Beet Brownies

Are you a fan of beets? Seems people either love them or hate them. Beets have a very earthy taste, sweet, but also somewhat similar to dirt. I think this is the reason they make some folks gag! I was introduced to beets early on. I grew up eating borscht, a Russian/Ukrainian/Eastern European beet soup, which I still love.

The beets I had on hand were precooked, packaged, organic beets from Costco. Somehow these beets got shoved to the back of the pantry where they have been lingering, ignored and forgotten, for way too long. It was time to use those old beets or toss them. In addition, I still had a few pouches of brownie mix leftover from our Costco days. (We gave up our Costco membership and no longer need to purchase ridiculously-sized packages of things!) Since wasting food makes me want to tear my hair out, I decided to try making brownies with my old beets and brownie mix.

Believe it or not, I googled "beet brownies" and found that I was FAR from the first wacko to think up this combination. You can google for yourself! At least seven or eight bloggers have already devised brownie recipes which incorporate beets. Now I will add my own spin on this crazy combo.

Ingredients:
2 medium cooked beets, pureed
1/3 cup melted grassfed butter (or coconut oil)
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1 pouch Ghiradelli triple chocolate brownie mix

Basically, just follow the directions on the package of brownie mix. The only changes I made to these instructions were to substitute the pureed beets for the water. Since the beets create extra moisture, I also added an extra quarter cup of flour. You could add oats, chia seeds, ground flax seeds, or something else to absorb the excess liquid, if you prefer. I also used butter instead of vegetable oil which I no longer purchase or use for anything. Coconut oil would also be fine. Bake mixture at 325F for about 45 minutes in an 8x8 pan. Makes at least 9 substantial brownies.