Coconut Pecan Chocolate Chunk Brownies

I’m always on the lookout for new real food sweet treats to try out in my kitchen. I had purchased coconut flour but hadn’t yet put it to good use, so I thought I would try out some coconut flour brownies, adapted from a recipe by Unrefined Kitchen. I wanted to add more mix-ins to my brownies, so I combined the pecans with dark chocolate chunks and coconut flakes. I also added the chocolate chunks because I was concerned about the brownies being dry and not chocolate-y enough with just the powder. Also note that these brownies are grain free and can also be nut free if you omit the pecans.

Coconut Pecan Chocolate Chunk Brownies
(adapted from Unrefined Kitchen)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter (or coconut oil)
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup raw honey
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans
• 2 oz. organic 85% dark chocolate
• 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Melt the butter or oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in the cocoa powder and remove the pan from the heat.

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, honey, salt, baking powder and vanilla using a hand mixer (or get a workout with your whisk!).

Pour cocoa-butter mixture into the egg mixture and mix well, again using your mixer.

Add the coconut flour and beat until the batter is nice and smooth. Mine was a pretty fluffy consistency at this point.

Coarsely chop the pecans and chocolate. Add to the nuts, chocolate, and coconut flakes to the batter bowl and fold until combined.

Spoon the batter into a 9×9 square baking pan and spread the batter out evenly.

Bake at 350 degrees for 23-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (I had to poke mine a few times because they took a little longer than I thought – about 28 minutes in my oven). Let the brownies cool before cutting.

So what was the verdict? Maybe it’s my pre-real food self speaking, but I wanted them to be just a little sweeter. This is definitely a cakey brownie, not an ooey-gooey fudgy brownie (and I love a fudgy brownie). I also think perhaps I should have taken the brownies out a minute or two sooner. 26 minutes might have been perfect instead of 28. There are some nice flavors, and I like the texture of the added coconut and melty chocolate. I do have an urge to make an ice cream sundae with these brownies. Or find a real food frosting and smother the tops of them with it. I have read that a pureed sweet potato adds incredible moisture to brownies (I had one in my pantry but didn’t think of it until after I baked them), so I might try that out next time.