Swamp Creature Lemon Matcha Brownies
It gets dark really early this time of year. I was walking my dog the other day around 6:30 pm, which is fully dark. I shined my flashlight off into the trees on the side of the trail, and was greeted by four glowing discs. Eyes, off in the trees, watching us. I’d like to think they were these spooky swamp creatures, covered in moss, always on the edge of forests and swamps, quietly and unblinkingly watching you traipse by. Until you got just a little too close… Then my lemon matcha brownies would reach out from the dark and grab you, smothering you in smooth and rich lemon brownies shoving crumbly matcha coconut topping down your throat. When brownies attack! In reality, it was two coyotes. Still pretty freaky in the dark, but more or less harmless to me. Read on, with less about coyotes and more about brownies.
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La Bête Noire
It’s not often I get to write about things unrelated to ingredients and food, so I take the chance when I get it. Let’s talk about one of the most famous swamp monsters, the Honey Island Swamp Monster, or in Cajun French, La Bête Noire (which incidentally translates to “the black beast, and is in fact a dessert. I can’t escape writing about food.). Honey Island Swamp is said to be home to a 500 lb. creature, who hides between the cypress trees. They’re said to be bipedal and at least 7 feet tall, with red or yellow eyes and a putrid odor. There have been recorded sightings of the Cajun Sasquatch since the early 1960’s. Most of those accounts were from lone individuals with nothing to back up their claims. However in the 1980’s, footage was discovered in the possession of one of the first people to have claimed to see the Honey Island Swamp Monster, Harlan Ford. You can see it here– about a minute and a half in a figure can be spotted through the trees. There have been other sightings, as well as possible footprints found in the area. There is even lore that the creature could be a science experiment gone wrong, even a cross between a chimpanzee and an alligator. If you want to learn a little more about our secretive Cajun friend, you can read this page. I am not much of a student of cryptozoology- I’m a bit of a skeptic. But I did learn from the Honey Island Swamp Monster that I got a few things wrong- notably, I should have made my brownies hominid-shaped, and that instead of lemon and matcha scent the goal was putrid. I’ll try to get it right next time.
How to Make Swamp Creature Matcha Brownies
This is a Halloween treat that tastes delicious and sophisticated, but is made spooky with the addition of two googly eyeballs. To make this recipe, we whip up a simple lemon brownie batter. It’s different from a cake batter as it doesn’t have any leavening agent- because of that they’re not light and fluffy but instead silky and rich. The batter is made with flour, sugar, vegan butter, salt and vanilla extract. We also use flax meal to help bind the batter, and the juice and zest of a lemon for flavor. You don’t need to be super precise about the lemon, but look for a larger one with about 3 tbsp. of juice. Mix up the batter, and spread it evenly in a glass dish. We’re also going to make a crumble topping layer with coconut and matcha powder that offsets the sweeter, more sour lemon layer. The easiest way to mix up the matcha crumble really is with your hands, since you can rub the butter into the flour and sugar. It will give you some spooky green fingers too, so added Halloween benefit. Crumble the topping over the lemon batter, so you have a crumbly, moss-like effect. Throw the tray of brownies in the oven and bake, so the top becomes dry and crumbly, and the brownie layer sets. Once baked and cooled, you can chop the brownies into rectangular portions. Now we take it from green brownies to swamp creatures, with some expertly placed googly eyes.
Vegan Googly Eyes
You may have to shop around a little to find vegan eyes, so making your own with a recipe like this one might help. I used these ones, which to the best of my knowledge are vegan although I could be wrong. If you’re looking to buy some, ingredients to look out for that are not vegan are confectioners glaze (aka shellac, an insect-derived ingredient), egg whites, and gelatin. One ingredient that is often in them that is vegan but I looked up several times because I wasn’t sure is carnauba wax, which is made from the carnauba palm tree.
If you find that googly eyes aren’t worth the hassle, I’m with you. In my opinion, some green, mossy brownies are Halloween enough!
Looking for Vegan Lemon Recipes? Try one of these!
- Vegan Eddo Recipe- Lemon Thyme Taro Root
- Vegan Lemon Scones with Lemon Turmeric Glaze
- Vegan Scampi in Lemon Garlic White Wine Sauce
- Vegan Lemon Pasta with Poppy Seeds
- Taste of Summer Queen Anne’s Lace Jelly
- Simple Vegan Lemon Cake with Coconut and Almonds
Looking for Matcha Recipes? Try one of these!
- Green Tea Vegan Matcha Truffles (AKA Grinch Truffles)
- Coconut Matcha Granola (Vegan Green Tea Granola)
Swamp Creature Lemon Matcha Brownies
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. flax meal
- ¾ cup vegan butter, divided, softened
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar, divided
- 1 large lemon
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ¼ cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
- 1 tbsp. matcha powder
- Sugar eyeballs (like these)
Instructions
- Add the flax meal to a small bowl with 5 tbsp. water. Mix together, and set aside so that it thickens, for 5-10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease an 11x7 inch glass baking pan and line with parchment paper for easy removal later.
- Place ½ cup vegan butter in a large mixing bowl, along with 1 cup granulated sugar. Whip together with a silicon spatula or wooden spoon. Next add the hydrated flax meal, the zest and juice of the lemon, and the vanilla extract. Mix to combine. Add 1 ½ cups flour and the salt, and mix again, stopping once all the flour is incorporated. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, and use a silicone spatula to spread the batter into a smooth, even layer.
- Using that same mixing bowl (or a new one, if you like doing dishes), combine ½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup all-purpose flour, ¼ cup vegan butter, desiccated coconut, and matcha powder. Mix well, using your hands to combine the ingredients well, until they’re nice and crumbly and your hands are green. Crumble the topping into an even layer over the lemon batter. Transfer the pan to the oven, and cook for about 30 minutes. You want the topping to be dry and crumbly, and the lemon layer to be moist but not wet.
- Take the pan out of the oven. Let it cool for about 10 minutes before using the parchment paper to help lift the lemon brownies out of the pan. Let them cool, and then slice them into rectangular servings. Add two eyeballs (or 1 or 3 if you prefer!) to each brownie. You could use a simple glaze to “glue” the eyes to the brownies, but I just plopped mine on top. And that’s it- enjoy!
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