There are two kinds of brownies: safe, square, cake-like ones that travel well and leave nothing but a sprinkling of crumbs behind on your hands, and messy, gooey, fudgey ones that are a challenge to cut and end up all over your face and clothes.

These brownies are the latter.

It can be difficult to find a vegan brownie recipe that’s just as rich as its traditional counterparts, but I stumbled across this one recently and it was just too good not to share!

Gooey Vegan Brownies

adapted from allrecipes.com

These brownies are rich, chocolatey and also quite messy- beware! For truly vegan cookies, be sure to use raw cane sugar, as traditional white sugar is usually processed in a way that includes animal products.

Yield: about 16 brownies

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups raw cane or turbinado sugar
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1 cup canola oil
  • 1 cup chocolate chips or chopped nuts (optional)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350*F. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder and baking powder. Pour in the vanilla, water and oil, and beat the mixture until all the dry flour has disappeared. If desired, mix in chocolate chips or nuts. Pour evenly into a 8×8 inch pan greased or prepared with non-stick spray. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out nearly clean and top is lightly crusted. Allow to cool completely before cutting. Store in a cool, dry place or refrigerate.
If there was a contest for gooey brownies, these would undoubtedly be a top contender. The insides are just barely cooked through, so each bite bursts with creamy, dense chocolate flavor.
I opted to add just chocolate chips and no nuts, which only intensified the richness. These don’t cut too cleanly, which is part of their irresistibility- there’s always a few crumbles left to spoon up in the bottom of the pan!
Just be forewarned: you’ll want to eat these with a mirror around. Chocolate smudges aren’t nearly as cute on adults as they are on children.
Cakelike or fudgy brownies? Nuts or chocolate chips?