These Fudgy Flourless Date Brownies are the perfect way to satisfy your brownie craving in a healthy way. These gluten-free, vegan, naturally sweetened brownies are made with just 5 simple ingredients and using dates as the main ingredient.
INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups dates, pitted
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup sunflower seed butter
- ½ cup cacao powder (or cocoa powder), unsweetened
- 1-2 tablespoons date water (see instructions below)*
The Ingredients
Is it really possible you only need 5 ingredients to make these flourless brownies?! Why yes, and not only are these brownies flourless, but they are gluten-free, vegan, egg-free, dairy-free, nut-free, grain-free, and plant-based! Let me prove it to you…
Dates. You will need 4 cups of the freshest dates you can find. I like to buy dates that still have the pits in them, as I find they stay fresher for longer. Remove the pits, slice them in half and add them to a large microwave safe bowl. Cover with water and microwave for 3 minutes. Let them stand while you measure the other ingredients.
* Be sure to reserve about 1/4 cup of the date water as you’ll add 1-2 tablespoons of that into the brownie batter.
Cacao Powder. I like to use unsweetened cacao powder, the rawest, most unprocessed form of cocoa powder. If you can’t find it (I buy mine on Amazon) unsweetened cocoa powder will work just fine.
Sunflower seed butter. Using sunflower seed butter acts not only as a binder, but also allows these brownies to retain their gooey, fudgy texture. Sunflower seed butter is also allergy-friendly and keeps these brownies nut-free, but feel free to swap with another nut/seed butter if desired (just note, the taste will vary slightly).
Baking soda. You’ll only need to add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to help the brownies rise.
Pure vanilla extract. Make sure you use pure vanilla extract to keep these brownies gluten-free.
Spread the dough into a parchment lined 8×8 baking pan the beat you can. The dough is VERY sticky, so to help you can spray the back of a spatula or a separate piece of parchment paper with coconut oil and spread it that way.
Bake the brownies in the oven for 20-25 minutes, cool, slice into squares and devour.
