Breakfast Brownies

I’m not sure who exactly decide to leave chocolate out of the food pyramid (yes, I know it’s a plate diagram now), but in my mind, chocolate is part of a well-balanced diet and life! I don’t drink coffee, so maybe it’s my caffine fix, but whatever the reason, I love chocolate.

Enter the breakfast brownie. I was first tempted by this idea by carrieonvegan.com, who posted an excellent pumpkin breakfast brownie. I made a few adjustments for our own tastes and tried it in the solar cooker. It’s pretty easy to make, as you basically let your food processor do all the work. Here’s the recipe:

Breakfast Brownies

1/2 cup oats

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 tsp cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 Tbsp chia seeds

Dash cinnamon

1/2 cup grated zucchini

1 cup applesauce

2 Tbsp almond milk

Food process just the oats until they are powdery. Add in the other ingredients and process till well mixed. Then bake in a parchment-liked pan in your solar oven.

I tried it, and I really keep overestimating the afternoon sun. I put them in at 2 pm, and at 4 pm they still were mush. I finally finished them in my regular oven so that we could have dessert. They final brownies are soft, but should pull away from the pan edges. They are a good breakfast on the go or a nice base for soy ice cream.

Rating: half success. I need to learn to make in the mornings instead of the afternoons.