VEGAN & GLUTEN FREE Sweet Potato Cacao Brownies with Almond Butter

I always love a good recipe that sneaks in vegetables and other nutritious ingredients without sacrificing any of what we all crave. These brownies are inspired by the leftover sweet potato that has been sitting on my counter since last weekend + a strong craving for chocolate! My friend Dave got me interested in Cacao powder and I decided to give it a try in these brownies as well and they turned out GREAT! The best part of these brownies is that they are AMAZING as leftovers straight from the fridge. They take on a fudge like quality and can be enjoyed all week!   


Ingredients
1 cup almond flour 
½ cup of Cacao Powder (or cocoa powder)
¾ cup of coconut sugar or white sugar
1tsp baking powder

2 flax eggs (2T ground flax + 6T water) 
¼ cup unsweetened almond milk
¾ cups of chocolate chips (make sure they are vegan)
½ cup coconut oil 
½ tsp vanilla extract
⅓ cup creamy almond butter
1 cup cooked and mashed sweet potato **see notes

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper 
2. Combine dry ingredients (almond flour, cacao powder, sugar and baking powder) into a large bowl and whisk to combine. 
3. In a medium sized bowl make your flask egg and let it sit until it resembles the consistency of an egg.
4. Meanwhile, add the almond milk and chocolate chips to a small saucepan and heat until all of the chocolate chips have melted. Make sure you are stirring the entire time and that the heat is not set too high or the mixture will burn. Remove from heat and let cool.
5. Add the coconut oil, vanilla, almond butter and cooked mashed sweet potato to the flax egg and stir to combine. 
6. Add the cooled almond-milk chocolate mixture to the wet ingredients and stir to combine.
7. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
8. Smooth the batter into the prepared 8x8 pan and bake for 45-50 minutes***. 
9. Let cool completely, slice and enjoy! Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container 

NOTES
*** These brownies are moist and fudgy, they may look like they are not done, but they are! Make sure you let them cool completely before cutting, eating and enjoying. 

** SUPER EASY Sweet Potato Mash 

1. Rinse 1 medium sized unpeeled sweet potato 
2. Pierce the potato 6-8 times with a fork 
3. Wrap in a damp paper towel and place in a glass bowl
4. Microwave in high for 5 minutes
5. Carefully turn the sweet potato over in the bowl and microwave for another 3-4 minutes until sweet potato is fork tender. 
6. Carefully remove the paper towel, cut the sweet potato in half and let cool for 5 minutes.
7. Remove the flesh and mash with a fork.