Prize Winning Brownies & what???

Here it is, the moment you have all been waiting for….the results of the “I Can’t Believe It’s Clean! Baking Contest sponsored by King Arthur’s Flour.  Phew…..say that 5 times fast!  I am so excited to win Fourth Place in this contest with my Avocado Brownies.   It is the first contest that I have ever entered, and I only had 4 days to come up with 3 recipes to submit!

Here is the magazine cover:

and here I am on page 56:

How about a close up of the delicious brownies…..

Now for the what the?????  The 3rd place winner is a candy recipe “Irish Mint Patties”!  Is anyone else confused by that?   Not only is the recipe not baked, it does not even contain flour.  It is definitely a unique recipe, but I cannot wrap my ahead around how it won in a baking contest?  And it gets stranger…..the winner did not respond to their emails telling her that she won.  She did not submit a photo or sign a release, and she still won?  That is usually a pretty big requirement in contests.  Okay, enough about that…now it’s time to show off the prizes!!!

King Arthur Flour Gift Basket

Epicurean Cutting Board

Emile Henry Square Baker

Preserve Mixing Bowls

and last but not least – Joseph Joseph Baking Set

The baking set just arrived yesterday.  I have been waiting for everything to arrive so I could post photos.  I am sorry if it looks like gloating, but I am so excited!!!

Seriously, the best thing that I received from this whole experience, is experience.  In the recipe that I submitted I stated “1/2 of an average sized avocado”.  Wrong, you have to be specific!  I am from California, what I consider an average size avocado may not be the same as what someone in Canada thinks is an average sized avocado.  The magazine is in Canada, so they emailed me for clarification.

Do not let the avocado scare you, these are really good.  The avocado makes them really moist and gooey, and they are really healthy!  The recipe that is printed in the magazine says 1 teaspoon of espresso powder, I actually used 1 Tablespoon…oops!   I hope you enjoy them.

Dark Fudgy Brownies with Avocado

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Serves	12
Prep time	10 minutes
Cook time	30 minutes
Total time	40 minutes
Meal type	Dessert

Dark, fudgy brownies that are healthy.

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon espresso powder
• 2 Tablespoons hot water
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 3 Tablespoons evaporated cane juice
• 1/2 cup avocado (mashed)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond/soy milk
• 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (or white whole wheat flour)
• 6 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 Tablespoons ground flax seed
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly coat an 8 x 8 baking pan with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, add the espresso powder to the hot water. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together the maple syrup and sugar with a hand mixer for 1 -2 minutes.

Add the avocado and beat for an additional minute.

Add the almond milk, espresso, and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, flax seed, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to the liquid ingredients, and mix with a rubber spatula/spoon.

Add the chocolate chips.

Pour into the prepared baking pan and bake for 30 - 35 minutes. Do not over bake.

Note

Sorry about the lack of photos, this recipe was created before I officially started the blog and learned to photograph every step!