Celebration Sunday: The First Camping Trip of 2014

To be honest and upfront with you, this isn’t my camping trip. However, it’s definitely still cause for celebration! The weather has been glum, stormy, cold, and not May-like. Today it was sunny and we finally had a chance to see how green everything’s become from all of the rain. Honestly, after a long winter and spring, it looks like someone spray-painted everything neon green. I love it.
Russell and two friends are in Ponca, Nebraska for a mountain bike race and decided to make a weekend of it. To make it a little extra special for them, I made s’more brownies, but on the lighter/healthier side so they wouldn’t be weighed down before the race.
Piled high with graham cracker shards, mini chocolate chips, marshmallows, and coconut (not traditional, but why the hell not?!), these do not really scream ‘I’M GOOD FOR YOU’ – but as far as pastries go, they’re not bad. There’s no added fat in the batter itself and it uses whole wheat flour. Healthy, right? Also, they’re dairy-free, which is great news for gals like me.
Spring is here, we’re all ready to be outside to reconnect with each other and with the land. It’s a great time to be alive! I hope you’re celebrating this new season, wherever you are.
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Sidenote: I have a real thing for fresh marshmallows, so this was also a good excuse for me to gorge myself on those fluffy little nuggets.

Recipe

3/4 c whole wheat flour (gluten-free or all-purpose work well, too)

Scant 1/2 c granulated sugar

1/3 c cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

6 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce

3 egg whites

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 c mini marshmallows

1/3 c mini chocolate chips, or chopped chocolate

2 graham crackers, broken into pieces

1/4 c coconut flakes or pieces (unsweetened, raw)

Preheat your oven to 350F. Lightly grease an 8″ springform pan.
Pro Tip: I like to flip the base insert of the springform pan upside-down. I do this so, when you are slicing and removing the pieces of whatever you bake, you don’t have to dig down into the base. It’s only 1/4″ down there, but trust me, it makes a huge difference – and makes your pan more difficult to clean.
Mix the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium-sized bowl and whisk together. Add in the applesauce, egg whites, and vanilla extract. Mix it all together – starting with a whisk, then switching to a spatula. Do not overmix! Pour into your prepared pan and bake for about 10 minutes, or until just set. Dump on the marshmallows, chocolate, graham crackers, and coconut flakes – kind of press them into the brownies so they won’t fall off. Bake for another 5-7 minutes, or until the marshmallows are melted and toasty – because these would not resemble s’mores if the marshmallows didn’t get toasty!
Let these cool for a few minutes, then slice into wedges. I waited only about 10 minutes to unmold these and cut into them. If you wait too long, the marshmallows will get a bit too crunchy to cut through. Enjoy!