Small-Batch High-Altitude Vegan Brownies

High-altitude vegan small-batch brownies

4.58 from 14 votes

Small-Batch High-Altitude Vegan Brownies

It seems like you can find high-altitude brownie recipes and vegan brownie recipes, but rarely both. Voilà! Small-Batch High-Altitude Vegan Brownies.

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword chocolate, dairy-free, high-altitude, vegan

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Servings brownies or 3 big brownies

Calories 248kcal

Author Plant Test Kitchen

Ingredients

1/4 cup vegetable oil or olive oil Earth Balance not recommended for this recipe; see notes below
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar cane sugar, brown sugar or granulated sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup

Flax eggs

2 TBSPs ground flaxseed
5 TBSPs water

Dry

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, non-alkalized see notes below for alkalized/dutch processed
1/2 cup all purpose flour; fluff, spoon into measuring cup and level with the flat side of a knife sub 1-to-1 gluten-free flour for gluten-free
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt fine

Optional

2 TBSPs vegan chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325° F.
Cut parchment paper to go width-wise & length-wise, layering them crosswise in the 8 x 4 inch pan.
Make Flax Eggs. Mix together ground flaxseed & water. Set aside and let it gel up.
Measure Dry Ingredients. In a small to medium mixing bowl, combine unsweetened cocoa powder, all purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Add oil, syrup, and sugar to a sauce pot (I use a 2.5 quart size sauce pot) and heat over medium heat, stirring. Once it starts to bubble, reduce to low heat. Continue to stir until sugar dissolves or mostly dissolves. Then add flax eggs and vanilla, stirring until combined. There will be flecks from the flax eggs. Turn off heat.
Stir in dry ingredients. Keep folding & stirring until there are no dry pockets remaining in the mixture.
Spread the thick batter evenly into your prepared pan and sprinkle chocolate chips on top and press them into the batter slightly. Bake for 40 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes and remove from pan using parchment. The brownies will be bubbly when you first remove them from the oven, but they will firm up. Let cool 15 - 30 minutes longer before cutting—if you can wait. Enjoy! Store extras in an air-tight container for up to 3 days.

Notes

Nutrition Information is approximate.

Oil

I love Earth Balance and I use it in a ton of things. It's my favorite vegan butter. However, I do not recommend Earth Balance in this recipe. Earth Balance is not pure oil. During my tests it often leached out of the brownies, separating from the batter.

For these brownies, I recommend vegetable oil or extra-virgin olive oil. I did a batch with unrefined, virgin coconut oil and it was very coconut-forward with Mounds bar flavors. You really have to love coconut and be okay with it ending up not tasting like a traditional brownie.

Cocoa Powder

The batches made with non-alkalized cocoa powder rose higher and were less intense than the batches made with alkalized/dutch processed cocoa powder. This is my preference for a straight-forward, rich brownie.

If you want a more dense, darker looking, fudgy brownie you may want to try making these with alkalized/dutch processed cocoa powder.

It’s kind of surprising that it worked out this way—although alkalized/dutch processed cocoa powder is darker in color, it's milder in flavor. It’s likely due to the powder's less acidic pH not rising as much and creating a more dense and intense brownie. Additionally, the blackish-brown hue of the brownie (as opposed to a reddish-brown hue of the brownies made with non-alkalized cocoa powder) may have added to the intense vibes psychologically. A relative who tasted a few different batches had a strong preference for these darker, denser brownies.

No need for the toothpick or knife test

Since these are on the fudgy side, poking them with a toothpick or knife to see if it comes out clean doesn't work with this recipe.

www.planttestkitchen.com

Nutrition