Sweet Potato Chili Brownies

I ran across a recipe for Paleo Sweet Potato Brownies on Pintrest that looked yummy! But being Paleo, there were some wacky ingredients that even my local Whole Foods didn't have, so I needed to get creative with substitutions. The result turned out good and my picky eater, who I told the ingredients to, loved the brownies made with avocado and sweet potato!

 INGREDIENTS

Cake
• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 cup sweet potato puree
• ½ cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 4 Medjool dates, pited
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup flour
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ cup pecans, coarsely chopped
Icing
• 4 Medjool dates, pited
• 2 packets (1.15 oz) Justin's chocolate hazelnut butter
• ¼ cup c0coa powder
• 2 tbsp honey
• ½ cup full fat canned coconut milk

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 375F. Grease a 9” square baking pan.
2. In the bowl of your food processor or blender, combine avocado, sweet potato puree, unsweetened applesauce, dates and vanilla and process until smooth and creamy. Add cacao powder and again, process until smooth.
3. Add eggs, one at at time, processing until smooth between each addition.
4. In a large mixing bowl, add flour, salt, chili powder, and baking soda and stir until well combined then add the mixture from your food processor and mix until smooth.
5. Add pecans and mix them in.
6. Transfer to your prepared pan. Spread batter evenly and bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out almost clean.
7. Set brownies on a wire rack to cool for 15-20 minutes then transfer to fridge to cool completely, about an hour.
8. Prepare the icing by adding all the ingredients to the bowl of your food processor and process until smooth and creamy.
9. Pour over brownies and spread evenly with a spatula.
10. Place the brownies in the fridge and chill completely. Cut into squares. Store in the fridge