Buckeye Brownies
Happy Thursday! We’ve made it this far and now it’s time for some fun in the kitchen. Why does “fun in the kitchen” automatically translate to “baking” for so many? Am I completely alone in this thought? I don’t think so.
Dear readers, don’t think I don’t know that “buckeye” anything traditionally involves peanut butter. But since right now, in 2020, this is a largely paleo food blog, “buckeye” to me does not mean peanut butter. Peanuts are in fact legumes and are therefore largely shunned by the paleo community. I can’t say as I blame them. Although I can typically get down with peanut BUTTER, especially if chocolate is there to party too, I would never eat a plain peanut all by its lonesome. It’s just not tasty to me. On the trail, if someone breaks out trail mix, I skip right over the peanuts and raisins (don’t even get me started on those things…raisins are straight up grape boogers) and head straight for the M&M’s. Don’t judge me. I know what’s good. This type of behavior used to drive my mom nuts when I lived with her. If eating a snack mix I’ll pick around the gross stuff and just eat the few things that I like. Now I do it to Mike. He’s slightly more lenient, but not by much. Baby steps. I’ll take it.
Wow we’ve really gotten off track here. Why does this always happen? Let’s get back to the brownies, shall we? I chose to use cashew butter when I made these brownies because cashews are the best of all of the nuts. They’re the king of nuts. No other nut even comes close in my heart. I feel like maybe I’ve said nut so many times now this blog post is bordering on inappropriate. I just have to say it a few more times though. Although I personally used cashew butter when I made these brownies, any other type of nut butter should work just fine in this recipe. Know that I haven’t tried other kinds, but I wouldn’t be opposed to it. I’ve heard that sunflower butter turns funky colors when you bake with it though so just be aware of that if you choose to go that route.
Buckeye Brownies
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line an 8" x 8" baking dish with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and coconut sugar with an electric beater until combined. Add in ½ cup cashew butter, egg, and vanilla extract and beat with the electric beater on low/medium until combined completely.
- Add the almond flour through the cream of tartar and use a spoon to stir until just combined. The batter will be very thick. Fold in the chocolate chips. Use the spoon to transfer the batter into the parchment paper lined baking dish. Distribute the remaining ¼ cup of cashew butter over the top of the brownies and use a knife to swirl the cashew butter into the batter a little bit. Use the spoon to even out the batter in to a uniform thickness.
- Bake at 350° F for 25 – 28 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out dry (small crumbs are okay as long as they are not wet). You may have to try a few different spots to make sure you are getting the batter and not a melted chocolate chip. Let cool almost completely. Cut into 16 squares and enjoy!
