chocolate-y flavor of cocoa, melted chocolate, and dark chocolate chips, and the spicy mix of cayenne-ginger-cinnamon, they definitely have a complex, surprising flavor, and a nice kick at the end. For me, the spice isn’t overpowering (though it does linger, making me crave just one more). If you don’t like heat, scale back or just leave it out altogether. You will still love these. The texture is just right, too — fudge-y, chewy, soft — truly brownie-like.

I’ve been reading The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook lately; in it, she writes, “Food is far too pleasant to be combined with horror. All the same… crime is inevitable. That is why cooking is not an entirely agreeable pastime.” You get the gist: Cooking is full of horror and witchcraft. The crime — the chickpea in the brownie — is inevitable. These brownies just might prove that kitchen witchcraft is the best kind of witchcraft.

Ingredients

2 cups chickpeas
1 ½ cups chocolate chips, preferably semisweet or dark, divided
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 eggs
½ tablespoon vanilla extract
¾ cup raw sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cayenne (less if you’re sensitive to heat)
½ teaspoon ginger (ground)
½ teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a 9×9 brownie pan with parchment paper and spray the paper with more olive oil.

2. Measure out your chickpeas and then dry them off on a few layers of paper towels.

3. Puree the chickpeas in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Scrape down the edges and puree until all of it is completely smooth.

4. Melt ¾ of the chocolate chips with the olive oil (I do this in the microwave). Add it to the chickpeas, and blend until it’s well mixed.

5. Then, add the eggs, vanilla and sugar and belnd. Add the cocoa and spices and blend some more.

6. Pour the brownie batter into a bowl, and mix in the remaining cup of chocolate chips.

7. And, pour into the prepared pan!

8. Bake for about 25 minutes. I like to eat these with creamy-sweet yogurt (-ghosts) or — even better — vanilla ice cream. Hot and cold! SO good. The heat develops and increases with time, so if you can bear the wait, these only get better.

Previously: The Roasted Chickpea Three-Way

Natalie Eve Garrett is an artist who likes surprises and loves olive oil. You can buy prints of her paintings here.