Brownies. It’s a keeper.

I think I found the brownie recipe of my dreams. Yup. I mean, black bean brownies are fun, and good, and good for you, and all that. But these...well, they're just great. And wonderful. 

Oh, did I mention that there's no eggs in them? Well, I just discovered that you can use a flax seed+water mixture instead of eggs. So...there's like, no fat in these. Except for a little bit of coconut oil, but you can use applesauce instead, I'm sure, and it would be fine. So...I guess you could call them semi-healthy. Which is what I'll call them. Lower in fat so they're a bit better for you, but not health-nut crazy ridiculous. Plus, you don't have to use the food processor to puree the beans. And it's easier to tell the boys what's in these than it is with the black bean brownies. :)

So here it is! 

Originally from this site. 

Ingredients
1-½ Tablespoon Ground Flax Seed
5 Tablespoons Water
1 Tablespoon Instant Espresso Powder
¼ cups Boiling Water
¼ cups Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
6 Tablespoons Margarine Spread, Melted
1 Tablespoon Oil (I used coconut oil, but I think you can use applesauce instead)
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
½ cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1 cup All-purpose Flour
3/4 cup Sugar
½ cups Unsweetened Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
¼ teaspoons Salt
⅓ cups Chocolate Chips

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a small bowl, combine the flax seed together with 5 tablespoons of tap water. Set aside.
In a large glass work bowl, combine the instant espresso powder and boiling water and stir together until dissolved. Then add the chocolate chips and Earth Balance, and stir until melted. To fully melt all the chocolate chips, you may need to place the bowl in the microwave in 10 second intervals, stirring after each interval.
When the mixture has melted and cooled slightly, add in the canola oil, vanilla extract and ground flax mixture.
Add in the remaining ingredients and stir until just combined.
Pour mixture into a lightly greased 8 x 8 inch baking dish and bake for 12-15 minutes, being sure not to over-bake! The middle should still be slightly gooey.
Cool in the pan on a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes, then slice and eat!
Recipe adapted from Cooking Light 2008.