with beets! I know, I know. You are saying, jeez Katie, this is recipe number three with chocolate and beets. Cake, cookies, and now this. But folks, what is the line of thinking - you have to see or hear something seven times for it to sink in? So if this is only post number three on beets and chocolate, I bet you haven't even tried the cake and cookies yet and boy are you missing out. The interesting thing about all of this beet love is that before a year ago, I had never even tried a beet! Hard, rooty looking things, that turned into slimy looking pickled purply-red "eggs" in the fridge - gross! But organic beets, roasted in the oven, pureed and blended into a rich chocolate batter - yum! Beets are sweet, who knew? I will even eat some slices plain when I am cutting them for the blender.
So try this quick bread. Once you have the beets roasted and pureed it is quick to whip up and it is healthy for you because it has beets! Beets give you iron, which is a really good thing. Plus, you should feel so proud that your kids (and husbands) are eating beets and not complaining about it!
Sweet Beet Chocolate Quick Bread, adapted from this recipe
1. This recipe used 2-3 beets. I scrub them, pierce them with a fork, put them in a glass pan with some olive oil on the bottom of it, cover with foil, and bake at 400 for about 30-45 minutes, until soft. When they are cool, I puree them with a little water in the Vitamix.
2. Preheat oven to 350 F and grease a 9x5" loaf pan.
3. Mix 1 1/2 cups flour (I used whole wheat), 1/2 cup cocoa (I used Hershey's Special Dark), 1/2 t. salt, 1/2 t. baking powder, 1/2 t. baking soda, and 1 t. cinnamon.
4. Cream together 1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup maple syrup*. Add 2 eggs, one at a time.
5. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternating with 1 cup of buttermilk. I never have buttermilk, so I used 1 cup of raw milk with 2 T. of vinegar added, left to sit for several minutes. Blend until well combined.
6. Blend in the beets. I used about 3/4-1 cup of beet puree. If you're afraid of all that healthy goodness, use less. All the beets really do is make it more moist.
7. Pour into loaf pan and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle on top 1/2 cup of chopped pecans and 1/4 cup of chocolate chips or real chocolate. Return to oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. It might take a little bit longer because of the beets. If the top is getting browned, but the center is not done, lightly cover with a piece of aluminum foil and bake until done.
*If you don't have maple syrup, you can still make this bread. Just use 1 full cup of white sugar.
If you missed my other beet recipes, here are the cake and cookie recipes. You are probably on sugar cookie overload by now, so this bread is just what you need. Your sweet tooth will be happy because you are eating chocolate for breakfast, but your body will be thanking you for the dose of healthy goodness you are eating. Keeping you strong for another day of holiday merry making!
