Chocolate Brownie Bars

My daughters love the Clif Kid Organic ZBar Brownie bars, however lunch costs can add up quickly when you have two growing girls who love good food. So, I decided to use most of the same ingredients and make my own.

These are peanut-free, nut-free, dairy-free,gluten-free, and vegan. They aren’t as rich as real brownies, but that will make you feel better about sending them to school.  Mine aren’t quite as sweet or dense as the originals, but I think they are a good match.  The best part of trying to duplicate something is all of the fails that you get to eat while testing out the recipe.

MAKES 8×8 TRAY

INGREDIENTS
– 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
– 2 tablespoons warm water
– 6 medjool dates
– 1 tablespoon water
– 1/2 cup semi-sweet dairy-free chocolate chips
– 1/4 cup dairy-free butter
– 1/2 cup brown rice syrup or raw agave nectar
– 1 cup oat flour (1 cup gluten-free rolled oats ground in food processor or blender for a few seconds)
– 1/4 cup cocoa powder
–1/2 teaspoon baking soda
– 1/3 teaspoon fine sea salt
– 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (optional, helps keep brownies from crumbling, but not required)
– chocolate chips (optional, for drizzling)

DIRECTIONS
1.Prepare your flax egg with the 2 tablespoons ground flax and 2 tablespoons warm water. Set aside.

2. Make your date paste by pureeing dates in food processor with 1 tablespoon water until relatively smooth.

3. Preheat oven to 350C.  Prepare 8×8 pan by lining it with parchment paper.

4. In a medium-sized double boiler (or a medium-sized glass bowl over a pot of boiling water – do not let bowl touch water), melt the chocolate chips.

5. Remove chocolate mixture from stove and mix in the remainder of the ingredients, including the flax seed.

6. Pour brownie mixture into pan.   Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

7. Let cool.  Cut into bars of any size. Drizzle with chocolate if you desire (melt a few tablespoons in microwave).