Paleo Pistachio Brownies - Foodie Friday

Today, we have a guest post from the lovely Laura over at The Mrs Makes.  We both met Laura at Amy's wedding last May, in a pistachio dress no less!  Laura is probably the fittest person I know, when she posts 'before' pictures they are what I wish to get for my 'after' pictures whenever I plan to tone up!  Lately she's been following the paleo diet, something I've heard a lot about but have never tried.  I do know my friends with Crohn's disease find it helps keep their symptoms under control and a lot of the instagram pictures I've seen of paleo recipes look pretty tempting.  This one, even more so - it has chocolate in it, what's not to love?!  Also, I love that she's sent me a recipe with green bits in!  ;)

Paleo Pistachio Brownies:

These brownies are as sugar, grain and dairy free as they can be. They aren't as sweet as your usual brownies but 100% cacao makes them deliciously rich and sumptuous - you'll only need to cut them into small squares to get your brownie fix. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup almond flour/coconut flour
• 2 very ripe mashed bananas
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 4 ounces baking chocolate (100% cacao only)
• 7 Medjool dates (1/2-2/3 cup) pits removed
• 3 large eggs
• ½ cup coconut oil, melted
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup of pistachio kernels

Method:

1. In a food processor, combine almond flour, salt and baking soda
2. Pulse in squares of dark chocolate until the texture of coarse sand
3. Blitz the dates in until they've broken down and added to the sandy/crumb like texture
4. Whizz in the eggs and mashed bananas
5. Finally add in the coconut oil and vanilla until mixture is smooth
6. Transfer mixture to a greased 8 x 8 inch baking dish
7. Mixture will be very thick, smooth with a spatula and top with pistachios. You might have to poke them in a little. 
8. Bake at 180°C for 18-22 minutes
9. Optional - I like to drizzle mine with honey as soon as they leave the oven to glaze those pistachios a little. Non-processed, natural, organic honey please if you do this. 
10. Cool for 2 hours, then serve