This vs. That ~ Cacao Brownie Bites

Last night my girls asked for brownies, so I started looking for some good-for-you brownie recipes on the internet.  We found one that looked like a good choice and they came out great, which was a wonderful surprise to me because I usually don’t have luck the first time I try a new baked goods recipe.  These brownies can be made in a 8x8x2 inch pan or made into little muffins if you want to mimic the Entenmann’s Little Bites Fudge Brownies.  We used a silicon mini muffin pan, see pictures below. Whenever possible, I have my kids help make the food we eat, they are usually more excited to try something new if they helped to prepare it.

My kids used to tear through bags of the Entenmann’s Brownie Bites like they were the last brownies on earth and to my surprise, they tore through these new brownies last night just as they did with the Entenmann’s brand.  You can double or triple the batch and freeze these for future use, so they can be grab and go just like the Entenmann’s we are all used to — after all, that is what makes the Entenmann’s little brownie like products so desirable, they are quick, easy and delicious.  Now we have a new option that is quick, easy and delicious with just a tad of planning.  We use WEXY Lunch and Munch Snack Bags to freeze our mini muffins.  These bags are BPA free and are fun for the kids with cute little monsters on each bag.  We put 3-4 muffins in a bag, freeze and grab when we need them.  If you pack them in a lunch they will be defrosted by lunch time.

We used Navitas Naturals Cacao Powder.  The only ingredient is Certified Organic Cacao. Cacao contains a naturally rich supply of antioxidants and is a good source of dietary fiber.  Raw cacao contains the highest concentrated antioxidant of any other food.  It is also known to be one of the highest dietary sources of magnesiumflavanols and polyphenols.  I was so excited to find something that promotes health that my kids would enjoy!

I hope you enjoy these brownies as much as we did!  Brownies are one of our favortie treats, and now we have an option that is actually good for us.  If you look at the ingredient breakdown, you will see that each ingredient in the brownies serves a nutritional purpose in one form or another. Simply click on the ingredient and you will see for yourself the goodness and wholesomeness you will be providing to you and your family.  (For this particular recipe 4 brownie bites equal 1 serving). You will be not only eating for pleasure, but for purpose.  The food we eat needs purpose.

This vs. That ~ Cacao Brownie Bites vs. Entenmann’s Little Bites Fudge Brownies:

(Apart from other health concerns, many of the ingredients in the Entenmann’s Little Bites are potentially GM (genetically modified) — sugar, corn syrup, fructose, cornstarch modified, soy lecithin, mono and diglycerides & xanthan gum.)

Almond Flour, Baking Soda, Himalayan Pink Salt, Raw Honey, Coconut Oil, Organic Eggs, Vanilla Extract, Raw Cacao Powder vs. Sugar, Egg(s), Wheat Flour Bleached, Chocolate Powder (Sugar, Chocolate Liquor, Dextrose), Canola Oil, Palm Oil, Milk Non-Fat, Soybean(s) Oil, Corn Syrup, Cocoa Processed With Alkali, Fructose, Whey, Salt, Cornstarch Modified, Gellan Gum, Sodium Citrate, Soy Lecithin, Flavor(s) Natural & ArtificialGuar Gum, Xanthan Gum, Propylene Glycol Monoester, Mono and Diglycerides, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Potassium Sorbate Preservative

When purchasing your honey, raw unprocessed honey is a good choice. 75% of all honey sold in stores contains no honey at all. A comprehensive investigation conducted by Food Safety News (FSN) has found that the vast majority of so-called honey products sold at grocery stores do not contain any pollen, which means they are not real honey. “Raw honey is thought to have many medicinal properties,” says Kathy Egan, dietitian at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.  ”Stomach ailments, anemia and allergies are just a few of the conditions that may be improved by consumption of unprocessed honey.”

This vs. That ~ Cacao Brownie Bites

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 11 minutes

Total Time: 21 minutes

Number of servings: 12

See Detailed Nutrition Info on

This vs. That ~ Cacao Brownie Bites

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup raw honey
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil or ghee
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 3 eggs (preferably organic)
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 1/2 cup raw cacao
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Grease muffin pan with coconut oil spray or ghee.
  3. Mix honey, coconut oil or ghee, vanilla and eggs until smooth.
  4. Add almond flour, cocoa, baking soda and optional salt.
  5. Stir to blend.
  6. Fill muffin cups with batter (approximately 1/3 full).
  7. Bake for 11 minutes, until centers no longer jiggle and tops feel cakey.

Notes:

Another alternative is to pour the batter into a greased 8x8x2 inch pan. We use coconut oil spray to grease the pan. Bake for approximately 25 minutes, until center no longer jiggles and top feels cakey. Recipe Adapted From: http://grainfreefoodie.blogspot.com

Cacao Brownie Bites

2/3 cup raw honey
1/2 cup coconut oil or ghee
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 eggs (preferably organic)
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup raw cacao
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease muffin pan with coconut oil spray or ghee.
3. Mix honey, coconut oil or ghee, vanilla and eggs until smooth.

brownie eggs
4. Add almond flour, cocoa, baking soda and optional salt.

girls brownies
5. Stir to blend.

brownies 3
6. Fill muffin cups with batter (approximately 1/3 full).

brownies 2
7. Bake for 11 minutes, until centers no longer jiggle and tops feel cakey.

brownies done
8. Let cool for 10 minutes.  Enjoy!

chase brownies

~ “To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art.”  – La Rochefoucauld

5 thoughts on “This vs. That ~ Cacao Brownie Bites

  1. Julie,

    What brand of silicon pan do you use, and have you tried flash freezing them, so you can pull out one at a time? I love the blog and seeing your family.

    Sam

  2. Hi Sam!

    I use Wilton silicon pans. Which do you use? I don’t know much about silicon pans, so if you have a suggestion that would be great!

    I freeze the brownies in Wexy bags (BPA free). I usually freeze 3-4 per bag and then grab them when we need them, they defrost pretty quickly. They are a great addition to the kids’ lunches.

    • Julie, I am in the market for some. I went to a party for Delmarva, and picked up one cke pan and love it. They are very expensive and you have to order from a rep.

Leave a Reply