Spoonful of Sugar Free

Registered Dietitian

Flourless Brownies {Giveaway}

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You have spoken, and it looks like you want flourless brownies!

I have made a grain-free fudge brownie before here:

It is made with coconut flour and dates for the sweetener. I highly recommend them because they are fudgy, dense, and healthy.

However, what I am I supposed to do when my craving for brownies hits, but I don’t have any coconut flour?

Make Flourless Power Brownies!

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Flourless Power Brownies

Flourless Power Brownies

~These brownies are grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, and, of course, sugar-free!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup pumpkin puree (or any other squash puree. You don't taste it, but it adds extra vitamins, fiber, and body. I'm sure applesauce could be substituted as well if you wish to try that.)
  • 1/2 cup almond butter (or nutbutter of choice. Almond butter is mild, so I can't taste it in the brownie. You could even add peanut butter to make it a peanut butter brownie!)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • Optional: 3 droppers-full of alcohol-free liquid stevia***
  • Optional: 1/4 cup chopped nuts or unsweetened chocolate
  • Optional: A few tablespoons ground flax for extra nutrients

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375*.
  2. Mix together the pumpkin, almond butter, eggs, vanilla, flax (if using), and stevia (or other sweeteners listed below, if using) until well-combined. Add in cocoa powder and baking powder until smooth. You may add a few tablespoons of water to help with mixing, but batter should be thick. Fold in chocolate or nuts, if using.
  3. Lightly grease a 8×8 baking dish (I used coconut oil). Pour batter into dish. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Slice and serve.
https://www.spoonfulofsugarfree.com/2011/09/07/flourless-brownies-giveaway/

 

***I used stevia for this recipe because it was sent to me by NuNaturals, and I wanted to try it out. Personally, I prefer bitter chocolate like my bitter chocolate cake for one. However, you can try adding pureed dates like my Fudge Brownies, add a bit of mashed banana, or simply eat it bitter (like me!).

Tastes fabulous with homemade coconut butter. 

They’re called Power Brownies because of the great benefits of:

  • Pumpkin: One cup of pumpkin has 7 grams fiber, 2650 IU Vitamin A, 564 mg potassium! It also boasts a truckload of antioxidants like Alpha-carotene and Beta-carotene.
  • Chocolate: Click HERE for a post I wrote earlier about the health benefits of chocolate.
  • Almonds: Almonds are a major superfood, and they are full of monounsaturated, good-for-you fats. It contains many nutrients that benefit the brain, and regulate cholesterol. The monounsaturated fats and vitamin E reduce the risk of heart disease.

Thanks to NuNaturals for sending me their products! The alcohol-free stevia drops taste great. You only need a few drops because it is very powerful. They have a new “Chocolate” drop that tastes like chocolate!

Stevia has been picking up a lot of speed lately as a sugar substitute. When I first started my site, I wrote a bit about my thoughts HERE. I’m still not completely sure about it, but it is great to have especially when I have guests and they might not have sweet buds like mine (non-existent). For example, these brownies with stevia were a hit! Everyone loved them. I think I’ve made three batches so far this week!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Want to try some stevia for yourself? 

NuNaturals will award FOUR winners with the following:

One bottle of Vanilla Stevia Drops (My favorite) and a box of Stevia Packets.

Open to Continental U.S. Residents only, sorry!

This Giveaway is now Closed. Winners were announced HERE. 

How to Enter:

There are multiple ways to win. Please leave a separate comment below for each entry.

  1. MANDATORY: Tell me what are your thoughts or experiences are with stevia. Have you tried it? If so, do you have a favorite variety? Do you have favorite recipes with it? Are you a fan? Do you have an interesting article you read about it? Please share!
  2. Subscribe to Spoonful of Sugar Free by entering your email address in the “Subscribe” box on the right. Or follow by RSS, google reader, exc.
  3. Like me on facebook.
  4. Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway. Can be something like, “I want to win some stevia! @SugarFreeAlex is giving away @NuNaturals http://spoonfulofsugarfree.com/2011/09/07/you-have-spoken/ ”
  5. Blog about this giveaway on your blog.

Remember, there will be FOUR winners! Good luck!

Giveaway ends September 14th at Midnight.

–

Also, NuNaturals has a Free Samples program. They will send you free samples of NuStevia Packets if you send them a self-addressed, stamped envelope to:

NuNaturals, INC
2220 West 2nd Ave. # 1
Eugene, OR  97402

Now through September 30th, you can get 15% all orders at NuNaturals if you enter this code:  BLG930. You can also get free shipping on orders over $35. 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. once i crack open my can of pumpkin i am making those!! i love nunaturals stevia. i mainly use it in shakes and a few drops in plain greek yogurt. alcohol free vanilla is the one i usually use!

  2. I love Stevia! I pretty much use it every day…mostly to sweeten up my hot tea, but I also enjoy cooking and baking with it! My family is gluten free and I have recently been on a grain free, sugar free diet, so I am trying to get very creative with baking so that I don’t deprive myself or my kids of sweet things. i just find that I have to do it in sneaky ways. 🙂 One thing I have been able to use Stevia for is healthy homemade hot chocolate. I heat coconut milk on the stove and stir in cocoa powder, then add cinnamon and stevia….last night I added homemade whipped cream on top (also sweetened with Stevia) and it was delicious! No sugar!

    Thank you Alex for the recipe…looks awesome! I want to try NuNaturals really badly, I have heard a lot about it! Thank you!
    Jayme

  3. i’ve never used stevia, but i’ve heard good things… i’m intrigued and i’d love to give it a try

  4. I’ve used Stevia for quite a while now and love it! I have a couple of NuNatural’s products and love how pure they taste. You do have to be care not to get ones that are mixed with regular sugars or sugar alcohols. I love using the stevia in my cheesecakes and have used the Stevia flavor drops in my tea/water from Capella Flavor drops also. Yummy

  8. I do use Stevia, and my favorite way is a couple of drops in my iced coffee. I have not used it in a lot of baking yet, basically because I’m not sure how . . . . I’d love to see more ideas of how and where to use it.

  15. I’ve only tried the vanilla flavor but love to put a couple of drops in my water kefir if it gets too tart.

  17. I mostly use stevia in baking, but I also put just a little bit in my yogurt, so I don’t overpower the taaang.

    Funny story– I intermittent fast a lot now, and I haven’t had breakfast foods for some time. Now I want yogurt ; (

  19. I already have you on FB. I have been using Stevia alot lately. The only brand I can get ahold of locally is Sweet Leaf, and I love the Vanilla Creme flavor. I have been making an “iced tea” or lemonade like drink with lemon, fresh berries, mint, stevia, and water, and I add molasses if I want the iced tea effect. When I bake with liquid sweeteners sometimes I add stevia for a little more sweetness so I don’t have to mess with adding more liquid or more dry ingridients.

  24. I love NuNaturals, but right now I’m trying to use up the rest of the NOW brand stevia powder that I bought. I use stevia in everything that needs a little sweetener. There are several recipes on my blog that use it that are great…too hard to choose one! 🙂

  26. I’ve never tried it because I’m a little intimidated by it! But if I won, but I would love experiment with it

    katherinedibello (at) gmail (dot) com

  28. I’m hoping to try this recipe later this week for my daughter’s 13th birthday!

    I have had mixed luck with Stevia. The Stevia in the Raw wasn’t as good as I hoped it would be, however the SweetLeaf is great in coffee and hot tea. I’ve heard great things about NuNaturals and would LOVE to try it!

  34. Hi Alex,
    No need to enter me in the giveaway. Like yourself, I have those non-existant sweet buds, but I do love the NuNaturals brand vanilla stevia drops, and their powdered stevia doesn’t have that funky aftertaste like a lot of stevia brands do. I sometimes add it to cornbread or other baked goods or when I want to sweeten up a savory dish – you’d be amazed at what a little stevia can do to chili or guac. Normally, I’m an unsweetened girl, but sometimes I like a touch of sweet love.

    Brownies look fantastic, but in my opinion, the extra chocolate and nuts are NOT optional. 😉

  35. I absolutely love stevia at least nu naturals! Other forms can have a bit of an aftertaste. I put a little in smoothies, I love putting a drop or too in my own vegan sugar free hot chocolate drink, and I love putting it in green juice to make a green lemonade of sorts….delicious!

  38. I use NuNaturals exclusively. I order it on Iherb. I use it in smoothies, oatmeal, salad dressings, baked goods. I’m addicted!

  42. I use stevia in my coffee each morning. I used to love a brand called Sun Crystals because the carrying agent was real sugar (just a tiny bit) and it had a good flavor. They don’t make that brand anymore. I have heard great things about NuNaturals and I would love to try their flavored drops.

  44. I havent tried Stevia yet but I really want to! Tons of recipe use it. I’m not a fan of artificial sweeteners so I was a bit hesitant at first about it but it doesn’t sound bad like the other sweeteners

  49. Those brownies look so yummy! 🙂 I started using Stevia about a month ago. I’m not sure yet what I think of it. I like it in a smoothie but not quite in a pancake. 🙂 I use what I got from Trader Joe’s though I’d like to try NuNaturals and Kal.

  50. The brownies look great! So are your other recipes from the poll going to be published?

    I really like stevia – I’ve never noticed that aftertaste that I’ve heard people mention, I really like licorice, so maybe it’s just that I like the flavor of stevia …? Not sure, but it’s good stuff! I like the drops in my coffee.

  51. YUM! The brownies look delicious. I am always making your bitter chocolate cake for one so I guess if I want to share, this will be a great recipe 🙂 By the way, I do love steiva! I had tried the vanilla drops and love adding these to recipes, or even just to coffee.

  52. I have been DYING to try the NuNaturals Vanilla Stevia, but I just can’t bring myself to pay for it! I have been using stevia-sweetened products for a year or so, mainly Vitamin Water Zero and Sobe Life Water. I have been adding it to my own recipes more and more lately, but I still haven’t landed on the exact measurements. Whenever I use the liquid, it does have too much of an “alcohol” taste. Hopefully I’ll win the vanilla stevia drops and won’t have to worry about that anymore! 🙂

  55. I love Sweetleaf liquid stevia – I use it in oatmeal and tea mostly. I’ve been wanting to try NuNaturals but haven’t because it is so expensive. I would be super excited to win this giveaway!

  56. I haven’t tried Stevia by itself, but I have tried the part Stevia, part sugar substitute. I use it in my tea because it has a slightly woody taste that overpowered my coffee.

  61. You are amazing. This recipe looks awesome, and so easy! I have used Stevia in the Raw and had success with it- but I really want to get some of the vanilla creme that everyone is always raving about!

  64. awesome giveaway! I’ve used truvia before, but not very often. I think I used it in baking once…and I found the taste a little too powerful (powder form) for me. But I hear that the nunaturals drops are fantastic!

  65. ohh I’ve always wanted to try stevia. I’ve never ever seen it in any stores around me! I don’t like too much sweetness, but I’ve heard these don’t have much of an after taste. The brownies look fantastic!

  74. I have used Stevia and like it okay – depending on what it’s in. I often use it on salads in place of sugar (a lot of dressings have sugars in the recipe and simply adding a bit to some balsamic vinegar without any olive oil can make a low-fat salad palatable!) – but I find that in drinks it’s too strong. I’m really eager to try NuNaturals Stevia because I’ve heard it’s the best! <3

  75. thanks for holding this wonderful giveaway! I love stevia, but have mostly been using it in my beverages, It’s much harder to use it in place of sugar in baking, which is why I love your recipe! one of my favorite ways to use stevia is in my coconut muffin recipe. I mix one egg with a squirt of vanilla, 7 drops of NuNaturals stevia, 2 TB of shredded coconut and 1 T of coconut flour and microwave on high for 90 seconds. It’s so quick and the muffin is super moist and fluffy.

  77. Oh stevia, how I adore thee. I love the stuff, although it doesn’t love me too much. I get tummy pains if I have too much of it. So I limit it to 1/week and enjoy it with 1L mineral water, 2 tbsp lemon juice. Delicious!

  85. I’ve never tried stevia! i guess i’m a little afraid that it may make baking recipes turn out funky (since thats the only time i use sugar). im also afraid of it being a reaaallly expensive sugar substitute. But hey im all for trying it!

  86. discount this comment since im not from the U.S. so i cant enter unfortunately, but I HAD TO COMMENT ON THESE BROWNIES! too delicious to resist 🙂

    xoxo <3

  102. I am a huge NuNaturals stevia lover! I put it in everything from oatmeal to drinks to brownies. It’s pretty much perfect in everything. Such a fun giveaway!

  104. I love stevia! I use it in oatmeal and just starting to use in baking, still new to me. I have read alot about the nunaturals and wanted to try it.

    I definitely will be trying this recipe! Looks totally yummy. I have made your other brownies a few times but I sub bananas for the dates. Love them.

    I’ve also been making your waffles a ton. I took your suggestion of subbing 1/2 protein powder and eliminated the cocoa and it is now a regular with my kids for breakfast and snack (and I do add stevia as they certainly couldn’t handle it w/o 😉 I will be making them to take on our overnight trip tomorrow.

  106. i have a really weird way of enjoying stevia. I make a gree smoothie with lime, spinach, leaf lettauce, ice, and some stevia. It is very energizing and refreshing with a hint of sweetness…thats how i like my stevia !!! 🙂

  108. I love Stevia in the Raw. It is my go to for basically everything that needs sugar. I have noticed it keeps cakes from rising as much so sometimes I’ll go halfsies with real sugar or sucanat. Yum. I was wondering how much powdered Stevia would be equivalent to your 3 dropper fulls of liquid Stevia? I really want to make these brownies but powdered is all I have. Thanks!

    • It really depends upon which powdered stevia you use. For the NuNaturals powdered stevia, 3 droppers full=3 teaspoons of the powder, or 6 packets. The equivalent of 1/4 cup sugar. But again, my tastebuds like a darker chocolate. My family enjoyed this amount, too, but feel free to add more if needed.

  109. I have never tried Stevia!! I really want to try it since I’ve seen many recipes with Stevia and I love experimenting in the kitchen. This giveaway would be the perfect opportunity to finally try baking with Stevia. Thanks!
    P.S. I love your blog!

  110. Stevia is not sold where I live, so iv not had any experiences with it unfortunately, but I’d love the opportunity to try it.
    These brownies look SOO delicious!
    Xxx

  111. I have tried the Sweet Leaf Stevia before and it seems to have an after taste that I am not to fond of. I did however by 100% Stevia Extract today from Trader Joes. I am interested to try it in my smoothie tonight.

  115. I am a huge fan of stevia! I use it in everything, kool-aid, chia fresca, baked goods, oats. I even grow it 🙂

  116. I started using stevia recently and absolutely love it. It is healthy substitute for sugar or artificial sweeteners and it tastes good.
    i have tried few differend brands and NuNaturals so far my favourite, seriously. but i think the original flavour is the best option. i use it for baking, coffee, oatmeal, anything, really.

  117. As of interesting articles, I just finished Jackie Warner’s book This Is Why You Are Fat. Jackie advocates for Stevia, and since she is is such a good shape, you just can’t help it but believe her!

  119. I’ve tried a few brands of stevia and like it in my tea/coffee, but haven’t tried cooking/baking with it yet.

    Thanks for the chance to win!

    –Liza

    ejm6x (at) yahoo (dot) com

  127. I subscribe to your blog!

    Also–made these over the weekend and I loved them! I topped it off with homemade coconut butter….ate the whole pan in 3 days and didn’t even have to feel guilty! 🙂

    Jayme

  128. I use stevia all the time. Mostly in coffee because I haven’t had the best results baking with it.
    I “liked” on facebook and just Tweeted you.
    Great giveaway

  131. I’ve only used the Truvia brand before. It’s pretty good–much better than artificial sweeteners, like aspartame–but it has a slightly minty aftertaste. It works very well in baked goods though, since the other ingredients mask the mint flavor.

  139. I use stevia in most everything… coffee. smoothies. oatmeal! Would love vanilla flavored, and chocolate sounds so yummy!

  140. I use stevia everyday! In my oats, chia pudding, green tea, coffee, and even in my egg whites with cocoa powder and topped with nut butter! Best meal ever. I don’t know what I would do without it!

  146. Can you use special dark cocoa? Will the unsweetened cocoa turn out tasting bitter as the powder itself or will it come out sweeter?

    • I use special dark cocoa, and yes it is an intense dark chocolate, but I like this. Using no sweetener will result in a bitter chocolate. If you are uncomfortable with this, then I recommend adding the stevia or a few pureed dates.

  147. made these today with carob and they turned out great!!! also used peanut butter instead of the almond butter and I couldn’t even notice the peanut taste, they were so yummy!!

  148. I think the time I made squash-based brownies, they failed for the lack of almond butter…

    I didn’t use stevia then, however I used xylitol, which I love. Stevia, however, is THE BEST sweetener for my morning coffee, hands down. I would love to try NuNaturals though…I am always jealous when I see it on people’s blogs.

    • Thanks, Sarah, but the giveaway is close (kind of an old post). Don’t worry, though! I have another fun giveaway coming this Saturday!

    • Thanks for your like, but the giveaway is close (kind of an old post). Don’t worry, though! I have another fun giveaway coming this Saturday!

    • Personally, I do not react well to agave and do not believe it is the best natural sweetener to use. If I had a chose over agave and pure honey, I would choose the honey. Agave is very processed, but there are some brands of agave that are better than others. I would look into what brand you are using to see if it is made by a reputable company. I hope this helps!

    • Arlene,

      I just used 1 cup of the pumpkin puree. Usually a can is about 1 3/4 cup of pumpkin, so don’t use the whole can. Enjoy!

  154. I substituted the eggs for flax egg, added 3 Tbs of ground flax, then baked twice the time in my toaster oven. I wouldn’t use less flax than than that because it was moist and had the brownie crust on the outside. Pretty much perfect texture for a no-grain brownie. Used stevia only.

    I am still getting used to sugarfree, but this was a really good option and even better with suggested coconut oil or almond butter on top of it.

  157. Yummy! These are such a treat! I used peanut butter and sweetened with puréed dates. It was my first time using dates and I did have a hard time blending them to a smooth consistency. Do you have any tips? Thank you! Trying to go sugar free now since the first of the year. I love your site. 🙂

    • Cari,

      If you soak the dates first, they tend to get a little softer and easier to blend. Good luck on your sugar-free journey!

  158. I just made these brownies, and I didn’t use any sweetener and loved the bitter chocolate taste. I made it into a dessert with strawberries and SF whip and it was delicious…great snack you could feel guilt free about. Thanks so much, love your site.

    • oh I should also say I added some fiber powder to them just to give a little extra nutrition…turned out great.

  159. I’m on an elimination diet to figure out some food allergies, so I love the prospect of this recipe! I plan to sub the eggs with flax. But I can’t have chocolate on this diet. Have you tried carob? Do you think it would be as good??

    • Amber,

      Good luck on your diet! I haven’t tried carob, but you could definitely try it. I don’t know if it would be good or not. Let me know if you try it!

  160. I just made these, and I’m not sure what I did wrong, but they turned out very poorly. I followed the recipe exactly and added the 3 tablespoons of flax meal that you suggested, the 3 droppers-full of NuNaturals stevia, and 1/4 cup each of chocolate chips and chopped walnuts. I have a lot of experience with sugar-free, paleo, and healthy baking, but these were tasteless. My whole family tried them and didn’t like them either, so I ended up tossing them even though I hate to waste food. Sorry!

  161. Your blog is so inspiring. I have made these twice. Once with 1 egg, 3 dates, 1/4 cup peanut butter, 1/4 cup almond butter, and 15 drops of vanilla stevia. They came out more like molten lava chocolate souffle than brownies but still amazing! I just made them again subbing tahini for the almond butter, using 3 dates, 30 drops vanilla stevia, and adding an extra teaspoon of carob powder since I don’t really love tahini. These came out amazing too. Again more souffle like but soooo delicious. Totally ate like 1/4 of the pan. Oh and yeah I also added chopped 85% chocolate. On such a chocolate high now. Love it! Hope I can kick my sweet tooth one day like you. I am so addicted, ugh.

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