Vegan Coconut Flour Brownies (vegan, gluten free, sugar free)

I have been obsessed with pink lately! Not sure if it's because Valentine's Day is coming up or what but I used to not like pink at all! But I have to say, the new obsession is quite welcome.

These brownies are so healthy you won't believe it! I have been looking hard for a vegan recipe that uses coconut flour but they are so hard to find as coconut flour generally needs a lot of eggs to bind.

This recipe uses lots of flax seeds instead of eggs which works well. You may taste some grittiness from the flax if you make your own like I do but the frosting will mask this.

I adapted this recipe from Has Fit (which by the way has amazing workout videos!) and made my own frosting. The brownies are refined sugar free but the frosting is not. If you want to make these sugar free you can omit the frosting.

I like to make my own coconut butter by blending shredded coconut with a little bit of salt in a food processor until it's creamy! This goes great for recipes or drizzling on to pancakes, oatmeal etc.

If you don't have lingonberry jam, you can substitute this for raspberry or strawberry jam. I think cranberry juice would also work well but you may have to omit the almond milk.

You can make the frosting ahead and refrigerate it if needed. You will however, need to wait a few minutes for it to soften as the coconut butter will harden in the fridge.
If you don't have a heart shaped muffin tin, you can use a regular muffin tin. You could also bake these in a 8X8" pan (adjust baking time. It will probably be 20-25 minutes). Allow it to cool before removing the brownies from the pan and then cut out hearts with a heart shaped cookie cutter.

Vegan Coconut Flour Brownies
Makes 12-15

For Brownies
5 tbsp ground flax seeds 
3/4 cup plus 3 tbsp of water
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
3/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp almond milk (plus more if needed)

For Frosting
1/4 cup coconut butter
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp lingonberry jam*
2 tbsp almond milk

Directions
1. Whisk together flax seeds with your water and let sit for 10 minutes until sticky. Preheat your oven to 350F and oil a muffin tin
2. In a medium sized bowl, combine the coconut flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together your flax seed mixture, coconut oil, maple syrup, and almond milk.
4. Pour wet ingredients over dry and mix until combined
5. Spoon batter into muffin tin until they are a little less than half way full 
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes until brownies are set and lightly brown on the edges
7. As your brownies are cooling, get started on the frosting!
8. With a hand mixer, cream together coconut butter and coconut oil until combined 
9. Add in powdered sugar a little at a time and blend until fluffy
10. Beat in lingonberry jam and almond milk until light and fluffy. You should be able to spread it quite easily. Add in more almond milk if needed

*You can use raspberry or strawberry jam or even cranberry juice instead! If using juice omit the almond milk unless it ends up being necessary to reach the right consistency.