So here's the thing. I love raw brownies. I have been making these for quite some years now and they genuinely do taste like brownie mixture. The ones I have made in the past are made purely from dates, pecans and cocoa powder. Now this all sounds very good but I'm a student, pecans are expensive! And dates aren't the cheapest either. So, I came up with a little experiment to compare all the variations I could think of. Not only for taste, but for texture too.
This is also for all you nut-free people out there. Having not come into a huge amount of contact with people with nut allergies, living with a nut-free housemate has meant I have had to take more precautions then usual. For the first term Emi had to repeatedly ask if things had nuts. I very nearly gave her granola, raw brownies and almond butter - and not just on one occasion - sorry Emi! However we are still living together next year, so it appears I have not scared her off too much!
So here I have trialled a few variations on the classic raw brownie recipe, to see if I can make it more friendly to a students wallet. I have substituted pecans for walnuts, which are slightly cheaper, also sunflower and pumpkin seeds have replaced these nuts in some cases. I have subbed in raisins for dates in a few to compare. I also bought a Nakd bar to see how this tasted relative to the others. Anyway, here's how it all turned out...
My family were also roped in for this little experiment as well, so here's the combined feedback.
Let's start of with the classic. Here's the basic recipe:
Raw brownies
makes 6 slices
Ingredients:
1/2 cup nuts/seeds
1 cup dates/raisins/other dried fruit
2 tbsp cocoa powder (or cacao if you prefer)
1 tbsp honey (or other sweetner if you wish, this is an optional addition.
Method:
Blitz the nuts/seeds in a food processor (or blender) until it resembles coarse bread crumbs but is not powdered.
Add the remaining ingredients and blend until a smooth paste forms that clumps into your hands into a ball but still has some texture from the nuts.
Press into a tin lined with baking paper and place in the fridge. This is just to keep and the initial set, they are actually best eaten at room temperature so remove from the fridge after a couple of hours.
The taste test
Date and Pecan
This is the original one I have always made. A personal favourite. It tastes slightly caramel-like and is chewy and soft. It was the most moist and sticky, so a nice texture and flavour all round. Mum and I liked this the best.
Raisin and Sunflower seed
This was an experiement for all the nut free people out there. Yes this was nice. The sunflower seeds gave more of a woody taste I would say and the raisins definitely gave a more sticky but less smooth texture. It was more fruity and less chocolatey. So if making this again maybe you need extra cocoa powder to overcome the more fruity flavour of raisins as opposed to caramel-like dates. This was more acidic and quite raisin-y so if you do not like that taste, I would steer well clear of this.
Raisin and Pumpkin seed
Again, another for the nut free people. This was nice with the pumpkin seeds, my dad liked this long with the previous one the best out of all. I didn't like the texture so much as it was quite woody from the seeds. It was also more gooey and sticky and a slightly bitter, but not unpleasant, flavour. Again the raisins came through and were quite acidic, giving a fruity flavour as before.
Date and Walnut
This was my brothers favourite. It has a smooth, soft texture, similar to the date and pecan one. The flavour is distinctly chocolatey, but not as caramel-like as the first. It has a softer, rounder flavour.
Raisin and Walnut
A smoother texture then the seed varieties but a slightly more grainy texture then the date versions, however this may be due to the type of raisins used. This has a more acidic, fruity flavour then the date versions but is still yummy. I would say a good alternative. More cocoa powder would be needed to compensate for the fruity flavour.
Nakd bar This was more fruity, a mixture of flavours between the raisin and date bars, but
slightly more artificial in flavour inevitably. Dad liked this because it has a drier texture then the others. But it does have quite a twag to it which depending on what you like may be good or bad. It tastes less chocolatey then the others too but is very nice.
So what's the verdict??
It depends on what you're looking for. For me, the dates are essential for the caramel, smooth texture that I love in these brownies. I also feel they compliment the chocolate flavour the best.
Nuts of seeds? It's hard to tell. But I think the nuts do give a rounder, smoother texture, as opposed to the slightly woody texture that the seeds give.
For me the winner is the Date and pecan or Date and Walnut. And most of the rest of my family liked that the best too.
However Dad liked the fruitiness of the raisin bars and stickiness.
So overall, if you want a good old best tasting I would go for the Date and nut (unfortunately the priciest) but if you are happy to settle with stickier texture and more acidic flavour, go for the raisins but I would maybe double to cocoa powder to give a more chocolatey taste.
Final Recipes:
My fave Raw brownies
makes 6 slices
Ingredients:
1/2 cup nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds and cashews work the best)
1 cup dates
2 tbsp cocoa powder (or cacao if you prefer)
1 tbsp honey (or other sweetner if you wish, this is an optional addition.
Method:
Blitz he nuts/seeds in a food processor (or blender) until it resembles coarse bread crumbs but is not powdered.
Add the remaining ingredients and blend until a smooth paste forms that clumps into your hands into a ball but still has some texture from the nuts.
Press into a tin lined with baking paper and place in the fridge. This is just to keep and the initial set, they are actually best eaten at room temperature so remove from the fridge after a couple of hours.
note: Find the cheapest nuts around, often cashews are the cheapest in Tesco and Sainsburys. In Aldi almonds are a bargain! Also look in Poundland - there are some great deals there for nuts. For dates, check out Aldi and Poundland. I bulk buy when I find them cheap. Home Bargains is also the place to go for INSANELY cheap dates!
Raisin Raw Brownies
makes 6 slices
Ingredients:
1/2 cup seeds (sunflower or pumpkin)
1 cup raisins
3-4 tbsp cocoa powder to taste (or cacao if you prefer)
1 tbsp honey (or other sweetner if you wish, this is an optional addition.
Method:
Blitz he seeds in a food processor (or blender) until it resembles coarse bread crumbs but is not powdered.
Add the remaining ingredients and blend until a smooth paste forms that clumps into your hands into a ball but still has some texture from the seeds.
Press into a tin lined with baking paper and place in the fridge. This is just to keep and the initial set, they are actually best eaten at room temperature so remove from the fridge after a couple of hours.
Note: Raisins are so so cheap in supermarkets, I think in Tesco you can get a 500g bag of sultanas for 89p! Again see above for the different textures and tastes that various seeds give, but experiment and let me know what happens!
