Raw Brownie Recipe By Rod Rotondi
Brownie Balls
In the home where I grew up, the acts of baking and offering brownies were gestures of love. At the time, the bleached white flour, refined white sugar and margarine were just part of everyday life. I now see those ingredients in a different light after nearly twenty years of Ayurvedic study and a more discerning relationship with food; this experience has left me with a desire to choose more deeply nourishing foods that happen to possess the sweet taste. According to Ayurveda, the association of sweetness and love makes sense because the sweet taste provides satisfaction and cultivates contentment. This is why our most common comfort foods share the characteristic of being sweet.
Sweetness lingers: there’s something about brownies that decades of association with love has imprinted in my consciousness. So when chef and Leaf Cuisine founder Rod Rotondi penned a recipe for raw brownie bars in his new cookbook, Raw Food for Real People (complete with ojas-building almond butter and grated fresh coconut), I became immediately intrigued. The fact that they don’t exactly resemble the squares of my childhood makes these even better as it keeps me from expecting that sickeningly sweet blast of sugar in favor of a more mellow, soothing, grounding burst of energy that allows Rotondi’s brownie bars to be truly sweet (without the refined sugar crash and burn). Try making them for your sweetheart, your family or yourself on Valentine’s Day for a flavor that leaves a lasting impression.
Caution! Seriously addictive! These are sort of a cross between a Tootsie Roll and a traditional brownie. Makes 24 balls or bars.
2 cups chopped dates
1/2 cup carob powder
1/2 cup cacao powder
2 cups ground Brazil nuts
1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 cup grated fresh coconut for garnishing (may substitute dried)
Cacao nibs and/or goji berries for garnishing (optional)
- Combine all the ingredients except the coconut and garnishes in a food processor and process until smooth.
- Roll the dough into 3/4-inch balls. Roll each ball in coconut, then in cacao nibs, if using, then press a goji berry into the top, if using. Place the balls on a baking sheet, and chill them for 2 hours. Alternatively, you can spread the dough about 1/3 inch thick on a baking sheet, sprinkle with dried coconut, and press in cacao nibs and/or goji berries, if using. Slice into bars and chill them for 2 hours. To extend the shelf life of the balls or bars, you can dehydrate them for 4 to 6 hours.
Excerpted from the book Raw Food for Real People ©2009 by Rod Rotondi.
Printed with permission from New World Library. newworldlibrary.com
By Felicia M. Tomasko, RN
