Here we go, brownies, they seem so boring and normal and aren’t there a billion brownie recipes out there already? (This version from my girl Sarah has me wanting to try them next). Growing up, when my mom and I craved something specific, it was usually chocolate. Sometimes chocolate chips or a chocolate bar would do the trick, but I also have memories of a quick brownie box mix being pulled out, mixed up and popped into the oven for a fast batch of brownies. Boxed brownies do the trick in a pinch, but now that I’ve got a good amount of baking experience under my belt, I’ve found it’s worth the extra time to make a batch from scratch. So, it was time to find my own perfect brownie recipe, without butter or eggs. Impossible? No way!

Within the last couple of years of experimenting with vegan/healthy (er) baking, I’ve had a hard time replicating a batch of brownies that I really, truly enjoyed. Each batch either comes out too dry or too crumbly, not quite fudgy or moist (that word, I know!) enough and not deemed to be a batch worth wasting frosting over. I was starting to give up hope on finding a solid, easy recipe to crown with the ‘perfect vegan brownie’ title. Behold, the recipe that changed my mind! The frosting is modified from the vegan chocolate baking queen herself, Fran Costigan, and isn’t detrimental, but extra frosting never hurt anyone. Be sure to keep an eye on the brownies, over baking can cause them to become too dry and will lose that fudgy texture, so as a rule of thumb, I underbake my brownies just slightly to prevent this from happening. Happy Monday, here’s to brownies!