Baking is Love: doterra peppermint chocolate-chip brownies.

Hi everyone!

I just finished my midterm exam yesterday! It was quite difficult, and that's why I had to be focused by the last weekend... and I'm so glad to have successfully done it and now be back to baking!.

Last month, I was contacted and being asked to make a healthier recipe for the doTERRA website! Soo extremely happy and at the same time feel honoured to get this opportunity, because I've been loving the doTERRA essential oils since the very first time I used it for my baking! And now, I can even create one recipe to be shared with many people all over the world. Grateful! :)

And from all the flavours they have (which I have tried so far), I personally love the Peppermint one amongst all. So, here I'm sharing with you the recipe of my Peppermint Chocolate Chip Brownies!

For you chocolate lovers... you may wanna enjoy everytime you eat chocolatey desserts, right? But sometimes, you feel guilty because they contain so much calories, and then you prefer a healthier one. Is it true? Don't worry! With this recipe, it's indeed healthier without reducing the chocolatey taste in it! Besides I used dark chocolate for the brownies, it also requires healthier oil and flour. I used the organic coconut oil and almond meal too.

The best texture of a brownies is that you'll find the texture soo chewy, gooey and fudgy. Brownies might not rise as much as other cake batters, but that's the speciality of a brownies itself. You want to have that "fudgy" or people often say their "cakey" texture.

This brownies is also loaded with extra chunks of dark chocolate chips for extra decadence! But if you find it chocolatey enough, you can substitute them into any kind of nuts. Chopped walnuts, pecan or even almonds are the best options.

If you wanna try a moist and chocolatey brownies with a bit of doTERRA peppermint flavour, and it's healthier than any other brownies you have eaten... Here's the recipe to follow!

Makes 16 servings.

Ingredients:

5 ounces (140 grams) bittersweet/dark chocolate

1/2 cup (120) organic coconut oil

1 cup (220 grams) light brown sugar

1/2 cup (50 grams) almond meal

1/4 cup (30 grams) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 large eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1-2 drops of doTERRA peppermint extract

100-150 grams dark chocolate chips

fresh strawberries (optional)

Directions:

1). Preheat the oven to 350 degree F (180 degree C). Line an 8x8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.

2). Melt the dark chocolate and cocoa oil in a saucepan over low heat, stir gently.

3). In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, almond meal, flour, salt and baking soda. Make a well in the center and add the beaten eggs, vanilla extract, doTERRA peppermint extract and melted dark chocolate mixture. Beat on low-medium for 2 minutes, until the batter begins to come together. Keep beating the batter (for a few minutes) until it thickens, becomes smooth and also glossy.

4). Stir in the dark chocolate chips, mix them with a wooden spatula (slowly and remember not to over-mix!) and spread the batter into the prepared baking pan.

5). Bake in the center of a preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the toothpick inserted to the center of the cake comes out clean. The top will crack a bit, like a flourless chocolate cake.

6). Remove the brownies from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for at least 15-20 minutes before slicing and serving.

7). Done and serve! ( I added fresh strawberries on top of the brownies to play a bit with colour!).

Enjoy!

Hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I enjoyed myself making it!