Say it ain't so! Yes, you can eat brownies on the Caveman Diet. These are very rich, moist, and chewy, but have fewer calories and are a bit less sweet than regular brownies. Since they're "caveman" brownies, they contain no flour or sugar.
The secret? Sweet potatoes.
To clarify, dry sweet potatoes. The orange sweet potatoes (also called yams) contain too much water for this recipe. However, my roommate Moria used the orange kind to make chocolate filling for gorgeous tartlets (more on that later).
For the brownies, I use either Okinawan (Hawaiian) purple sweet potatoes or Japanese sweet potatoes. I think any sweet potato that's white inside would probably work as well, since those are the dry kinds.
Purple Sweet Potatoes
Japanese Sweet Potatoes
The recipe below makes a very small batch of brownies, which is good if you're just making these to assuage a craving. For a larger batch, double the recipe.
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups dry-type sweet potato, cooked, skin removed, and packed into the measuring cup (I microwaved these. If you bake or boil them, add some almond flour and/or coconut flour to make a drier batter.)
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbsp unsweetened carob powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil or coconut oil
1/4 tsp vanilla (optional)
dash of cinnamon (optional)
1/2 packet Stevia (optional)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
DIRECTIONS
1. Put everything except the nuts in a food processor. Pulse a few times, then process. The result should be like soft playdough that molds into a ball. You may have to push the dough back into the food processor bowl and process again one or two times to get it mixed well.
If the dough doesn't hold together, add just a bit of water. Be careful not to add too much water or you'll have pudding rather than brownies -- not a bad trade, but that's another blog post.
If you don't have a food processor, you can mix these by hand -- in fact, you may want to just use your actual hands to mix it rather than a spoon. This is very primal, and it would probably work really well. (I think I'll try this next time.)
2. Add chopped nuts (if you're using them) and mix to incorporate.
3. Lightly grease a small (9" x 6") Pyrex baking dish with olive oil or coconut oil.
4. Press the brownie mixture into the dish.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. Check towards the end to make sure the brownies don't burn.
6. Let cool a few minutes and cut into squares. They will darken and firm up as they cool but will remain moist and fudgy.
