Empty Pantry Brownies
Tonight I was craving something sweet, but didn't have any desserts just sitting around the house... and trust me, there's a reason for that... if it's here - we eat it, if it's not then we really have to want it to make it... and tonight, I really wanted it. So I grabbed a box of chocolate cake mix and figured I'd make brownies with it since brownies sounded better and I didn't have brownie mix.
I dumped the box mix into a large bowl and went to grab the oil, just to remember I was out of that. No problem, I have shortening, I'll melt it and use that. Ok, next, the eggs... ooooh wait, out of those too. What was I thinking wanting to bake?! Well, the box was already open so I had to figure something out... Applesauce, no... bananas, no... yogurt, no... hmmmm, ok time to try something new - ground flax seed. I've heard it can be used in place of eggs and that I actually had in the pantry so it was worth a shot.
All of a sudden my craving for something sweet had become time to experiment and hope for the best in creating something sweet. And for the most part, the recipe is vegan. A few ingredients did cross the line, chocolate and caramel sauce, but both of those have vegan options as well. So if you wanted a vegan sweet treat, this recipe can easily be converted.
Now, I will admit I made one BIG mistake... I chose to use the "perfect brownie" pan... thinking it'd be great to have them precut... BUT, I didn't grease the divider piece so my brownies were wonderfully baked onto the divider and took quite a bit of work to fish out. If you remember to spray the divider, you'll be good off... if you don't - you'll be kicking yourself just like I was. However, other than that - I was pleasantly surprised so that's why I figured it was worth sharing with you :)
I will admit, they were a little more crumbly than I expected... I think part of it is from that dang ungreased divider and the process to get them out... but I may not have substituted the egg 100% properly either...
So, without further ado - here's my experiment...
Nutty Caramel Brownies:
1 box Chocolate Cake Mix
1/3 cup Shortening (melted)
2 Tbl Ground Flax Seed
6 Tbl Water
2/3 cup Almond Milk
3/4 cup Toasted Almonds (chopped)
1 cup Chocolate Chips
1/3 cup Caramel Sauce (or enough to put a thin layer over the top)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease your baking dish.
In a small bowl combine your flax seed and water, stir to combine, and let sit for 5 minutes.
In a large bowl mix together your cake mix, melted shortening, milk, and flax seed mixture. Stir in your chocolate chips and almonds.
Spread into your prepared baking dish and back for 35 - 40 minutes (until a toothpick comes out pretty clean - remember, you have chocolate chips in there :) so just be sure it doesn't look like batter)
Once out of the oven, pour caramel sauce over the top and allow to cool. Then you're ready to enjoy :)
And now... the process in 5 pictures...
I dumped the box mix into a large bowl and went to grab the oil, just to remember I was out of that. No problem, I have shortening, I'll melt it and use that. Ok, next, the eggs... ooooh wait, out of those too. What was I thinking wanting to bake?! Well, the box was already open so I had to figure something out... Applesauce, no... bananas, no... yogurt, no... hmmmm, ok time to try something new - ground flax seed. I've heard it can be used in place of eggs and that I actually had in the pantry so it was worth a shot.
All of a sudden my craving for something sweet had become time to experiment and hope for the best in creating something sweet. And for the most part, the recipe is vegan. A few ingredients did cross the line, chocolate and caramel sauce, but both of those have vegan options as well. So if you wanted a vegan sweet treat, this recipe can easily be converted.
Now, I will admit I made one BIG mistake... I chose to use the "perfect brownie" pan... thinking it'd be great to have them precut... BUT, I didn't grease the divider piece so my brownies were wonderfully baked onto the divider and took quite a bit of work to fish out. If you remember to spray the divider, you'll be good off... if you don't - you'll be kicking yourself just like I was. However, other than that - I was pleasantly surprised so that's why I figured it was worth sharing with you :)
I will admit, they were a little more crumbly than I expected... I think part of it is from that dang ungreased divider and the process to get them out... but I may not have substituted the egg 100% properly either...
So, without further ado - here's my experiment...
Nutty Caramel Brownies:
1 box Chocolate Cake Mix
1/3 cup Shortening (melted)
2 Tbl Ground Flax Seed
6 Tbl Water
2/3 cup Almond Milk
3/4 cup Toasted Almonds (chopped)
1 cup Chocolate Chips
1/3 cup Caramel Sauce (or enough to put a thin layer over the top)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease your baking dish.
In a small bowl combine your flax seed and water, stir to combine, and let sit for 5 minutes.
In a large bowl mix together your cake mix, melted shortening, milk, and flax seed mixture. Stir in your chocolate chips and almonds.
Spread into your prepared baking dish and back for 35 - 40 minutes (until a toothpick comes out pretty clean - remember, you have chocolate chips in there :) so just be sure it doesn't look like batter)
Once out of the oven, pour caramel sauce over the top and allow to cool. Then you're ready to enjoy :)
And now... the process in 5 pictures...
mixture in pan
with ungreased divider
baking
covered with caramel
(after forcing out the divider)
time to eat and enjoy :)
looks delicious! I didn't know flax was a sub for eggs. I may try this soon.
ReplyDeleteWhen you let the ground flax sit in water it becomes gelatinous... like an egg white.. and, at least with baking, works as a good egg substitute. It adds a slight nutty flavor, but seeing as I was adding almonds I wasn't too worried about that part :)
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