A week ago now, I blogged about some amazing almond butter brownies I had for dessert one night…. A lot of you requested the recipe – so tonight I am here to deliver. So what took me this long to share this with you? Well… I told myself I couldn’t write about these brownies until a time where I was super duper full and looking at the photos below wouldn’t tempt me to make more. Whether you eat them gooey hot out of the oven or freeze them into little bites – these suckers are deadly addictive. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
I am delightfully happy, full and satisfied now … the perfect time to write about these. Today, I attended a special afternoon of “Bloodies & Bites” – a brunch and conversation with the artists of “Fairytales, Fantasy and Fear” now showing at the Mint Museum of Art Uptown, where I serve on the MMCD Design Committee. The exhibition was incredible! I absolutely loved everything about it – the whimsical trees made of PVC pipe, the tar draped big bad wolf, the amusing knit superheros and the intricate detail of the cut paper drawings. Hearing directly from the artists on what inspired and motivated them to make such beautiful thought provoking pieces was enchanting to say the least. If you live in Charlotte – this is a must see! It’s showing now until July 7th.
Ok on to the brownies!
- 1 cup almond butter
- 2 tbsp flaxseed + 3 tbsp water or 1 egg
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ cup of coconut palm sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla
- ½ cup of “Enjoy Life” mega chocolate chunks
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Grease a small dish (8×8 or 8×6) thorougly or line bottom of dish with parchment paper (parchment is best)
- Mix all ingredients except chocolate chunks until smooth
- Fold in chocolate chunks and pour batter into pan
- Bake brownies until golden dark brown – about 25 mins
- Cool brownies for at least 10 mins before cutting
To cut them in squares, it’s essential to use parchment paper.
And sometimes, I run out of parchment paper and just eat them out of the straight out of the pan 
If you have any questions or comments to share – please do! I’ve really enjoyed hearing all your comments on the travel post + give away!
Have a great week,
Food Babe
These look amaaaazing! Wondering how important the coconut palm sugar is (something else to buy), is there something I might substitute that I already have? Think I could use stevia?
Watch this! http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/coconut-palm-sugar-best-new-sugar-alternative
I don’t think stevia will have the same effect. Coconut palm sugar has the consistency and taste of brown sugar…but is low glycemic and less refined. This my favorite sugar by choice. I don’t even have the white stuff in my pantry.
Thank you for the link about coconut palm sugar. I will get some ASAP. Can’t wait to make these cookies!
We make Paleo brownies all the time and we use honey. We also add cranberries. Yummy.
Let’s take some of these for our long trip!
We will definitely be fat and happy when we arrive Mom!
Thanks for sharing this recipe – it looks amazing! I wish I could eat almond butter I’m allergic to most tree nuts
Think I can substitute peanut butter or sunflower butter instead?
Yes – or maybe even Tahini? I would love to know how those turn out!
These look awesome! What brand of Coconut palm sugar do you use? Do you buy it through Amazon?
Thanks so much.
Love your blog!
Thanks Jessica! I usually use “Big tree farms” but you can only get in bulk on Amazon…. I like this brand too – check it out! http://amzn.to/wRwidE
This link takes us to organic palm sugar…Is that same as coconut palm sugar?
Yum! But remind me to not look at these while juice cleansing! lol.
Do you grind the flaxseeds? Are the golden or brown? Why do you mix them with water first?
Yes I grind them fresh. I mix them with water because it creates a gel like consistency that is a good replacement for eggs.
These looked so delicious I had to try them…I started making the recipe and was confused since there is no flour or many other major ingredients other than almond butter and sugar and a teeny bit of flaxseed. Is there anything missing to the recipe? Thanks!!
Nope – no flour no eggs – that’s the beauty of the recipe… they ooooey and goooey – hope you try them!
I just made a batch and followed the recipe exactly (chose the egg option) and mine are not ooey gooey, they won’t hold together, they crumble apart. Any idea why that might be?
Not sure why Joy… anyone have any ideas? Sorry they didn’t turn out great.
I made these this past weekend and they were great. My family is not much on healthy food but they enjoyed these brownies.
Melanie – I am so happy to hear that…There’s a battle with my extended family everyday!
Ok I just tried the recipe but it didn’t turn out nearly as pretty as your picture. I didn’t do the flaxseed + water combination – is that why they lacked the brownie-like consistency?
How did you grease the pan? What did you use? And also did you use an electric mixer to mix the ingredients or can you just mix with a spatula? Will it yield the same results?
THESE WERE AWESOME!!!! So good…could eat the whole pan.
Glad you liked them Kim! I think I might make some this week
Soooo good! Made these today for my brother’s birthday ( wanted an alternative to cake :- p) and they were way better than I imagined. Everyone loved them! Thank you for sharing!!!!
Great news Irene. I made them again a few days ago… so much trouble, I can’t resist eating the whole pan!
These look like heaaaaaaven. Oh my! (:
They are! I just made another batch to take over to Lisa at 100 days of Real Food. Her little girls loved them!
since we are not vegan, could I use an egg instead of the flax and water?
Of course – I just updated the recipe to indicate this! Have fun.
Oh, these look so good! Do you know what I could sub for coconut palm sugar. I don’t have it on hand and would like to make these NOW!!!!! Yummy!
You could use evaporated cane juice, date sugar or honey. If you add honey it may not have the same texture. Good Luck!
YUM! these brownies look wonderful! love gooey brownies
Hi Michelle, yes they are fabulous. Congrats on Organic Avenue. That place rocks and so do you two!
Did you grease the pan, and with what? Also, can I use flaxseed meal and water for the same effect? These look fabulous. Little DD was just diagnosed with an egg allergy and would love these!
Coconut oil works great to grease… Yes you should be able to use flaxseed meal. Good Luck!
I am so excited to see these! My son is allergic to eggs and it is nearly impossible for me to find recipes that are grain-free AND egg-free. He’s also allergic to dairy so this is the perfect recipe for us. Thank you!
Glad I can help. Check out the Almond Butter Freezer Fudge. I think you will really like those too!
Is there a place in Charlotte you get coconut palm sugar? I would love to try it out!
Yes! Try Healthy Home Market, Earth Fare or Berry Brook Farms. Have fun – I think once you try it, you’ll never go back to using any other type of granulated sugar again
I have read that coconut palm sugar is not very good for the environment because it isn’t a sustainable industry and actually kills the coconut trees. Know anything about the process of getting the sugar?
It all depends on where you source your coconut palm sugar from. I use an organic one from Big Tree Farms, a brand that sources it sustainably and helps small farmers. Check them out, I think you’ll be impressed at what they do for the environment in Indonesia.
I found your recipe on real food, and startedreasearching coconut palm sugar. Some websites have raised concerns that it is not a sustainable product at this time. To avoid using table sugar, could honey be substituted somehow?
Jennifer – Those rumors are very misleading. Check out the facts at the bottom of Big Tree Farms FAQ page (link below). They grow their trees in a sustainable manner and protect the farmers.
Also – Coconut Palm Sugar is my sugar of choice, because it is one of the only granulated sugars with actual health benefits and is low glycemic and doesn’t spike blood sugar like regular white cane sugar.
Honey could work but the texture of the brownies might not be the same. Good Luck!
http://bigtreefarms.com/index.php/page/faqs#rumors
Made these tonight. Delicious!!
OMG!! Made these brownies tonight and they are AWESOME!!!
In the oven right now, i so hope they taste as good as they look!!!
these brownies are incredible! food babe, i love your blog and think you are adorable too!
thanks for all of the great info.
Awe – Thank you Kathryn!
So other than the chocolate chunks there is no chocolate/cocoa in the batter?
nope!
WOW!! These are hands down the best gluten free brownies I have made. And let me tell you, I have made many recipes. Finally, I found brownies that are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside just like flour brownies!!
I regularly use coconut palm sugar and love the flavor it adds to anything you put it in. It’s funny though, I thought these were suppose to be chocolate brownies with chips added and kept going back to the site double checking whether or not I missed cocoa or melted chocolate. I even looked on the comments thinking someone may have mentioned something about it. It turns out they are actually blonde brownies with chocolate chunks! LOL!
Anyway, my family loved them and I will make these a regular in our household for treats. I feel so much better giving my kids a protein packed treat instead of a gluten/ highly processed sugar laden snack that spikes up their blood sugar and messes with their body in so many harmful ways. Thanks so much for the great recipe and keep them coming!
My whole family loved these! But I could eat the whole pan at once!
David and I have made these twice in the past week for ourselves and for a birthday — and there’s a batch in the oven NOW! We are big fans of this recipe. We tried both variations – flaxseed and egg. We’ve also halved the sugar and added some lucuma and it tastes great. Tonight’s agenda: Dexter marathon and brownies!
These are soooooo good! And I love how easy they are to make.
I added chopped nuts – just cause I love nuts – and it was a very nice addition.
Mine were not gooey like your pics (maybe I overbaked?) but they were so so so good anyways.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Just wanted to thank you for this recipe! I made it for the first time several weeks ago and they were instantly gone! I’ve made them several times since and was asked to share the recipe. Upon sharing another friend asked how they tasted, one of our good friends (who was there to enjoy the first batch) gave this very detailed description of them and I had to share with you – it’s quite accurate in my opinion!
“Alright – I had them straight out of the oven, and the texture is Amazing. A “normal brownie” is somewhat chewy, sticky, buttery (oily – leaves a mark on a napkin) sometimes cakey and always overly sweet. These have more of a polenta-esque texture, like a slightly undercooked cornbread.The almonds provide a wonderful nuttiness and a slight graininess that is still smooth and nearly creamy on the palate. The sweetness is absolutely there, but it’s the perfect amount – extremely satisfying, without making you feel like you need to drink a 32oz glass of milk. With these “brownies” I find myself savoring each bite, enjoying the balance and complexity of the natural flavors, and the texture/weight is plenty substantial to satisfy – and since they are healthy you can have 2!!! I HIGHLY recommend these…and if you do, I’m betting you will never go back to those heart stopping, artery clogging sugary sticky squares again. You won’t even need to wash your hands afterwards!
) 
) ..and go ahead and lick the spoon, without the guilt ;o)”
Do you use GROUND flaxseeds or whole?
This is the third recipe of yourS that I’ve tried in the last two weeks and they have all been so wonderful thus far! Thank you for all of the great info and recipes!!
I just made them last night and they are awesome! Even my husband loves them. What I also like about them is you can eat a small amt and your sweet tooth is satisfied.
Hi – I have a question about flax seed, do you ground them first before putting them in, or do you put them in whole? Also, what do you think about the ground flax seed? Do the nutrients get lost, etc?
These are SOOOOO YUMMY!
Hi! Mine didn’t come out like batter? What did I do wrong? It was very thick and more like cookie dough. I just spread it into the pan and am baking it now! The raw dough tasted yummy, though!
Hi! I just made these but I didn’t get a batter consistency. Hmm, where did I go wrong? It was more like very tasty cookie dough! Do I need to soften the almond butter first somehow?
Oops, don’t know why that posted twice! Sorry about that!
I love your website! I’m now daydreaming about making these! Thanks for all the great resources
I am excited about making these delicious looking brownies but am wondering if you have the details regarding calories, fat, fiber, and protein. I am on weight watchers and need to know that info to see how many I can have
I am these last night and they came out perfectly ! They were a huge hit with everyone who tasted them. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe !
I made these last night for my Boyfriends birthday since he doesn’t like cake and they were delectable. My kids loved them and wanted more but told them they would have to wait until tomorrow. Thank you for this recipe and for all you do to get the word out about eating/living healthy.
Hey Food Babe, love the wonderful ideas and recipes you have! Haven’t had the chance to try any yet because I’m unsure of the places to buy most of the ingredients!
Please help me…. I live in Birmingham, AL, any suggestions? 
Hi! Most regular grocery stores now carry almond butter and flax seeds. You will probably need to go to a health food store to get the coconut palm sugar. Good luck!
You can find everything you need at Whole Foods or Organic Harvest in Hoover!
These are so good! They taste and feel very unhealthy, and sometimes I really need that! However, mine felt like chocolate chip cookie bars, not brownies. I did use chocolate chips instead of chunks. I will be making these again! Thank you!
These are soooo good! I used my mini muffin tin from pampered chef and oiled it with Trader Joes cocount spray oil. I used a pampered chef scoop, i believe it is the 1 tbs size or small cookie, and scooped the dough into the mini muffin pan. They cooked perfectly in 10 minutes and voila! Brownie bites! They are so cute too:) I used the egg option and mine have a perfect consistency! Thanks Food Babe!
These are in the oven right now smelling AMAZING!! I tripled the recipe and am taking them to my son’s school tomorrow as a snack for the teacher/staff meeting. It is a “real food” only school and I think they will appreciate some wholesome brownies!