Chocolate-Covered Brownies & Chocolatey Fondue-y

The Brownie

In an effort to avoid the soy found in some oil, I chose to use banana puree in its place. Not only does it make the brownies a tad bit healthier, but it also gives a yummy hint of banana. Think... warm, fudgy, chocolate dipped bananas... It won me over, and I can't stand bananas.

1/2 c oil or melted butter (I substituted 1/2 c banana puree, plus approximately 3T water)
1 c white sugar
1 t vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 all-purpose flour
1/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/2 c chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9x9 inch baking pan with non-stick spray.

2. Mix oil (or melted butter or banana puree & water) and cocoa until smooth. Add sugar, vanilla and eggs. Mix until thoroughly combined. In a separate bowl mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir until smooth. Add walnuts, if desired. Pour batter evenly into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the brownie begins to pull away from the edges of the pan and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. For a slightly chewier brownie, remove from the oven a couple of minutes early. Let cool on a wire rack and cut into squares.

Chocolate-Covered Brownie
Coating the brownies in chocolate posed a problem. Unless you can get your hands on dairy-free and/or soy-free chocolate chips (Sunspire and Enjoy Life carry dairy-free AND soy-free, while Divvies is only dairy-free), you might have to opt out of the Chocolate-Coveredness... Never fear, I have another option for you (see below). If you do have chocolate that fits your dietary needs, then you're in for a TREAT!

You will need a double boiler or a bowl that fits on top of a small sauce pan (you can probably figure out how to do this in the microwave, but I haven't tried it yet). Fill the pan with about an inch of water. Pour your chocolate chips (or chunks) into the top of the double boiler (or the bowl). Heat the stove to medium-high heat and bring the water to a boil. Stir frequently as the chocolate melts. Once the chocolate is smooth, working quickly (and carefully!), dunk the brownie squares into the chocolate. Let cool on a wire rack and refrigerate. ENJOY!

Chocolatey Fondue-y
This next recipe is adapted from a Chocolate Sauce recipe found in Real Simple. It is basically a creamy chocolate dip. It can be used for these brownies (although I wouldn't recommend it if you already covered them in chocolate--even I think that's excessive), fruits, sundaes... or heaping spoonfuls. It's dairy and soy-free :)

1/4 c granulated sugar
3 T cocoa powder
1/4 c water
10 large Marshmallows
1 T oil (I used canola oil, which contains no soy)

In a small saucepan, combine sugar and cocoa. Gradually whisk in 1/4 cup water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring, until slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add marshmallows and oil. Stir continuously until the marshmallows have melted and the sauce is creamy. Serve immediately with plenty of delish dunkables.