Chocolate Beet Brownies
If you’re looking to make new friends at the crag (or climbing gym) this winter, what better way than by sharing locally grown food you baked?
A few years ago, while running at Chautauqua Park in Boulder, I crossed paths with a woman who offered me a homemade chocolate chip cookie. She had baked dozens of cookies and was sharing them with people she encountered on the trail. It was a small gesture, sure, but the act of making something from scratch to share with strangers has stuck with me.
The shorter days give us more time to experiment in the kitchen and create recipes to share. This chocolate beet bread travels well in a backpack and is nutritionally dense. Beets are a cool season vegetable best in spring and fall but can also be harvested and stored long into the winter. To find winter beets (preferably organic), check out Farm Aid’s Winter Farmers Market Map and Farm to Crag’s Local Food Map. People I meet at a crag seem so grateful to enjoy a snack that doesn’t come in a wrapper. Sharing nutritious (and delicious) food with your fellow climbers while supporting local farmers in the process is a win-win for everyone. Sharing food is a universal way to spread gratitude, and who knows—you may end up finding a new climbing partner in the process.
Ingredients:
3 small beets or 1 large beet peeled, boiled, and pureed.
(Note, if your beets come with beet greens, it is worth cleaning and saving them for another recipe- sautéed beet greens are delicious!)
½ cup AP flour
½ cup almond flour
½ cup coconut oil, melted
½ cup maple syrup or honey
¼ cup chocolate chips
¼ cup almond milk
2 eggs
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp flax seeds
2 tbsp hemp seeds
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
Coconut shreds for topping
Author Meredith Kaufman delighting in the beet masterpiece.
Directions:
Peel and boil 3 small beets or 1 large beet until soft
Puree beets in blender with the almond milk. It’s okay if the beets are chunky.
Preheat oven to 350°, line a loaf pan with parchment paper so the edges stick up over the sides.
In one bowl, mix together AP flour, almond flour, salt, cocoa powder, cinnamon and baking soda until no clumps remain.
In another bowl, mix eggs, coconut oil, maple syrup/honey, beet puree and vanilla.
Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until incorporated.
Mix in chocolate chips, flax seeds and hemp seeds. Pour into loaf pan and top with coconut shreds.
Bake for 50 minutes. Note, bake time may vary by about 10 minutes depending on the size of your pan.
