Friends, in these uncertain times, let me issue a stern warning. Vegan protein brownies are a non-essential item.
With everything cancelled and winter somewhat refusing to let go, we find ourselves in the kitchen digging through recipe books, perfecting our favorite dishes, and experimenting with new things.
This is the story of four poor bananas who didn’t see it coming.
Backstory: I’ll be brief. With all the extra time on my hands, I was cleaning out the pantry and found a large, forgotten tub of vegan protein powder. Forgotten for obvious reasons: it tasted like vegetables with chocolate undertones.
Que the Google search “baking with protein powder.” It got a little rabbit-hole-ish because I had to learn the difference between kinds of protein powder, but alas, Ah-HA! Flourless Fudgy Protein Brownies. Overripe bananas – check! Applesauce – check! Cocoa powder – check!
I might have been swayed by “fudgy,” or it might have been the mere 20 minute baking time. Either way, I was going to have a tasty treat in a jiffy. My house smelled delicious and chocolaty a half hour later.
The brownies looked amazing. I endured an hour of can-we-cut-into-the-brownies-yet from three adequately fed but dessert-starved children. I served up a large wedge of Flourless Fudgy Protein Brownie to each family member, it being practically health food after all.
This is where it all went wrong. The brownies were “flourless,” “vegan,” and “brown,” as advertised, and “fudgy” in appearance only. Health food cannot be disguised as dessert. Children cannot be fooled. Those bananas sacrificed all they had for the sake of experimentation.
We had chocolate ice cream instead.
.
.
.
Later that evening as he was getting ready for trash day, my husband, the good sport, found me in another part of the house and asked if he should put the brownie recipe out with the trash. Yes. The answer is yes.
