I've experienced distrustful, quizzical looks my whole life by those who simply cannot comprehend why I don't go weak in the knees for chocolate. I have matured though, from outright disliking it as a child, to today where I enjoy it on occasion. Chocolate
cravings however have been an urban legend to me, widely recounted, shrouded in mystery, and not ever experienced first hand — until a few weeks ago. For reasons unknown (maybe the months of cold weather?) I felt compelled to bake up a batch of deep chocolate brownies - all-American in appearances, but a bit more au natural in the mix.

A warm, moist, nut-studded goody that was both sweet and slightly salty is what I craved. Sure a carob, oat-bran, flax-fest could have satisfied my whole foods interests, but the brownie I was dreaming of called for more of a middle ground that was a slightly less refined but no less satisfying. With a few simple tweaks to a classic brownie approach - for example, using white whole flour instead of all-purpose and brown rice syrup in place of more standard fare, I baked up a marvel of brownie-goodness.

Brown Rice Syrup Brownie Recipe

In place of or combined with the nuts, you can mix in toasted coconut, cacao nibs, chocolate chips, toasted sunflower seeds, or dried cherries. For mocha brownies, add 1 teaspoon of finely ground espresso beans when melting the chocolate and butter.

2 oz bittersweet chocolate (I used 70%)
4 tablespoon non-alkalized cocoa powder
4 tablespoon unsalted butter
¾ cups brown rice syrup
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature
½ cup white whole-wheat flour or whole-wheat pastry flour
¾ cup toasted, coarsely chopped nuts (almond, walnuts, or pecans are good)
¼ teaspoon fleur de sel or other large flaked sea salt (I used vanilla salt)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees and position rack in the center. Grease an 8”x8” square cake pan.

In a heavy bottomed saucepan over very low heat, combine the chocolate, cocoa powder, and butter. Stir constantly until melted and smooth. Add the brown rice syrup and vanilla. Allow the mixture to cool completely.

Once cool, add the eggs and stir until well combined. Add the flour and nuts and stir until almost combined. If adding the salt, do so now and gently stir until just combined, being careful not to over mix the batter.

Pour the batter into your prepared cake pan and spread to the edges. Place in the oven on the center rack.

Bake, rotating the pan mid-way through, until the kitchen smells of chocolate, the center is firm to touch, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

Allow to cool in the pan for a full 10 minutes, then gently separate the brownies from the edges of the pan with a knife and invert onto a cooling rack.

Makes 9 brownies.

This recipe quenched my cravings so well that I haven’t wanted anything chocolate since — though if I ever do I know just where to go.

Related Links

We love Suzanne's line of organic rice nectars and the original version would be perfect for this recipe. She also makes some other exotic rice nectar flavors, including organic maple and all natural blueberry, strawberry, and chocolate!

For another great way to use brown rice syrup try Heidi's Big Sur Power Bars - they're simply delicious.

Comments (2) | March 14 - 3:43 PM

category: Recipes