Habanero Laced Brownies

I am not sure what posessed me to include habaneros in my brownies, but that is exactly what I did.  I had recieved a bunch of the firey peppers from my co worker and have been finding creative ways to use them this week besides simply eating them and burning my face off.  Maybe it was a conversation I was having with a friend recently about whether or not habaneros would be good dipped in chocolate that lead to this sweet and spicy treat.  But I knew that chipotles are good in chocolate so why not habaneros! I told my Mother I was making these and she was very skeptical saying..."don't be offended if I don't like them!"  But that was far from the case in the end.  For these brownies, I was also going to try a new base, using coconut oil instead of the usual butter and agave nectar instead of sugar figuring it would be kinder to my system in the end.  If these turned out, they would be dairy free, and healther...so I could eat more and not feel so bad...which often happens when I make brownies, I eat too many.  I roasted my habaneros thinking they would taste better in the end if I did, and it would take away that raw flavor.  This ended up being a good choice!  They were fairly simple to whip up, and the hardest part for me this time was waiting for them to cool, because they smelled wonderful!  And of course I was crossing my fingers and hoping the 2 chilies wouldn't be too spicy in the batter!  While they were cooling, I wanted to come up with a fudgy frosting to complement the spicy bars.  I didn't want a ganache, because for some reason it doesn't agree with me, and I didn't want anything containing refined sugar or powdered sugar, because those often end up being too sweet.  What I came up with was an agave and cocoa based frosting that was incredibly glossy and creamy...you would never know that it contained no cream or refined sugar!  When all was frosted and it was time for a taste test, they were delicous!  Not too spicy, but definately an afterburn.  Remenicent of chipotle brownies, but better!  I would have never guessed that these were fairly healthy...and I had to keep sampling them of course!  My Mother who was skeptical ended up liking them, and she is not a big fan of spicy stuff.  If you get your hands on fresh habaneros you should try these out for something a little different than the standard chipotle brownie!  They would be wonderful with some mint ice cream:

Makes 24

Brownies:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp sea salt

1 cup coconut oil

2 habanero peppers, seeded, halved and roasted*

1 cup agave nectar

Frosting:

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup agave nectar

1 Tbsp coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the middle position.  Line a 9x13 inch pan with foil, and spray with non-stick spray.  Whisk together flour, baking powder, soda, and sea salt, and set aside.  In a large bowl, place chcocolate and oil.  Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between to melt the chocolate, until the chocolate and oil are smooth and well combined.  In a food processor, combine habaneros and agave nectar, and process until peppers are very finely chopped and well blended into the agave nectar.  Pour into the bowl with the chocolate mixture, along with vanilla and whisk to blend until well incorporated.  Add eggs, and whisk until well combined, then add the flour mixture and whisk until well blended.  Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 25-35 minutes until set, starting to pull away from the edges of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out fairly clean.  Do not overbake!  Let cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then lift foil out by the edges and cool on a rack.  To make frosting, combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth.  Spread over brownies.  Let set for at least an hour, then cut into 24 bars (or larger if you are like me).