The Quest to Find the Perfect Vegan Brownie- Part 3

Ok I've almost got this down. I've been searching for the perfect vegan brownie recipe. I've had a couple near successes so far, with one recipe producing cake like brownies, and another one that was more moist, but not as fudgy as I'm looking for. After a failed attempt or two, I finally came up with these. They're moist, fudgy and rich. A little too rich though, since they're incredibly sweet. It's not too often that I say something is too sweet, but I could only have a few small bites of these before my sweet tooth objected. They really hit the spot when you have a craving for sweets, that's for sure. I have a couple ideas on how to perfect this one, so stay tuned for part 4!

Example of a failed attempt. Not sure what happened here..

Logan is having a great time on this "quest",
especially since he's my official taste tester. The
Christmas decorations in the background are an
indicator of how long I've been at this.

Sweet Brownies!

• 1/2 cup apple purée or applesauce
• 2 bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. In a large bowl, combine the banana with the apple purée.
3. Stir in the coconut oil.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until combined.
5. Pour the batter in a greased 8 x 8 pan and bake for 40 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean.

The Quest to Find the Perfect Vegan Brownie- Part 2

Continuing my quest, I found a recipe on allrecipes.com that used, of all things, zucchini. I was skeptical about it, but at this point I'll try anything to find fudgy, rich vegan brownies. Besides, I had some shredded zucchini in the freezer left over from zucchini bread. After mixing all the other ingredients, I realized I only had about half the zucchini that I needed. So I divided the batter in half, added zucchini to half the mix, and apple purée to the other, ending up with two types of brownies.

While they're not exactly what I'm looking for, they're pretty darn close. They were moist and chocolatey, but not as fudgy as I would have liked. Still, they're the closest I've come to an ultimate vegan brownie so far. Both the apple and the zucchini batches were good, but I preferred the zucchini a tiny bit more.

Vegan Zucchini Brownies

• 1/4 cup oil
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup shredded zucchini

The batter will look pretty dry before you
add the zucchini, as you can see in the
bowl on the left.

1. Preheat the oven to 350º.
2. Mix the oil, sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt, and mix until combined.
4. Fold in the zucchini
5. Pour batter into a greased pan. Since this recipe only makes a small amount of batter, I used a glass 8 x 6 Pyrex dish.
6. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean.

The Quest to Find the Perfect Vegan Brownie

Since I began vegan baking, I've been searching for the perfect brownie. I want a recipe that turns out moist, chewy, fudgey, chocolatey brownies. I didn't think it would be this difficult! I've tried a few recipes so far, and none have hit the mark. So far all I've turned out are dry, cake like confections.

When I tried the latest recipe, I was less discouraged. The recipe, from allrecipes.com promised delicious vegan brownies. I made some changes to the original recipe, which may have been for better or worse. Two-thirds of a cup of oil seemed like a lot, so I added half the oil and 1/3 cup of apple purée. I left out the stevia. I've never tried it, but something about it just seems off putting. Plus, people who reviewed the recipe said it was an unnecessary addition. I also used almond milk instead of soy.

Well, it wasn't as cakey as my other attempts. It tasted more like a cake that was supposed to be fudgey. Better, but still not what I'm looking for. Since it was my best attempt so far, I've decided it deserves a spot in Resolution Kitchen. This won't be my last try, so stay tuned for brownie updates!

Vegan Brownies

• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup apple purée
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cups almond milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder

My Uncle Mark added the Peeps!
They're not vegan, but I loved every bite anyways.

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a large bowl, mix cocoa, oil, apple, and water.
3. Add the sugar and stir until combined.
4. Stir in the milk and vanilla.
5. Add the flower and baking powder and mix until smooth.
6. Pour batter into a greased 9 x 9 pan and bake for 35 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean.