Food Friday: vegan brownies!

Let's just say these brownies are delicious. I'm just going to put that out there right away... you need to know what you're getting into. Right now you're thinking, I'm going to give these vegan brownies a shot because they're healthy-ish and I want chocolate. But you don't know. You don't know that they are actually the best brownies you will ever have. You are unaware that this no-bake, 4-ingredient brownie batter with a 3-ingredient icing will be the death of any summer-living healthy-eating pipe dream you had. Now you've been warned, so please, enjoy.

BROWNIE   1/2 cup cocoa powder 2 cups hazelnuts 1 cup pitted dates 1/4 cup maple syrup

ICING   1/4 cup cocoa powder 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp maple syrup 1 medium avocado ...

This recipe is definitely much easier if you have a legitimate food processor. However, my little wannabe did me just fine. If you do have a food processor, pulse the hazelnuts until finely ground into a flour. Next, add in your dates, 1/2 cup cocoa powder and 1/4 maple syrup processing into a thick dough that sticks together.

If you don't have a nice, big food processor, do the same but in bunches that your little wannabe can handle. Slowly but surely. Don't get impatient, it's definitely worth it. I did the hazelnuts first, set them aside and then did the dates. Next I tossed the cocoa and maple syrup in with the dates and then began sprinkling in the hazelnuts. Just when I thought everything was lost, I tossed everything in a bowl and finished up with my hands. It looked perfect. 

Pack the dough into a ball and then roll it out between two sheets or parchment, shaping it to be cut into brownies. With a sharp knife cut the dough into equal sized rectangles. With the extra dough, re-form into a ball and repeat. 

I halved the recipe when I did it, so you'll likely have a lot more to roll our than what's pictured above.

Make the icing by blending the avocado, cocoa and maple syrup. Blend until velvety smooth and adjust the sweetness to your liking. Once the icing is ready, frost the brownies stacking pieces by two. Garnish with crushed hazelnuts.