NomEatNom - Black Bean Brownie Cupcakes with Yogurt Cheese Frosting

Okay.

Prepare yourself.

I see a potential food baby in your future.

The good news? It will be a healthy, all natural, fiber-packed food baby.

Oh, and the journey there will taste out-of-this-world amazing, too.

All jokes aside, these cupcakes are seriously addicting.

I’ve dabbled with sweets built on a chickpea base (and looooved the results!), but this was my first foray into baking with black beans, and I was shocked at how moist and incredibly nommy these little gems turned out!

In fact, I want to make (and eat!) these again and again.

Every. Single. Day.

Black Bean Brownie Cupcakes
(Yields 9 cupcakes)

Ingredients:

Just a bit of virgin coconut oil to grease your pan
15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
5 oz. ripe banana (about 1/2 very large)
2 T date sugar
1/4 cup pure, unsweetened cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 egg
1 T pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup cacao nibs (or dark chocolate chips, if you prefer), plus extra for sprinkling
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1 batch Healthy Yogurt Cheese Frosting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a muffin tin with coconut oil, then dust with cocoa powder. Flip the pan over and tap out any excess cocoa powder. Set the prepared pan aside.

Place the black beans, cocoa powder, date sugar, baking soda, sea salt, egg, and vanilla extract in a food processor. Blend until smooth.

Remove the blade from your food processor. Fold in the cacao nibs, walnuts, and coconut flakes.

Divide the batter evenly among 9 cups of the prepared muffin tin.

Place the pan in the oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and allow it to set for about five minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool.

While the cupcakes cool, place the frosting in a zip-top sandwich bag. Cut the tip off one of the bottom corners of the bag. Gently push the frosting out of the cut tip and swirl it onto the cooled cupcakes.

Sprinkle the frosted cupcakes with extra cacao nibs, if desired.

OH, and if you should somehow manage to have leftovers, refrigerate in an airtight container. 🙂

*This recipe was featured on Foodie Fridays!