Monday, October 10, 2011

Real Food Recipe: Butterscotch-Coconut Brownies

YUM! I found this recipe at Baked Alaska while looking for new and exciting ways to get coconut in our diet. I adapted it to Real Food standards and it is absolutely delicious.

Butterscotch-Coconut Brownies are a healthy treat you can feel good about feeding your family. Why? Pastured butter, eggs and coconut are full of important fats our bodies and brains need to be healthy. Sprouting your flour removes dangerous phytic acid. Phytic acid inhibits nutrient absorption. Sucanat sugar is a healthier sugar because it has not been processed heavily. It is whole and full of minerals.

Properly preparing your food and buying nutrient dense traditional foods may seem pricy, but truly, it is the frugal thing to do. Why? Because it is cheaper to feed your family Real Food than it is to pay high medical and dental bills. Even if you have great health insurance with low or no deductibles, your quality of life is lower when you are not functioning at your best level of health.

Another reason to buy and properly prepare traditional foods is that you will be getting the maximum amount of nutrition from your food. If your body is not able to pull nutrients from the food you are eating, the cost of your food goes up, because you need more of it to feel full and get the nutrients you need.

Ready?

Butterscotch-Coconut Brownies

1 stick unsalted pastured butter (raw butter isn't necessary as this recipe is baked)
2 cups sucanat sugar
3 pastured eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups sprouted flour
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
2 teaspoons sea salt (1 1/2 teaspoons if you used salted butter)
1 cup shredded, unsweetened dried coconut (make sure your coconut is free of sulfites and preservatives)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9" x 13" pan. I used a roasting/lasagna pan, made of stainless steel.

Melt butter in a large, heavy saucepan. Stir in the sucanat until incorporated. Cool slightly. Beat in the eggs carefully, you don't want to cook the eggs. Then stir in the vanilla. Sift dry ingredients into the saucepan. Sir vigorously to incorporate the dry ingredients thoroughly. Fold in the coconut, stirring to distribute evenly.

Pour and spread into prepared pan. The mixture will be thick and sticky - this is exactly what you want. Try to restrain yourself from eating the batter. It smells divine.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until edges are slightly browned and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Don't overbake these babies.

Cool. For at least 30-45 minutes before cutting. This step is important. If you try to cut into the warm brownies, they will just go everywhere. Cut into desired size. They will keep for about a week, tightly covered, if they aren't all eaten on the first day.

Some of you may be concerned about the amount of sugar in this recipe. Those who are sensitive to sugar may be concerned about having a hypoglycemic reaction. Because this recipe also calls for lots of butter, eggs and coconut, these healthy fats will slow down the release of sugar into the body, and you should not see a hypoglycemic reaction.

Enjoy!

I am joining the Healthy Home Economist for Monday Mania with this recipe.

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