dark chocolate & sea salt brownies (paleo, grain free, gluten free, nut free, soy free)

i heart u

I love dessert and I am a huge fan of nuts, but following a low glycemic, paleo-ish diet has meant eating more nuts and nut flours in a few short months than I have in an entire lifetime. I'm so sick of the taste of almond flour I almost cry when I look at it sitting there in the fridge, laughing at me, daring me to replace it with the refined pastry flour of yore.

Hence, this brownie. It's damn tasty. It doesn't have any nut flour. It does have, sigh, a little bit of coconut flour but you almost can't tell. These are best when allowed to cool and then refrigerate for a bit where they take on a kind of deep chocolate fudge quality. Straight out of the oven they are almost like a baked pudding which ain't bad either. Have I mentioned they don't have any nuts? Can I get an amen?

dark chocolate & sea salt brownies
3 eggs
1/3 coconut oil (or ghee if you can tolerate some dairy) melted and allowed to cool slightly
1/3-1/2 cup maple syrup, honey, or coconut nectar
1-2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp tahini (sesame paste which is nut free and generally well-tolerated by allergic folks)
1/3 cup cocoa or raw cacao powder
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup Enjoy Life dark chocolate chips (or cacao nibs or chopped dark chocolate bar - make sure to double-check that your bar is soy and milk free. Alter Eco makes an excellent 85% dark chocolate bar. I also love Lindt's 85% and 90% bars). Extra chips or chunks for sprinkling on top.
Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With an electric mixer, beat the three eggs until frothy. Add sweetener of choice, vanilla extract, tahini, and then slightly cooled oil or ghee. Add cocoa and coconut flour until combined. Stir in chocolate chips or chopped chocolate bar.

Pour into greased or parchment lined 8x8 brownie pan. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and extra chocolate if desired (and who doesn't desire more chocolate).

Bake for between 15-20. When a knife comes out clean, they are done. Allow to cool and serve. Keep remainder in the fridge.