Raw Brownie Batter that’s egg-free, paleo, and perfect for whipping up any time a chocolate craving hits!
People ask me all the time what I do with the food I make, and does it all get eaten.
First, I can assure you that everything gets eaten (I hate to waste, even things that might be thought of as nothing more than compost). If it’s a savory dish, it was most likely brunch, lunch, or dinner for Mike and/or I, or occasionally it was something we served to guests (that is, if it’s a dish that can be made ahead of time, since for some reason I’m still not comfortable taking photos of my food in front of guests at my own dinner parties, even though I have no problem taking photos of my food at restaurants…just weird like that I guess, lol!).
I know a lot of my recipes make a relatively large amount of food, which works out well for us because we love leftovers (even after they’ve been frozen)…or maybe I should be more specific, and say that I love having a few nights off cooking and Mike doesn’t mind eating leftovers.
On the other hand, most of the sweets I make are immediately gifted to family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. Don’t get me wrong, I always taste what I make (quality control, of course ;) ), but then I immediately send it away because aside from a select few desserts, Mike really isn’t much of a sweet tooth, and although I have a huge sweet tooth, I really don’t indulge it very often (girlish figure and all that nonsense). This means that at any given time, we typically don’t have sweets just lying around the house. But that isn’t to say that I don’t get the occasional longing for a sweet treat.
On such occasions, I usually do one of two things: grab a small piece of dark chocolate, or whip up a little something to satisfy my craving. What do I whip up, you wonder? Ok, here’s where a little confession comes in…I’m a cookie dough/cake batter lover from way back. In fact, there are some cookies (ahem…chocolate chip) for which I actually prefer the dough over the cookies. So, what I typically make to satiate a craving for sweets is a two-serving portion (one for now, one for tomorrow) of some kind of raw cookie dough (all egg-free and safe to eat raw).
In addition to tasting pretty fantastic, there are a couple other things I love about my raw doughs. They’re quite a bit healthier than their bakeable counterparts, since they’re fairly high in protein and can be sweetened naturally. If you have allergy concerns, not to worry because most of the varieties I make are gluten-free and can also easily be made vegan by using your favorite kind of vegan milk. Maybe the thing I love most is that since I make them in two-serving portions, there isn’t a ton of leftovers sitting around the house to tempt me.
If you have a couple minutes to spare out of your afternoon and are looking for a little healthy chocolate indulgence, I highly recommend giving this recipe a try!
- 1½ oz (43 g) unsweetened chocolate, melted
- 4 Medjool dates, pitted (soaked in hot water and drained if not soft)
- 4 tablespoons tahini
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 pinch instant espresso powder
- 2 to 4 tablespoons plain, unsweetened almond "milk" (or any kind of milk you like)
- Shredded coconut
- Chocolate chips
- Raw, unsalted nuts or seeds
- Chia seeds
- Hemp hearts
- Fresh berries
- Mash the dates into the melted chocolate, and then stir in the tahini, maple, cocoa, vanilla, salt, and espresso powder. Gradually add milk until it reaches your desired consistency (I like mine pretty thick).
- Serve immediately, or refrigerate up to 2 days before serving (the batter will thicken as it chills; let it come to room temperature before serving).
Update (January 26, 2016): I made this dish again and snapped a few pictures, so I decided to update the photos in this post. As a point of comparison to show how much my photography has evolved, I kept one of my original photos (below).
I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
I have a small bowl chilling in the fridge right now – I cannot wait to try it!! I skimped on the tahini (all I have is unhulled tahini which has a VERY strong flavour) so added a tiny bit more milk than I would have otherwise to make up. Fingers crossed the tahini doesn’t overpower the brownie factor!
Also, thanks for the “in the raw” recipes, you’ve made this Australian girl very happy for summer treats with easy-to-come-by ingredients :)
I cannot wait to try this! It looks ridiculous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Looks good, but how is it raw if you’re microwaving the chocolate?
Kathy, Great question! Actually, raw foodists believe that in order for a food to be considered “raw” it should not be heated to temperatures above the range 104 to 120F. Chocolate melts at a much lower temperature than even the low end of that range. Hope this helps! :)
Hi, what kind of tahini do you use? Can I assume it’s not the Sabra version?
Lauren, the only tahini I’ve seen made by Sabra isn’t pure tahini; it has other savory spices and flavorings (like garlic) added in, which is great for hummus but it is not what we want for this recipe. I’m not really picky about what brand of tahini I use, as long as it says “100% ground sesame” on the package; right now the brand that’s in my fridge is Cortas.
This is so creative. It looks delicious
What an indulgence! This could very well be the best dessert ever.
This really looks delicious. I’m not a big dessert maker, but this I can definitely handle.
This was absolutely amazing! I love dark chocolate and tahini but hadn’t made anything with both of them so thank your for the wonderful idea.
Wonderful idea…I have always been a cookie dough fan as well and love this :)
What a neat idea! I’m glad you decided to share this neat trick with us. Yum.
Fabulous idea! I loooove raw doughs myself, and thanks to you I just got a craving hehe :)
Whoa. This looks amazing. I need to make this soon!
I was just eating dried dates and pondering what I could do with them! What a decadent little treat this is Faith! I love that it is a small serving size – you are a genius!
I’m sending this to my daughter in law who is a raw dough junkie. :)
As a child…cake batter and cookie dough is what I looked forward to the most. That was way before the whole egg fear issue. To think that I may just be able to get that feeling again with your eggless doughs…mummm…love the ingredients you use.
Faith, about the picture taking thing…I’m totally with you. In truth, I would think it to be kind of tacky and slightly obnoxious
to take photos in front of guests that are hungry. I can appreciate my Hubby accepting food that is not at it’s perfect warmth…but I wouldn’t dare consider that for my guests.
Btw…Hubby and I are two incredible sweet tooths…easy on the sugar ;o) We’re sincerely growing together in more ways than one!
Ciao bella and have a great week,
Claudia