Mesquite Brownies

I hope that this is the mesquite brownie recipe you have been looking for.

Last year I found myself with most of a box of mesquite flour and no idea what to do with it. I had gone to some trouble to source the mesquite flour because I wanted to make the chocolate chip cookies in Heidi Swanson's book Super Natural Cooking. The cookies were great, but then I had a box of expensive native American super-food to use up. As mesquite flour is somewhat cocoa-like and I love brownies, I searched for a mesquite brownie recipe. I found a couple and even made one, but it wasn't memorable.

I took to using the mesquite flour a tablespoon at a time in smoothies and in this wonderful banana soft-serve. But when I came across Alice Medrich's recipe for cocoa brownies on a blog I had an idea to try it with the mesquite flour. It was a good idea! This is a fantastic recipe that makes delicious, moist, fudgey, moreish brownies and it happily accommodated the mesquite flour.

So if there is anyone else out there like me, with half a box of mesquite flour and no where to use it, I strongly recommend you give these a whirl. I think you'll be glad you did.

Mesquite Brownies

Adapted from a recipe in Bittersweet by Alice Medrich

140g butter

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup mesquite flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2 cup plain flour

Preheat the oven to 162′C. Line the bottom and sides of a medium square baking pan with baking paper.

Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl. Melt over hot water or in the microwave in short bursts. Stir from time to time until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth. Set aside until the mixture is only warm, not hot.

Stir in the vanilla.. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula.

Spread evenly in the lined pan.

Bake until a skewer poked into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack.

Lift up the ends of the baking paper and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16.