These vegan peppermint brownies are topped with a drizzle of rich almond butter and baked up to fudgy, chocolaty deliciousness!
So, are you guys done your holiday shopping yet? I am most certainly not. Actually, I'm really bad when it comes to that kind of thing. I'm that person scrambling around on December 24th to get my act together. Every. Single. Year. I think my problem is that I tend to overthink things: too many options for too many people, until before I know it, I've run out of time and options. Eek!
As soon as I'm done writing this post, I vow to bust out the door and get to some gift buying.
Or I'll just bake.
Holiday baking has never been an issue for me. I'm always waaaaaaaaaay ahead of schedule on that. I guess there's just not as much to think about when it comes to baking: if it's sweet, it's probably a winner. Oh, and if it's chocolate, it's definitely a winner.
So far all of my recipients of holiday baked goods have agreed with me.
These brownies were among the first of this year's sweets to spring forth from my kitchen, and well, they're already gone. I guess that defeats the whole baking ahead of schedule thing, but I'm glad to have had the chance to enjoy them early, and to have shared them with a bunch of loved ones. I baked these up last weekend and served them to some friends after a pre-holiday celebratory dinner together. Everyone loved them.
These brownies are intensely fudgy, perfectly sweet and minty, and topped with a creamy almond butter swirl. Almond butter goes perfectly with mint and chocolate, and adds just the right amount of richness.
I sweetened these brownies with a blend of raw sugar and stevia, which I'm really pleased about because those are two ingredients that I've wanted to combine in my baked goods before. On the one hand, stevia is great because it lowers the sugar and calorie content. But on the other hand, it's nice to have some actual sugar in there for texture and browning. It's also delicious -- nobody guessed my brownies had stevia in them. All I got were a bunch of fantastic reviews.
I'll probably end up baking up another batch of these before the holidays. In fact, I've gotten food to work as a holiday gift in the past, so maybe I'll just take a crack at gifting some holiday sweetness this year. I'm sure you'll be met with lots of gratitude if you decide to bake up a batch of these for your friends and family this year.
Vegan Almond Butter Swirl Peppermint Brownies
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup unflavored soy or almond milk
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- ½ cup vegan butter, room temperature
- ¼ cup creamy almond butter, divided
- ½ cup Whole Earth Sweetener Baking Blend
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup vegan dark chocolate chips
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly oil a 9 x 9 inch baking pan.
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In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and flaxseed. Allow to sit for at least 5 minutes to gel.
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Meanwhile, place the butter, 2 tablespoons of almond butter, and Whole Earth Sweetener Baking Blend into a medium mixing bowl. Beat on high speed with an electric mixer until creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add in flax mixture and peppermint extract, continue to beat until fully blended.
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Beat in the flour, a bit at a time, followed by cocoa and salt. Stir in the chocolate chips.
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Spread the mixture into the prepared baking pan. Place a few dollops of almond butter on top and swirl with a knife.
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Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool, then cut into squares and serve.
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