Recipe Review - "Healthier" Fudge Brownies

Fudge Brownies from body + soul magazine. Some fat replaced with sweet potato puree, whole wheat flour instead of white.

Ingredients
Makes 12

• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup sweet-potato puree
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon instant coffee powder

Directions (My suggestions/comments)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square pan; set aside. Place cocoa powder into mixing bowl. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Remove pan from heat, and stir into cocoa. Let cool slightly. (This gets very thick - I had a hard time getting it from the pan into the bowl of my stand mixer).
2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. Stir...sugar and sweet-potato puree into cocoa mixture, then egg. In a small bowl, stir together vanilla and coffee until coffee is dissolved; add to cocoa mixture.
4. Add flour mixture to cocoa mixture and stir until no traces of flour remain. Spoon into prepared pan; smooth the top. Bake until surface of brownies looks barely dry and an inserted knife comes out with a few moist crumbs, about 20 minutes. Cool to room temperature before serving. I baked for about 30 minutes, it was very...um ...paste-like? They are definitely gooey and fudgey, but also kind of dry. I know that seems like an oxymoron; they taste good nonetheless. They do not have that nice crisp shiny sugar top that regular brownies have, they are more like a very sticky cake.
   

Would I make them again - probably, though I may tweak it a bit to see if I can improve the texture.

My thoughts:
Directions were more complicated than they needed to be, if I do it again I will melt the butter and add it to the cocoa powder in my mixing bowl.