Jessica Seinfeld’s Not Too Chocolate Brownies

Using my original Deceptively Delicious tactics, we add sweet potato and dates to serve up rich, delicious, fudgy gluten-, dairy- and grain-free brownies — with the bonus of some vitamin A. — Jessica Seinfeld

Not Too Chocolate Brownies

Makes 16

Ingredients

• Nonstick vegetable oil cooking spray
• 1 medium sweet potato, such as a garnet yam
• 10 Medjool dates, pitted
• About 3 cups boiling water, for plumping the dates
• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup super-fine almond flour, spooned and leveled
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for dusting
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ cup dark chocolate chips, melted

Directions

Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray an 8-inch square metal baking pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom and up two opposite sides with parchment paper, leaving 1-inch overhangs.

Prick the sweet potato a few times with the tines of a fork. Place on a small rimmed sheet pan and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until very tender. When cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh and measure 3/4 cup; save any remaining sweet potato for another use. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.

Jessica Seinfeld's "Not Too Sweet" shows readers that healthy eating need not be a chore or a bore.

Courtesy Birch Public Relations

Bake with Jessica

Seinfeld shared two recipes from Not Too Sweet with AARP members.

Sweet Potato Snacking Cake with Butterscotch Glaze

The maple syrup and sweet potato combo makes this snacking cake hard to resist.

Not Too Chocolate Brownies

Sweet potato and dates make these brownies rich, delicious and fudgy.

Put the dates in a small mixing bowl. Cover with the boiling water by 1 inch and let stand for about 10 minutes, or until very soft. Drain and shake out excess water.

In a food processor, puree the dates and sweet potato together until very smooth. Add the egg, olive oil and vanilla, and pulse several times to combine. Then add the almond flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt, and pulse in.

In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips in 10-second intervals, stirring each time, until melted and smooth, being careful not to overheat the chocolate. Or melt in a heat-proof glass bowl set over a pan of simmering water (don’t let the bowl touch the water).

Add the melted chocolate to the batter and pulse until well incorporated (be sure to scrape down the sides and into the corners).

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly over the bottom of the pan.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Place the pan on a wire cooling rack and let cool completely. Grab the edges of the parchment and lift the brownies onto a cutting board.

Dust with cocoa powder. Slice into squares and serve. Keep stored, tightly wrapped, for up to 4 days.

Excerpted from Not Too Sweet: 100 Dessert Recipes for Those Who Want More with Just a Little Less by Jessica Seinfeld. Copyright © 2024 by Jessica Seinfeld. Interior photography © Mark Weinberg. Reprinted by permission of Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC