There’s no denying the fact that I’m a chocoholic. I know ….I’ve said it several times on this blog and my IG but seriously my friends – I LOVE a good piece of dark chocolate. Thankfully, one piece will do and I don’t ever find myself over doing it. That said, chocolate seems to be all around us when the holidays roll around. It gets hard to bypass another plate of fudge or what have you, right??? I come to you with these delicious (and nutritious!) Fudge Brownies!
Fact: a good deterrent of grabbing a bite of fudge (or any snack food) is wearing aligners! I’m finally fixing my crooked teeth (after them being straight for many years BUT my wisdom teeth came in and shifted everything) and I bit the bullet and decided to straighten them out! With that comes the challenge of keeping them in 22 hours per day and brushing each time I eat something. So, I feel like it’ll be a pain in the behind to brush them each and every time I want a little nibble ….I’ll just be waiting for a full on meal before taking these little trays out! It’s only day 2 and all is well so wish me luck as I move along with these for 7 months! I already feel the “Ahhh, I don’t need those almonds because I just don’t want to take the time to brush afterward!”
Onto the healthy fudge — I use a little secret ingredient that keeps them from drying out AND adds a little nutritious note. But don’t worry …you don’t actually taste this food ingredient so don’t be afraid to use it! My hubby was surprised it was in this recipe after he gobbled down a couple of squares!
Take this along to your parties so you can save yourself (and others) from the other sugar ladened desserts. If you’re not a fan of the peppermint, leave it out! It won’t change anything in the recipe, other than the flavor of peppermint. Well, have at it! ENJOY!
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 heaping cup grated zucchini, peeled
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted & cooled
- 1/4 cup melted dark choc
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 4 drops peppermint essential oil
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (or fav nut) for topping
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Peel & finely grate/shred zucchini.
- Stir the zucchini in with the cooled coconut oil, melted chocolate, whisked eggs, vanilla & peppermint oil in a medium sized bowl.
- Add unsweetened cocoa powder and coconut sugar - stir to combine. If you feel the zucchini is still to “evident”, give it a QUICK whirl in the blender.
- Pour batter into a parchment lined 8x8 brownie pan. Top off with chopped walnuts if desired.
- Bake 350 degrees for 20 min or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Store in fridge — let sit at room temp if you like a softer bite ....otherwise, right out of the fridge is very fudge-like!
