You know that old saying: “You can take the Captain Crunch out of the girl, but you can’t take the girl out of the 8th circle of hell also known as PMS”? That sugar-doused cereal used to be my go-to PMS treat in college. I wanted nothing but sweets, treats, and cheats for exactly ONE day out of the month. And you know what that coincided with…
‘Tis no exception in current times as my body tells me “give me all the nutrients” up until that ominous day. This month (yes, I just got that personal) I needed (not wanted)… needed…. chocolate. I’ve cut the real stuff out of my diet for the meantime as I’m eliminating all caffeine to keep my adrenals on the up and up.
Carob is the AIP answer to the late-night question “Do I or do I not run to the corner store to buy X Brand of deliciousness?” It may be a moral obligation in fact. Could a murderous, enraged streak erupt if you don’t? Then please run. Fast. [Sprint workout!] Or you can stick to your plan and make these babes.
I have not tried this recipe with fresh blueberries, but I don’t see why you couldn’t. The texture may be slightly different but it will still be delicious. The blueberries add moisture without adding a ton of coconut oil or lard for those of us who do not tolerate high density treats. No blueberry flavor is imparted though. Just be sure to measure the blueberries while frozen because they shrink when thawed!
There’s no way around it – you BEST serve these brownies with a scoop of vanilla coconut milk ice cream. I had them that way last week and they were just wonderful. And made me such a nicer person afterwards.
AIP PMS Brownies [Paleo]
Serves 4 | Prep Time 15 minutes | Bake Time 21-23 minutes
¾ cup frozen blueberries, thawed
½ cup + 2 tbsp Carob powder
¼ cup softened Coconut butter
¼ cup Coconut or maple sugar
1 tsp Cream of tartar
1/2 tsp Baking soda
¼ tsp Sea salt
Gelatin Egg (recipe in instructions)
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8×5 inch loaf pan lightly with coconut oil.
- Combine all ingredients except the gelatin egg in a high speed blender until smooth.
- Prepare the gelatin egg: Whisk together 1 tbsp gelatin and 1 tbsp tepid water. Vigorously whisk in 2 tbsp very hot water until the gelatin has dissolved. Pour gelatin egg into the blender and blend briefly until combined. The batter will look very dark and a bit drier than traditional brownie batters.
- Spoon batter into HALF the loaf pan. This creates 4 thicker brownies and are much more delicious than the thinner brownies created if you use the whole loaf pan.
- Bake for 21-23 minutes until the top of the brownies have formed a light crust and feel slightly firm.
- Let cool at least 15 minutes prior to eating. I really enjoy them cold out of the fridge with a scoop of coconut milk ice cream!
35 Responses
Thank you for listing out the cream of tartar and baking soda quantities as separate line items, (rather than one labeled grain free baking powder… that annoys me so much…haha) Anyways, these are GREAT. Perfect to calm the PMS monster. I subbed the extra two Tablespoons of carob powder with cricket flour (for some added protein and nutty flavor) and they turned out great. I also only used 1/2 the listed maple sugar amount. THANK YOU. (my husband thanks you too)
Awesome to hear that! What an interesting sub!
Do you think I could substitute the blueberries for dates?
Yes most likely!
How do you use *half* of the loaf pan? Do you put a “spacer” of some kind in the pan?
It’s a very thick batter so just use half so you achieve thick brownies. It works – promise! Or double the recipe for the whole pan – I just don’t need a whole pan of brownies that time of the month 😉
But HOW do you only use half of a loaf tin?? Like, physically how?
It’s a very thick batter so it just stays put. You could double the recipe and make a full tin but I PMS + an entire loaf pan of brownies isn’t my go-to choice hah
Can you sub the carob powder with cocoa powder 1:1 ratio for this recipe?
Yes you can! I love cocoa in this recipe too!
These are so good! I swapped out the coconut/maple sugar for two small medjool dates and it was plenty sweet. I also accidentally left out the two extra tablespoons of carob – but it was still very rich. I didn’t have any cream of tartar, so I used 2 teaspoons of lemon juice.
These come out nearly black in color due to the blueberries – they are gooey and moist and not at all dried out and crumbly. They are really good for PMS.
It was my first time making a gelatin egg – I was a bit nervous that it would give the brownies a weird taste, but you can’t taste it whatsoever.
Thank you Alaena!
Hi Iwona! Those subs sound delicious – carob is pretty sweet on its own so lowering the sugar is a good idea! I’ll have to try it with those subs!
Could I use maple syrup or honey instead of coconut sugar?
Yes but it’s liquid so the texture may be a little softer
I have a food intolerance to blueberries and don’t eat much fruit. Could I sub something in place of the blueberries, like coconut oil or pumpkin or something?
i have only made the recipe as written but I wouldn’t sub anything 1:1. You could try 1/2 cup pumpkin puree.
Late to the party in this reply, but I used cherries! I thought there were blueberries in the fridge, but there were just about a tablespoon left in the bag. I made an even swap in favor of frozen “dark sweet” cherries. Worked like a dream! I was hoping for some cherry flavor to come through, but using the sweet ones, it didn’t at all. I may try with tart cherries, but all that carob (or cocoa, for me) is a tough competitor for light flavors.
Hi,
Thank you for your research & testing.
I’ve got allergie sensitivities like crazy, the 2 that plague me the most are chocolate & dairy.
So I was wondering can I use 2 large eggs in this recipe in place of the gelatin eggs?
Most likely yes!
Any ideas on substituting coconut butter? I love these brownies, but recently found out I have issues with coconut. This healing journey has been a roller coaster ride of fun… hoping it’s just a sensitivity I’ve developed because of od on coconut everything, but…. time will tell. My point is do you think there might be a way to make these wonderful brownies without coconut? Thanks
You could try palm oil, (ethically sourced, of course) mixed with some tiger nut flour?
Amazing! These totally rival “real” brownies – right out of the box (haha)! I did swap for raw cacao, since it suits my diet, and the coconut sugar for two dates. I said bad words in front of my son upon taking a spoonful as soon as they were cooled. And he, a gluten, egg, dairy eater, called them “too chocolate”. Whatever, kid, you know nothing of some good PMS.
Also, Vitamix owes you a little something. After six weeks on a modified AIP as an allergy-elimination plan, it was this recipe that made me finally take the plunge. This recipe took half an hour for me to get barely passable in my Oster. Three years of abuse and it’s running like a champ, but I fear this diet will kill it off. I’m sending her to a more blender-light household lol.
Thank you for creating and sharing some really super recipes. I’ve been doing AIP since September and you have made it MUCH more manageable for me with recipes like this. Another recipe I’ve tried from your website, the Paleo sea-salt chocolate chip cookies (where I’ve subbed tiger-nut flour for almond flour), are just as good as the “real” thing. Again, thank you!
Would this work in a food processor? I only have a NutriBullet and no blender.
Yes it will!
Been on AIP for 9 months. Feeling better and do not plan to reintroduce any foods in the near future. So glad to have a good recipe that I can put in “rotation.” Even though I am on AIP, I still consider myself a gourmet – thank you for this recipe!
WOW! THIS IS PERFECT FOR ME JUST THE WAY IT IS!!!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!
I’m going to have to give this a shot, and since I’m trying to get the whole house on AIP we can definitely consume a double batch/full loaf pan LOL
Probably going to go with cherries like Katie said though, because I’m NOT a fan of blueberries generally, and my budget doesn’t allow for buying specialty ingredients for just one recipe.
I am beyond lazy and simply put the gelatin egg ingredients into my blender at the same time as all other ingredients, without first whisking the “egg”. My family loved how the brownies turned out.
Hey – whatever is the quickest way to get brownies on the table I’m all for!
These were amazing! Thank you!
What would you say is the shelf life in the fridge? Have you frozen them?
You could freeze well wrapped for a few months – I’d eat within a week in the fridge, if they last that long 🙂
These were great! I am new to carob as I am bitterly moving on from my fraught relationship with chocolate. I prefer dark/bitter chocolate so I find carob a little sweet. I will modify next time to add less sweetener. Overall though these are delicious refrigerated and very moist. Friends who eat chocolate said they were delicious and that it tasted like a nice fudge 🙂