Vegan Brownies

Last year, my dear friend, Sarah, got married. Her bachelorette party ended at my place for dessert and “Blushing Bride” martinis. Now, Sarah’s oldest girlfriends, since she was a kid, are Maya, Liberty, and Chloe, and those three are vegans. While I follow with a mostly vegetarian diet, I was excited to have the challenge of coming up with a rich, awesome vegan dessert.

For the non-vegans, I made Crème Brûlée. For the vegans, I made these, and they are now required at any social event that includes Maya, Liberty, and Chloe. I made them for Sarah’s wedding, and last week, for her baby shower. 🙂

The recipe comes from Allrecipes.com, and I feel compelled to say, that “vegan” does NOT, in this case, equal “healthy.” These are a rich, special-occasion treat that just happen to be vegan. But everyone will love them because they are amazing, and you will love them because they are really easy to make.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

• Put all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. I like to sift the cocoa powder, because it’s often lumpy.

• Put all the wet ingredients together, and mix well.

• Add wet to dry and mix.

• Pour into a parchment-lined baking dish: this recipe makes a 9″ x 13″ pan, half it if you are working with an 8″ x 8″ pan.

• Bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes.

• Allow to cool and slice. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.