Brownie Points

My big sister is graduating from university! And what better way to say congrats than with a big ol' brownie? Also there's another big surprise coming for her, but she doesn't know yet! I thought these were cool because I used a sweet potato, which thickened the batter but kept it healthy. Well, they were healthy until I added the icing. Which was delicious, and how often do you graduate any way?

Ingredients

flax egg replacer (2 tbsp)

1 small sweet potato (makes 3/4 cup once cooked and blended)

1/2 cup of water

1/2 cup Canadian Maple Syrup

1/2 cup carob powder

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup spelt flour

3/4 cup kamut flour

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp of cinnamon

1/4 tsp of salt

optional: a small handful each of almonds and cashews (chop them)

Icing

I ended up making too much for the brownies, so next time I would halve the recipe.

1/2 cup Earth Balance vegan margarine

1/2 cup of maple syrup

1/2 cup of carob powder

vanilla, almond, and maple extracts.

Play around with the consistency of the ingredients, you want the mixture spreadable and not runny, but also not too buttery. You may have to add more carob powder.

Blend all ingredients together, spread on your cooled brownies and refrigerate.

Method

Preheat oven to 350F

Peel, chop into small pieces, and cook the sweet potato.

Blend with a hand blender and measure out 3/4 of a cup worth

Blend together sweet potato, water, maple syrup, carob powder (you may also use cacao) flax egg mix, and vanilla.

In another bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir together, then add in the blended wet mixture. Once it is all mixed well, you may add the optional nuts.

Prepare a small square baking pan (I used an 8 by 9 pan) and pour mixture into the pan. Pop into the oven and let bake for about 40 minutes, or until a test stick comes out clean. Let cool.

Enjoy!