These rich and gooey Vegan Toasted Coconut Chocolate Chunk Brownies have chewy coconut and melty chocolate infused in every bite, making for an amazing dairy-free dessert!
You're not going to believe me but...
...I think Chinese is easier than English.
Crazy right?! I never thought I say that, but the longer I study Chinese the more Chinese makes sense and the less English does. Yes, English isn't a tonal language, so it has that in its favor. Yet, English has so many irregular verbs and pronunciations. My teacher will often ask me a question about an English word or phrase and as I try to explain to her the correct answer I realize how nonsensical it seems. Let me share some funny--and to any nonnative English speaker--crazy sentences and pronunciations with you. I even found some of these sentences hard to understand at first! (I found these sentences here and here!)
The bandage was wound around his leg to cover his wound.
Startled, the dove dove into the bushes.
She shed a tear when she saw the tear in her dress.
A seamstress and a sewer fell down into the sewer.
After a number of Novocain injections, my jaw got number.
I spent last evening evening out a pile of dirt.
Since there’s no time like the present, this is the perfect time to present the present.
So. Did you pick up on all the similar spellings but different pronunciations? Yeah, try explaining some of those inconsistencies to a non-English speaker. Hence the reason I'm not a teacher, especially an English teacher!
Chinese on the other hand is very logical in my mind. All Chinese characters (or syllables) have their own individual meaning, so when multiple characters (or syllables) are combined they make a completely new word. Let me give you some examples:
Cauliflower: spelled hua cai, means flower vegetable.
Flashlight: spelled shou dian tong, means hand electricity container.
Diarrhea: spelled la du zi, means pull belly
Phone: spelled shou ji, means hand machine
Laptop: spelled dian nao, means electric brain
See? Not to hard right? Of course, not all Chinese words are this simple to remember, but daily in class I'm learning new things about the Chinese language that makes me love it more. I feel so blessed to have this opportunity to study it! Now, if only I could be fluent...
Baby steps.
Another logical combination (wow, good segue Faith) is putting toasted coconut and chocolate chunks into brownies. Oh yes. These Vegan Toasted Coconut Chocolate Chunk Brownies are to die for! As you can see from my Vegan Toasted Coconut Chocolate Chunk Muffins, I'm on a big coconut and chocolate kick. They just pair so beautifully together. The recipe for these brownies is actually a spin off of Hot for Food's Brownie Bites. Instead of using vegan butter and cane sugar, I used coconut oil and coconut sugar. I also swapped out some of the white flour for spelt flour and added toasted shredded coconut instead of walnuts. Lastly, instead of chocolate chips I used a chopped up a chocolate bar, making for some large, gooey chocolate chunks all throughout these brownies.
The result: PERFECTION!
These are definitely the best brownies I've ever made and possibly ever eaten, so I really hope you try these out! If you do give these Vegan Toasted Coconut Chocolate Chunk Brownies a try, I'd love to know your thoughts! Leave a comment below or take a picture and tag #theconscientiouseater on Instagram so I can see your creation!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Toasted Coconut Chocolate Chunk Brownies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 flax eggs 2 tablespoons ground flax seed + 6 tablespoons water
- 1 cup flour*
- ⅓ cup cocoa**
- ½ cup coconut oil
- 100 g chocolate bar divided***
- ¾ cup coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup shredded coconut toasted
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 350 °F. Spray 12 muffin cups with cooking spray or line them with silicone muffin liners.
- In a small bowl, xix together the ground flaxseed and water and set aside to thicken.
- Prepare your chocolate bar by chopping it into chunks. You'll be melting half of the pieces and stirring in the remaining half towards the end of the preparation.
- In a larger bowl, whisk together the flour and cocoa powder until smooth.
- In a small sauce pan over low heat, melt the coconut oil. Once the coconut oil is melted, turn off the heat and add in ½ of the chocolate bar chunks. Stir until fully combined and smooth. Add the coconut sugar and vanilla extract to the oil and chocolate mixture and stir to combine.
- Add the chocolate liquid into the flour and cocoa mixture, as well as the 2 flax eggs. Stir until just combined.
- Fold in the remaining ½ of the chocolate bar chunks and the toasted coconut.
- Add 2 tablespoon of batter to each muffin cup.
- Bake for about 10-12 minutes, checking often towards the end of cooking as baking times may vary.
- Allow the brownies to cool completely before removing from the pan and serving.
Notes
**You can also sub cacao powder for the cocoa powder.
***I love Lindt 90% dark chocolate!
meg says
can i use all spelt flour for this recipe? 🙂
Faith says
I haven't tried it yet, but I don't see why not!
Beth says
Awesome! I've made these exactly as the recipe states and haven't had any problems. Batter is thick. But they cooked and set up fine. Fudgey deliciousness!
Faith says
Thanks so much for sharing this Beth! I'm so glad they worked for you as we love this recipe! So rich and decadent!
Kristin says
I consider myself an above average cook, but these did NOT work for me. The batter was so thick that I had to add 2 tbsp. soy milk to it. I used the spoon and level (not scoop and level) method for measuring the flour so I didn't have too much flour. And the recipe still didn't make 12 - more like 10. There is way too much coconut oil, the brownies about fried, not baked. And there is no rise. Having said all that, I will try making these one more time. I always like to test a recipe more than once. Has anyone else on the blog made these? Did they work for you? On the plus side, the batter is delicious.
Faith says
Kristin, I'm so sorry to hear this! It's never fun to spend time baking something and have it not work. I live at a high altitude, so baking time could vary. Try taking them out much earlier?! I hope the second round works and again I'm sorry they didn't work for you!
Andrew says
Mine had too much oil too. The bottoms were super greasy. Let them sit on a paper towel and it helped. I think I'm gonna retry with less oil, and also they were a bit dry. Did the soy milk help?
Faith says
Sorry to hear about your problems! I think baking for less time and letting them set in the pan before I removed them really helped me!
Andrew says
Thanks! I did forget to mention that they were still super good! I'm excited to make them again with a few tweaks 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Faith says
That's great to hear Andrew! Thanks for sharing and I hope your adaptions work out better for you!
Amy B says
Hi Faith,
These brownies look amazing and I can't wait to try them. This may seem like a silly question but because I'm not vegan and have never made a vegan recipe I'm just not sure. Can I substitute the flax eggs for regular eggs? Thanks for this wonderful looking recipe!!
Amy
Faith says
Hey Amy! I'm glad you want to give this recipes a try! And that's definitely not a silly question. I've actually only ever substituted flax eggs for eggs, and not the other way around, so I can't give you a definite answer. I'd think it'd be okay, but I'm not sure. I say go for it! If you do, let me know if it works for you!
Joy says
This recipe looks incredible! I love brownies and really want to make yours. And I love those meanings of the Chinese words. Those are great! And you're right -- English is a confusing language.
Faith says
Thanks so much Joy!! I hope you can try out this recipe. We LOVED these brownies!
Yo Mama says
I have got to get some coconut sugar! iHerb 🙂 When you spoke of how much you are enjoying learning Chinese, I was reminded of you learning to count to ten in any number of languages when you were young. Counting in different languages was probably a harbinger of learning Chinese while living in China 🙂
These brownies look amazing.
Faith says
Yeah you do!! But don't worry, you can use regular sugar instead. Also, I'm sure all purpose gluten free flour should work (although I've never tried it) for your gluten free friends! And I completely forgot about my language goals! I gotta get back on that;)
Debbie says
These brownies look amazing!! Could I sub the flour with a gluten free all purpose flour?
Faith says
Thanks Debbie! I haven't made these with gluten free all purpose before, so I can't say for sure, but I've found in the past that gluten-free all purpose usually works pretty well when substituted for regular flour. If you try it, please let me know how it turns out so I can add it to the notes!
Beth says
Are these low fat, low calorie or do you know? If not, what's a good website for that with desserts? Thx
Faith says
Hi Beth! These are actually one of my more decadent desserts, so no, they're not low-fat or low-calorie. I have lots of other desserts that may interest you or check out Chocolate Covered Katie's website！
Cayanne Marcus @healthyezsweet says
Ahh I've been wanting to learn Chinese for a while now! I speak English & Spanish and I feel like with the third language under my belt I'd be unstoppable. Great to know it makes more sense than English; I'm just worried about my pronunciation! Those brownies look divine BTW. Sorry my segue wasn't as awesome as yours ;D
Faith says
Do it Cayanne!! It's challenging at first, but get's easier the longer you study...at least with the method we're using, which I highly recommend. Haha, and your segue was perfect:)
MC says
Be careful of English mistakes in your text. I started reading and after I spotted two spelling mistakes, that was enough to lose my attention... I will try your recipe though!
Faith says
Thanks for the heads up! I try to proof read my posts, but sometimes I don't do a good job! I'll be more careful from now on!
L says
Wow. What a snobby comment.
People make mistakes, it's life. You don't though, right?
Faith says
Ah no biggie:) Thanks for your grace though!
Kate says
I love the ingredient list here! Brownies are my favorite dessert and I can eat toasted coconut by the handful.
Faith says
Oh good! Glad you like these and I hope you try them cause they're amazing!
Cora says
Perrrfecctt for my brownie craving heart. Coconut oil and coconut sugar...fabulous. Well done!
Faith says
Oh good Cora!! Glad they're up your alley. I really hope you make them cause they are the BOMB!!!
Natalie | Feasting on Fruit says
English is crazy! I'm so happy I don't have to learn it as a second language, I'd probably just give up and declare it complete non sense. Now chocolate, that's a universal language 🙂 Dense fudgey chewy little brownies like this mean happiness no matter what language you speak!
Faith says
Haha so true!! I've been baking up a storm for my Chinese friends and they definitely LOVE chocolate:)
Kat says
Oh my lorddddddd these look fabulous!
Chewy, melty, delicious bites of goodness. Need to make these now!
Faith says
Yeah, they're pretty amazing:)
Alyssa @ renaissancerunnergirl says
Definitely trying to make these this weekend. My boyfriend (also Brett's) parents are coming into town, and not only is his mom gluten free like me, she's also dairy free and (mostly) egg free. They seem perfect! Also, I was not following you on Instagram either, how did that happen? 🙂
Faith says
Your bf's name is Brett?! Now way!! Ah, yes! They'd love them! Let me know how gluten free flour works!
Leah M @ love me, feed me says
English is such a complicated and weird language, I spend a lot of time thinking about that haha! Seriously in love with these beauties!! I've been craving brownies lately and these are just on another level!!
Faith says
Seriously!! Glad I'm not the only one that thinks about how weird it is:) and these brownies are decadent. Definitely make them!!!
Sarah @ BucketListTummy says
I am all about coconut and brownie, given my recipe today too! These look amazing...pinned for later!
Faith says
So good right?! I need to go check our your recipe now too! Hope you can make these, cause they're incredible!
Marina @ Snackie Bird says
Hah, I always think that Chinese is one of the most hard language! English is my second language and I make mistakes all the time but I am trying my best 😀 Times in English is the most difficult for me 😉
Faith says
It definitely is Marina, but I think like all languages and subjects it gets easier the more you learn! And your English is wonderful! I'm always so impressed with anyone that can speak more their their heart language. Interesting about times too!