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These recipes from Daphne Oz, author of The Happy Cook and mom of three, make eating healthy feel like a reward—and have helped her deal with her post-baby body struggles.

Daphne says: If I could eat only one dessert for the rest of my life, it would probably be an extra fudgy brownie, warm from the oven, with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream on top. If only I could eat this dessert as often as I want—every day…maybe every meal.

Sadly, this cannot be. So I came up with my version of a brownie that lets me celebrate my love of this decadent chocolate beast while feeling good every bite of the way.  

Black beans are the unsung hero of extra fudgy brownies, and they happen to be insanely good for you while replacing the need for all-purpose flour entirely. Sweet potato here might also seem a little strange, but get to know her; she’ll help make these sweet and seductively moist while loading you up on healthy vitamins and minerals. I hesitate to call these “brownies you could eat from breakfast”…but I sometimes do! It’s kind of the best part if you’re cleaning up after a dinner party the next morning before anyone else is awake—just you, a frothy cappuccino, and the last leftover brownie bite! So you know I won’t judge.  

Tip: If you prefer cakey brownies, use teff flour in place of black beans and only ¼ teaspoon baking soda plus ¼ teaspoon baking powder. 

Excerpt from The Happy Cook by Daphne Oz. Copyright © 2016 by Daphne Oz. Used with permission by William Morrow. All rights reserved.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 large sweet potato
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup hot coffee
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup pureed black beans
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Yield

Serves: 18

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Lightly grease 12 to 18 cups of a mini muffin tin with either butter or EVOO.

Prick the sweet potato a few times with a fork. Microwave on high until completely soft and tender, about 7 minutes. Scoop out the flesh and set 1 cup in a large bowl; reserve the rest of the flesh and the skin for a snack. Whisk in the melted butter, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla.

Add the chocolate chips to a small bowl and pour the hot coffee on top. Stir until melted, then add to the sweet potato mixture.

In another bowl, combine the cocoa powder, pureed black beans, baking soda and salt. Add the cocoa mixture to the sweet potato mixture and stir just until combined.

Use a spoon to fill each muffin cup three-quarters full to make about 18-mini muffins. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of a brownie comes out with a few moist crumbs attached and the brownies resist light pressure, about 8 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out the brownies onto a wire rack to cool. Repeat with any remaining batter. The brownies will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.