YOUR HEALTHY PANDEMIC: Walnut Brownies

Some of my friends think I never eat treats, sweets, or anything fun AT ALL. They are so wrong. It is true that I don’t eat what I would categorize as “food-like” products or manufactured calories like corn syrup, white flour, and maltodextrin. But I definitely enjoy my share of desserts, especially this year.

For example, the peanut butter cups that I wrote about a couple weeks ago, and which I made from dark chocolate and organic peanut butter (one ingredient — peanuts), were sublime and unforgettable. And there have been chocolate macaroons, salted caramel ice cream, Hu brand hazelnut dark chocolate, pumpkin pie, and prickly pear sorbet courtesy of Doug Katz and Zhug (which just won Esquire’s Best New Restaurant of the Year), and lots more.

So yes, I love desserts, too. These days, we all need recipes like these. You can make them over the holidays, send a plateful to your neighbors, and eat them for breakfast with a cup of coffee or glass of milk. All food, all nourishing, and way more delicious than anything you’ll find in a cellophane package. There may be a pandemic raging out there, but at least you can feel 100% happy about sharing these with your family.

  • 2 c. raw walnuts or pecans
  • 1 /3 c. cocoa powder
  • 1 /2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 /4 tsp. sea salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 /2 cup maple syrup
  • 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1. Preheat the oven to 350F, and grease an 8×8 glass baking dish with a little olive oil, coconut oil, or butter (preferably from cows that ate grass).
2. Process the walnuts in a food processor until finely ground. Add remaining dry ingredients and pulse to combine. Add eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla extract, and process until smooth.
3. Pour into the baking dish, spread evenly, and bake for 25 minutes. Do not check to see if a cake tester comes out dry — they’re supposed to be a little wet when you take them out of the oven. Allow to cool 20 minutes, and slice into squares.
Thank you to The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen for this wonderful recipe. You could call this recipe gluten-free, or grain-free, or fake-food-free. Or you could just call it Food. Enjoy — it’s all good. Stay safe, everybody.

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