I love chocolate, but I also love to be healthy and fit.  What to do?  Bake a better brownie!  

This is from a recipe I saw in Oprah magazine back in July 2012.  It takes a pandemic for me to finally get a chance to try them.  They are raw, so something quite new to me.  Hmm, did I finally find something I could bring to my vegan, raw friend?  They are not low calorie but you can see there is no bad white stuff like flour and sugar.

Ingredients:

2 cups walnuts or pecans

13 ounces pitted baking dates

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 avocado, pitted and peeled

1/2 cup raw cocoa powder

1/8 teaspoon coarse sea salt

1/8 teaspoon orange zest

Frosting:

3 avocados pitted and peeled

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup raw cocoa powder

1/2 cup raw agave nectar plus more to taste

In a food processor, mix. all base ingredients, then pat down in an 8-inch square pan. Puree all frosting ingredients in a food processor and spread on the base.  Cover and freeze at least 3 hours.  Cut into 2-inch squares and serve cold.  

Makes 16 Brownies.