These no bake fudge brownies are nutritionally functional and are delicious with a melt-in-your-mouth texture. A secret super food helps boost nutritional support, and all the ingredients are dairy-free, vegan and gluten-free. These brownies will make you feel great.
No Bake Fudge Brownies
I called these fudge brownies, brownies but they are closer to fudge really, so maybe I should call them “frownies” or “budge”? Haha, but somehow neither of those names covers the deliciousness of these.
And they are fudgy brownies, but they also seem like homemade chocolate bars to me. And they are bursting with nutritional power, great for cognitive function, sleep support and blood-sugar control among other boosts. It starts with the base ingredient, cacao powder.
How Healthy is Cacao Powder?
Cacao powder is raw chocolate, and so much healthier than cocoa which is heat-processed. It is known to supply magnesium which, in the course of the day, supports your ability to have a healthy night’s sleep. It also boosts your mood.
The recipe also holds fiber-filled medjool dates, walnuts and nut butter full of protein and other nutrients. My favorite ingredient in these brownies however is the Mesquite powder.
What is Mesquite Powder?
Mesquite powder is a super food, although I don’t often use the term super food. When I use the term, I am describing a rather unusual ingredient, often a powder from a plant, that provides extraordinary health benefits.
Mesquite powder comes from ground up pods from the mesquite tree, a tree native to the hot dry areas in southwestern United States.
What Does Mesquite Powder Taste Like?
It is a wonderful addition to smoothies and chocolate treats because it tastes like molasses and is a bit sweet, allowing less sugar to be used in the recipe while still keeping it sweet.
Best of all, though, it is super high in amino acids, specifically the essential amino acid lysine, as well as vital nutrients including potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, and zinc.
Of course, you can eat them any way you want, but I like to pop these brownies to boost me out of the 3pm slump – something I used to use coffee for!
And sometimes I add a tbsp of cinnamon to the recipe, to balance out the blood sugar levels. I hope you enjoy my fudgy brownies!
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No Bake Fudge Brownies
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup walnuts (soaked overnight)
- 1 cup dates (about 10, soaked overnight, pitted)
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 2 tbsp almond butter (or cashew or sunflower butter)
- 1/4 cup cacao powder
- 2 tbsp mesquite powder
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
- 2 tbsps cinnamon (To balance out blood-sugar levels)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch salt
Useful Equipment
Topping
- 1/4 cup chocolate hazelnut butter
Instructions
Prep
- The night before, soak the walnuts and dates in milk infused with mesquite powder.Here is how:1. Into the measuring cup, add the almond milk and 1 tbsp of mesquite powder and stir it up. 2. Add in the walnuts and dates, and top it off with water so the walnuts and dates are submerged. Leave the measuring cup in the refrigerator overnight. 3. The next day, drain and put the liquid aside, pit the dates. Don't rinse the walnuts and dates, but DO reserve the milk for smoothies or other recipes.
NOTE: And please REMEMBER, don't add the milk to the recipe, it was only used to soak the walnuts and dates. Preserve it in the refrigerator and use it within 2 days for other recipes. It will be a very sweet milk.
On Cooking Day
- Line a 4-inch by 8-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave at 60 seconds.
Make bars
- Combine all ingredients - the soaked walnuts and dates (pitted), the nut butter, cacao powder, remaining 1 tbsp of mesquite powder, melted chips, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt - in a high-powered blender or food processor and process until you have a sticky dough consistency.
Press the dough into the pan. - I use a spoon rubbed with coconut oil to even surface of the chocolate.Refrigerate until hardened, about 1 hour. I suppose you could freeze to speed up the solidifying, but I feel freezing raw desserts can dull the glossy top so you decide.
- We frosted ours here with a thin layer of chocolate hazelnut butter, and chopped the loaf into 8 slices. The slices are rather large though, so feel free to slice those in half as well, resulting in 16 bricks.
Use them as afternoon brain booster, or to top smoothies or nicecream, giving them a nice nutritional boost.
Nutrition
Dee Dine is founder of Green Smoothie Gourmet, a plant based recipe blog, and author of the recent cookbook, Crazy Healthy with 4 Ingredients . On this blog you’ll find incredibly easy recipes with hidden veggies for anyone wanting to eat healthier, regardless of diet. Dee has graduate degrees in immunological nutritional studies and journalism. More about Dee Dine here.
