Fudgy, healthy little gluten free vegan brownie bites! Made with Among Friends Baking Mixes.
So you know those little brownie bites in the round plastic containers you see at the grocery stores? Target, Walmart, Wegman’s, Mejier, pretty much every grocery store with a bakery section has them. They’re hard to pass up, right? I remember when my mom would bring them home from Sam’s Club, it was pretty much the best day ever. And while you have good intentions to only have one little brownie, you (obviously) have two… or possibly even three… four? The things are basically equivalent to potato chips. Unfortunately those store bought brownie bites are also loaded with lots of unhealthy fat and sugars.
So what’s a girl to do when she wants a healthy, super easy and quick brownie bite recipe? She finds a mix. But not just any mix, it needs to be made with the “good stuff”.
how cute is their packaging though?!
Now as you might imagine, I am pretty particular about my baking mixes. For one, I pride myself on my homemade baked goods 😉 But two, I don’t want any fake sweeteners, or artificial food coloring or any other unnecessary ingredients a lot of companies like to add in there. I seriously get so mad looking at brownie mixes with artificial flavoring and red food coloring, like WHY?!
Thankfully some healthy baking mixes DO exist, and the Awesomely Fudgy Alec’s Brownie Mix from Among Friends turned out perfectly for these gluten free vegan brownie bites. The recipe traditionally calls for eggs and butter (or oil), but I thought I’d test out a little vegan version for you all instead 😉
What you’ll need
- flaxseed meal
- water
- coconut oil
- banana (or applesauce)
- Alec’s Awesomely Fudgy Brownie Mix from Among Friends
First things first, allow the flaxseed and water to form a gel. While that is setting, I greased my muffin pan and also blended up the coconut oil and banana in my bullet*. You can also mash your banana well in a small bowl or measuring cup, then stir in the coconut oil. Either way works! Then you just add all of your ingredients in a bowl and stir together until combined.
Evenly disperse the batter into the greased muffin pan and bake for about 12 minutes or so. Check the middle with a toothpick and they’ll be done when the toothpick comes out fairly clean. It is alright if there are a few crumbs. Since these are vegan-friendly, no need to worry about them being underdone, they can be gooey goodness! 😀
But guys I couldn’t just stop there with these brownies. I wanted to show you the easiest (and possibly healthiest?!) glaze in the entire WORLD <- dramatic, yes.
MELTED COCONUT BUTTER
A little spoonful over each brownie, pop in the freezer to set, and you have yourself a little glazed brownie masterpiece!
I LOVED these straight from the fridge. So fudgy and dense, the perfect little two-bite treat!
Fudgy Gluten-Free Vegan Brownie Bites [ with Among Friends Baking Mixes ]
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 24 1x
- Category: dessert
- Method: oven
Ingredients
- 3 TBS flaxseed meal + 1/2 cup +1 TBS water
- 1 medium banana*, pureed or mashed very well
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled
- 1 package Among Friends Alec’s Brownie Mix
- optional:
- coconut butter for glaze
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together flaxseed and water. Let sit for about 5 minutes, until gel forms.
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease mini muffin pan with coconut oil, set aside.
- In small food processor/blender, add cooled coconut oil and banana, blend until smooth. You can also mash very well in medium bowl and stir in coconut oil.
- In a large bowl add brownie mix, banana/coconut oil mixture, and flaxseed gel. Stir together until fully combined. Batter should be thick and appear slightly glossy.
- Spoon batter evenly into greased muffin pan, about 3/4 full. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until tops look set and toothpick comes out with little crumbs. It’s okay to go underdone on these since they are vegan Allow brownie bites to cool in pan for about 5 minutes.
- Once cool, carefully remove brownie bites and place on lined baking sheet. If coconut butter is solid, melt in microwave for about 10 seconds until liquid-y. Place about 1 tsp of melted coconut butter over muffins using spoon or knife. Once you’ve covered your muffins with coconut butter, pop pan in freezer for about 5 minutes to set the “glaze”, and enjoy!
Notes
*If you don’t have a banana, you may also use about 1/2 cup applesauce in place.
Glazed brownies keep best in airtight container in fridge, while un-glazed brownies may be kept at room temperature. I find I like the fudgy texture of the brownies cold either way.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/24th
- Calories: 142
- Sugar: 0g
- Sodium: 7mg
- Fat: 3g
- Saturated Fat: 2g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 1g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 0g
- Cholesterol: 21mg
Now even though I WANTED to keep these all to myself, I was nice and brought some home over the weekend to share with the fam. They gobbled them right up, for sure. No one knew they were made healthier, either. My Dad even tried tricking my sister into not wanting them… She knew better though 😉
Enjoy my friends!
Among Friends sent me their brownie mix in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for my time. I loved getting to know their company more on the Blissful Bites podcast, and enjoyed showing my support for this local Michigan company. Use their store locator to see where you can get their mixes!
NOTE: This post contains Amazon & Nikki’s Coconut Butter affiliate links. Purchasing products listed through the links comes at no extra charge to you, but I will receive a small commission. Thank you for supporting Fit Mitten Kitchen!
jill conyers says
Ashley you never cease to amaze me with your nutritious creations. Looks so so good!
Ashley says
Aw thank you Jill!
Ellen @ My Uncommon Everyday says
These look insanely perfect! I’m picky about baking mixes, too, but I love that this doesn’t have sketchy ingredients 🙂 And, uh, I’ve so been there with eating more brownie bites than you should. I can pass up a 10th potato chip, but probably not a 10th brownie bite…
Ashley says
Yes exactly! Pass on the chips, bring on the brownie bites!
Sam @ PancakeWarriors says
Umm give me 5 and we will call it dinner!! Yes yes yes! Love the coconut butter frosting – genius!
Ashley says
Thanks Sam!
Emily says
I totally agree with you about liking to find high quality baking mixes or homemade, although I do admit, that sometimes a Duncan Hines is so easy. And I do like it… :o) These? They look way better than the brownie bites at the store, and I”m imagining that taking them out of the fridge would taste like biting into fudge. I know how the ‘goodies’ battles go. It’s actually kind of rewarding knowing that people like your creations so much. It’s all in good fun.
Ashley says
Haha, a Duncan Hines is definitely a classic and what I grew up on! My dad loveess brownies and he definitely would opt for the special dark 🙂
Emilie @ Emilie Eats says
These are just so adorable!! I wish I could pop a few right through the screen. 😉 Those baking mixes sound awesome!
Ashley says
Waiting for the day that will happen! It is bound to with technology these days, right!??
Sarah | Well and Full says
These brownie bites look AH-MAZING! I love the glaze too 🙂
Ashley says
Thank you Sarah!
Shannon says
These are so darn easy! I need to find that baking mix!
Ashley says
You really do! Hope you can find it 🙂