Rich Cocoa Brownie Bites

This post was created as part of my ongoing partnership with Stonyfield. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.

Bust out your favorite cocoa powder and satisfy your brownie cravings with this super rich, bite-sized chocolate-packed dessert.

Is there anything that smells better than a batch of brownies baking in the oven? Warm, chocolatey goodness… I’m a big fan.

So when Stonyfield sent over a box of goodies from a few of their fellow B Corps in celebration of their recent certification, I figured homemade brownies were in order!

Now, I find it tricky to make brownies from scratch that can hold their own against my favorite box mixes. So I turned to Alton Brown for some guidance.

One major change I made to Alton’s brownie recipe was to get rid of the butter. Instead, I used a mix of my favorite butter flavored coconut oil and some of Stonyfield’s 100% Grassfed Plain Yogurt.

I even used some of that coconut oil to grease the pan. It spread super easily and was a nice change from the typical vegetable shortening that I use in baking. I also substituted half of the flour with King Arthur Flour’s 100% Whole Wheat Sprouted Flour.

Make sure you use good quality cocoa powder here. It makes all the difference! I had some partial bags of a few cocoa powders that I love in my pantry, so I used some of each for this recipe.

I also used up the rest of my coconut sugar, which was great mixed with the granulated and brown sugars. I always love finding a (delicious) home for partial containers of ingredients, and this recipe really cleaned house for me.

I didn’t even bother sifting any of the ingredients since I was short on time. It still worked out really well, and the resulting brownies were ridiculously rich and delicious.

So what’s all this B Corp talk, and why should we care?

The short answer is: it’s a global movement of people using business as a force for good.

It’s businesses in the for-profit world looking out for more than their bottom line – they’re working toward higher standards of social and environmental responsibility, accountability, and transparency, so consumers can feel good about making the decision to support them.

From the B Corporation website:

B Corps are for-profit companies certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.

Today, there is a growing community of more than 1,600 Certified B Corps from 42 countries and over 120 industries working together toward 1 unifying goal: to redefine success in business.

Here’s a bit about it from the Stonyfield website:

Certified B Corporations^® meet the highest standards of verified overall social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability, and aspire to use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.

At Stonyfield, we already think about the impact of everything we do–from what’s in the cup and how it’s made, to how it gets to you. We’ve been on a mission to create food that’s good for us, our kids and the environment all along. We don’t have all the answers, but we believe it’s important to take care of the world around us to make food that you can feel good about feeding your family.

I was thrilled to learn that many brands that I already know and love have been B Corp Certified. Brands like Preserve, Pukka, Purely Elizabeth, King Arthur Flour, Method, and Pete and Gerry’s are all on the list, as is the one and only Ben & Jerry’s.

It can be hard to know who to trust, especially when it comes to big corporations.

You know, “The Man” and all.

So seeing companies put themselves out there, being forthcoming, and showing the public the actual things that they’re doing to improve the way they do business is a breath of fresh air.

Are your favorite brands on the list? You can find out, as well as learn learn more about all things B Corp at www.bcorporation.net.

And if you’re looking for a dessert recipe to knock your socks off, be sure to make these brownies!

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