Week 14: Quinoa Brownies

Quinoa (sounds like Keen-wa) is a seed that comes from the Quinoa plant that is native to South America. It's considered a pseudograin as it is not part of the grass family (I didn't know that was a rule. . . But anyway) and has been a staple food since the time of the Inca's. Today it's become one of those trendy foods that claim to be so much better than the type that can be found at any grocery store (think: Acai berries, agave).

And what is a rice-like pseudograin doing in my chocolat-ey treat you ask? Well, I found a neat recipe that was just begging for me to try it of course. And I'm glad I did because my rice brownies taste like the usual flour variety but are much much better for you. Quinoa is one of few plant foods that are a complete protein, which means that they have all the essential amino acids that us inept humans can't make ourselves. Plus they are gluten-free, so you can mix and mix and mix the batter all you want and not have to worry about the bad things that happen to baked goods when flour is over-mixed.

This is what cooked quinoa looks like

I hear that brownies come in three varieties: cakey, chewy and fudgy. I would say that the chewy type would be my favorite so these turned out a little too cakey for my liking. They were also incredibly moist, maybe even too moist so I would consider reducing the milk a bit for a 'drier' brownie. I adapted the recipe from the website of my local grocery store and added in some instant coffee and chocolate chips for an extra decadent treat (had to balance out the healthi-ness of the quinoa, these are still brownies, after all)

Quinoa Brownies

Yield: 16 squares / 9" pan

• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (or cooked equivalent if you're using leftovers from dinner)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup milk (reduce if you wish)
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee
• 2 tablespoons oil (I used corn)
• 3/4 cup sugar (maybe more if you have a sweet tooth)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cocoa (I used dutch processed)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 chocolate chips

1. Cook quinoa in a small pan or rice cooker with 1-1/4 cup water (If you've never cooked quinoa before, read this), fluff with fork and allow to cool
2. Preset oven to 350F, line and grease a square 9" pan with foil (see note below)
3. Dissolve instant coffee in milk
4. In a separate bowl, mix sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt
5. In a food processor (I use a magic bullet), blend cooked quinoa, milk, oil and eggs until smooth
6. Pour contents into dry mixture, mix and pour into pan.
7. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and bake for 30-35 minutes
8. Allow to cool (if you can) and slice into 16 squares

Per square:

94 calories |11.2g sugar |3.8g fat

Note:

Here is a trick I learned somewhere along the blog-reading path. To line a square pan with foil eaily, flip it over and cover the outside of the pan. Then simply remove the foil and place it inside the pan. Voila.

Microwave Mug Brownie

Gooey chocolatey brownie in a mug, no oven needed. My new go-to midterm studying pick-me-up. Need I say more? Adapted from instructables.

Microwave Mug Brownie
Yield: 1 brownie

• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon oil or butter
• a few drops vanilla extract
• pinch salt

1. Mix all dry ingredients, then add wet, make sure it's mixed well
2. Microwave for 40-50 seconds

Mixins' (add before microwaving):

• chocolate chips
• peppermint extract
• instant coffee
• marshmallows
• peanut butter
• nutella

Toppings (add after microwaving):

• chocolate chips
• ice cream
• whipped cream

Christmas Desserts: Mint Brownies and Peanut Butter Popcorn

Hours before Christmas dinner, I still didn’t have any desserts in mind and was in need of some serious inspiration. I needed something that was sugary enough for the kids while still palatable to the adults and thought that another trip down peppermint-chocolate lane would be a good idea since my candycane cookies were so popular before (see previous post). So mint brownies it was!

A brief search on the omniscient allrecipes produced a recipe with an aesthetically pleasing photo of brownies with mint frosting (Yes, I judge recipes based on their photos. Books should have nice covers). Some reviewers of the recipe said that the brownie itself wasn’t very good so I picked out another recipe for plain old brownies. I had to change the measurements a bit for both recipes as I was only planning on making a 9X9” pan’s worth since there were going to be other desserts. I set the timer for the original baking time and planned that I would just take them out early since I was making a smaller amount…but then I got distracted. So they were a little overbaked but my sister and cousin both said that it wasn’t noticeable as anything with chocolate = good. My aunt also commented that they weren’t overly sweet so I guess I was successful at that!

 

These turned out great and were super quick to make, especially since some of the prep time (chilling in the fridge) was done while we were enjoying our turkey :).

 

To add to the dessert fare, I also made some peanut butter marshmallow coated popcorn as directed by this recipe, which was sticky and wonderful (and thoroughly welcomed by my other cousin, who apparently doesn’t like mint).

Mint Brownies:

Yield: 48

Brownie:

• 1 1/4 cups All-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cocoa
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 tsp Vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 eggs

Mint frosting and chocolate coating:

• 1 and 1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar (a.k.a. Icing sugar)
• 2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 tsp peppermint extract
• A few drops green food colouring
• 2 tablespoons water (may be more or less, use as needed to attain correct consistency)
• 1/3 cup + 3 tablespoons butter (separate)

1. Preset oven to 350F
2. Mix flour, sugar, oil, cocoa, eggs, salt and vanilla until smooth
3. Pour into a greased 9x9” pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the centre
4. Allow to cool in pan completely
5. Cream a few drops of green food colouring, 1/3 cup butter, mint extract and icing sugar. Add water until a frosting consistency is formed and spread onto cooled brownie
6. Melt remaining butter with chocolate chips in the microwave (30 sec should be enough)
7. Allow to cool a bit and spread overtop mint frosting
8. Chill in the fridge until chocolate is set

Per brownie:

104 calories | 4.7g sugar | 5.9g fat

Peanut Butter Popcorn

Yield: 20-ish servings or 1 cookie sheet full

• 1 bag popped plain microwave popcorn
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 10 large marshmallows
• 1/4 margarine (I used the ‘light’ kind)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips

1. Pop popcorn as directed
2. Mix all remaining ingredients in a large bowl (except chocolate chips) and microwave until marshmallows are melted (~45 sec).
3. Stir and slowly add in popcorn, mix until evenly coated
4. Pour onto baking sheet covered in wax paper
5. Place chocolate chips into small ziploc bag and microwave until melted (~30sec)
6. Snip off corner of bag and drizzle chocolate onto popcorn
7. Allow to set and serve

Per 1/20 of recipe:

67 calories | 5.6g sugar | 2.6g fat