Super Vegan Chai Brownies

(An apology in advance for the suckishness of these pictures. The lighting in the kitchen is terrible, and it never works out that I can bake in the morning when there's natural light. 

Transitioning back to school after a break is difficult. I've felt really stressy and unfocused this week, and when that happens, I want desperately to stress bake. 

I said stress bake, not stress eat, mind you. Unfortunately, I was lacking in eggs and butter and I DID NOT want to repeat the Choco Rice Nom Nom Slice. I just did a quick search for vegan baked goods, and came up with these vegan chai brownies. Yum. I found the recipe midweek and looked forward to making them so much. I squirmed through torturous studying while visions of brownies danced in my head (hrm...hope I did alright on my Japanese test, haha). 

Anyway, I had some horchata in my room, and decided it would be an excellent idea to brew the tea for the brownies in it. Awesome idea Rebecca. Everyone was impressed by their vegan-ness, but they really didn't require any fancy-ness like some vegan things do. 

These do not photograph well.

Vegan Chai Brownies

adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup very strongly brewed masala chai (in water, horchata, soy milk, rice milk...whatever you want)
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray an 8x8 inch baking pan with cooking spray, and dust lightly with the 2 tablespoons cocoa powder.
2. Whisk together the flour, sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the brewed chai, canola oil, and vanilla extract, just until all ingredients are moistened. If you so desire, add the tea leaves to your batter. I did, it upped the spicyness a lot. Fold in the chocolate chips. Spread the batter in the prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until the top is no longer shiny, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool for 1 hour before cutting (don't dooo ittt...eat them right away)