Wednesday, 8 October 2014

Guilt Free Spooky Pumpkin Patch Brownies







I already exclaimed how excited I was for Halloween over here on my first Halloween post. I just don't know if my enthusiasm REALLY came across.



You see, Halloween for me is IT. It's my favourite event of all time. Better than my birthday and any other holiday.


When I was young Nightmare Before Christmas was my favourite film. From that point on I became obsessed with all things dark, macabre and gruesome.


Suffice it to say ...Tim Burton is my hero. I always wished I could jump into his world of googly eyed monsters, black and white stripes and shades of grey.While I can't...the next best thing is HALLOWEEN! The perfect guise for my obsession with all things creepy and scary!















I go ALL out. Last Halloween the weather was really bad and not that many kids came. Pretty sure I *still* have candy left because I bought so much. I was excited!



As proof, I took a few quick shots of my room and some Halloween decor I have had up for a while. I won't lie to you -- I keep my room pretty Halloween-y all year round. It makes me happy and I love the colour schemes that usually accompany this time of year!












This isn't even a fraction of the stuff. I have Halloween things EVERYWHERE!! And my Tim Burton collection grows every year.


So now you have some insight into how much I Halloween -- let's talk brownies.















Specifically, adorably grim -- surprisingly healthy -- amazing brownies:

















Halloween ideas have been overloading my brain. But I wanted to stay true to what I like and make something healthy. Yes the candies aren't super healthy...but everything else is...so....THERE!



These decadent fudgy brownies are gluten free, refined sugar free and absolutely delicious! And because they are pumpkin patch brownies...I snuck in some pumpkin too!



I am currently eating one so I need to just stop this train right now and holler at you for a minute. OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THESE ARE THE BEST BROWNIES EVER!


ARE THESE EVEN REAL LIFE?! How are these healthy brownies? I don't know but they AARRRRE!


Dense, chewy -- chocolatey to the MAX! I CANNOT BELIEVE MY TASTE BUDS! I am in absolutely love with these. Oh boy oh boy oh boy!


Okay I am done.





The decorating was SO easy. And super fun, too! Great project for the kiddos ...or in my case...me.















I had a great time. My brother walked into the kitchen and asked what I was doing. I honestly replied " I have no freakin' idea but if this works -- I am going to be so happy!"



And happy I am. Even happier to be sharing it with you!


If the directions confuse you, hopefully the pictures help! So let's not waste away talking and get on to the recipe!









Guilt Free Pumpkin Patch Brownies 


Yields 16 brownies 

Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free, Vegan Option 






Ingredients:


  • For the brownies:
  • 1 cup oat flour (or 1 cup oats ground into flour)
  • 1/4 all purpose gluten free flour (I use this one
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • Pinch of cinnamon 
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs, flax eggs, or egg replacer 
  • 1/2 liquid sweetener (maple syrup, agave nectar, brown rice syrup, honey) 
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
  • 1/4 cup dark chocolate, melted
  • 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
  • For chocolate ganache:
  • 1/3 cup dark chocolate, melted
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
  • For grass:
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut, shredded
  • 3-4 drops green food colouring
  • Optional toppings: pumpkin candies, orange candies/chocolates

Directions:


  1. Preheat oven to 350 
  2. Grease an 8x8 pan with coconut oil, lined with parchment paper strips that are long enough to be used as handles to pull the brownie out of the pan, and set aside
  3. In a small bowl sift all dry ingredients for the brownie batter and set aside
  4. In a large bowl combine all wet ingredients and blend thoroughly
  5. Add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients and stir until fully combined
  6. Scoop mixture into pan and spread as evenly as possible (mixture will be thick!) 
  7. Bake for 20 -25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean 
  8. Let brownies cool completely before decorating
  9. Once cooled --  level the brownie so it is flat -- set aside the top bits we will use them as 'dirt' in our pumpkin patch! You can do this by gently cutting the top layer off or using a cake leveler if you have one
  10. For coconut 'grass' in a plastic bag or small bowl combine the coconut and colouring until your shredded coconut is green! Set side
  11. For ganache topping mix both ingredients together and pour on top of brownie mixture concentrating the ganache in the center of the brownies and spreading it outwards -- don't worry if it pours over the sides! 
  12. While ganache is still wet, add coconut on top of brownie mixture, place pumpkin candies and other decorations on top as you desire!
  13. Allow brownies to set and cool completely at room temperature or in the fridge for 30 - 60 minutes before serving
  14. Slice into 16 adorable pumpkin patch brownies or serve cake style on a serving platter 

*Note: I suggest using the parchment trick to get your brownies out. Transferring them out and re-lining the pan with foil makes decorating sooo much easier.

First, I let the brownies cool, lifted them out of the pan, re-lined the pan with foil, placed the brownies back and then decorated so I could pull it out afterwards.

It's personal preference. If you are serving them individually, all those extra steps aren't really necessary. Parchment at the bottom of the pan is key!






Confused? Let's see some process pictures:





You start with your brownies! Lift them out of the pan onto a rack to cool for an hour or so.













Now we level them off! Cut off the top bits and put them aside. You can put your brownies in the foil-lined pan now!












 Take those top bits and chop them roughly with a knife. Boom. Dirt!








In a baggie pour your coconut and colouring and mix it around with a spoon until it is evenly coloured. Boom. Grass. 












Prepare your ganache, pour on the middle of the brownie and with a spoon work the ganache to the edges -- don't worry if it goes over the side because we have our pan lined anyways!









TOP THAT BROWNIE WITH ALL THE CUTE THINGS YOU HAVE!










While still in the foil pan I added the coconut grass, pushed in the pumpkins and cute skull candies and then put on my 'dirt' and more 'grass'. It took no time at all and was so much fun!




Stick that puppy into the fridge for 30 minutes until set and then you are good to go! How easy was that? The foil comes off nice and easy too -- leaving clean mess-free edges!



Present them on a tray with creepy accompaniments!













I honestly could not get over how absolutely delicious these were. SO dense and chocolatey! And they form a wonderful crisp topping just like 'normal' brownies. Now of course...we used that as dirt. Because we are adults. But you could leave the topping on, too!













I love the balance between cute and scary! Those little skull candies are THE BEST! If you have little bone candies, those would do too. It took every fibre of my being to not buy ALL the Halloween candies I found at the bulk food store. ALL OF IT.












These would look so perfect at a Halloween dessert table! You could stick a little sign in them that says 'Gluten Free' too!














I really want you to look at that brownie. JUST LOOK AT IT! They slice up so cute, too! Little squares of spooky pumpkin patches!









You can serve them in scary muffin liners, too!


So people can carry them around. Although they won't get far because these are too good not to eat right away.










JUST LOOK AT IT! So colourful, so fun! So easy!



If you are a Halloween enthusiast you MUST MUST try these. If you think of any spooky additions to this decor -- I would love to hear them!


Do you love Halloween? Are you baking up some goodies for a Halloween party?! I WANT TO KNOW!



Happy Pumpkin Patching!


XO 

2 comments:

  1. These are soooo cute! Do you have any ideas what I could sub for the shredded coconut? I'm not a huge fan of it.

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    1. Thank you so much! I cannot think of an exact substitute unless you didn't mind using frosting which you could colour green and pipe on as grass?! Same thing with a shredded white chocolate or green chocolate (candy melts)! Otherwise sliced almonds may work but I am not sure if those can be coloured. You can maybe omit the coconut and decorate with different types of Halloween candies! Sorry I couldn't be more helpful and thank you for the comment :)

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