Black Bean Chocolate Chip Brownies with Pecans

I saw this on "skinnytaste" and wanted to make it for my son.  He loves sweets and pandemic life makes it a bit hard to be as active as he is in "normal" times.  I thought this would be a healthy treat to make and he loves brownies.  What I used:

• 14 ounce canned organic, low-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup "Fry's" cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons "Truvia" Cane Sugar Blend for Baking which equals 3/4 cup regular sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon grapeseed oil
• 1 tablespoon 2% milk
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of Dutch chocolate espresso powder
• 1 cup pecans, slightly crushed with mallet in a Ziploc, divided
• 1 cup "Kirkland" semisweet chocolate chips, divided 

I preheat the oven to 350°F and used cooking spray on a 9" x 9" cake pan.  I lined it with parchment paper and left an overhang to remove the brownies easily.

Into my blender I added the beans, eggs, cocoa powder, sugar, oil, milk, vinegar, baking powder and soda and espresso powder.  I had to scrape the sides once.  When liquidy smooth, I poured into a bowl and stirred in the half then nuts and chocolate chips.  I combined with a spatula.   Next time I'd skip pouring into a bowl.  I'd just add the nuts and chips to the blender with the blade removed after.  The bowl was just an extra messy dish to do and even with a good spatula, it's work to scrape the batter out so doing it once is better than twice. 

I poured into the pan and used an offset spatula to smooth it down.  I sprinkled the remaining nuts and chips on the top.

This went into the oven for 32 minutes, until an inserted toothpick came out clean.  I cooled on a rack.  I used a serrated knife to slice them and served his sample warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  The rest I stored on a parchment lined plate covered tightly in plastic wrap.

Son said they were delicious and rich.  He had zero complaints and loved the nuts.  I asked him if they were more cakey or gooey and he said cakey but that they were super moist anyway.  I had a bite and I'm not expert on brownies at all, but I was impressed at how decadent it tasted.  I couldn't tell the fake sugar though he could.  I'm guessing because all I use is fake sugar for myself.  He said there was a slight aftertaste and that the overall texture was different than a true brownie.  Anyway, I'd call it a success but would probably just use organic sugar next time instead.