Fudgy Brownies

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Low Fat Fudgy BrowniesHi there! Remember me? I’m the one that used to bake all kinds of fat and calorie filled desserts and force my coworkers to taste them at 8:00 a.m., before they even got their first cup of coffee of the day.

Yeah, about that. I’m trying to lose weight. And I have no coworkers because I’m currently unemployed. And well, that combination makes it hard to make decadent desserts every week, because there’s no one to force feed two dozen brownies to on a regular basis. And I have no willpower, so keeping them in the house is out of the question. Duh.

Enter these brownies. They are chocolaty. And rich. And fudgy. But the best part? Around 100 calories and 3 grams of fat. And let me tell you, a little goes a long way. One of these brownies and I’m happy. OK fine, I ate the corner of a second one and immediately put the rest in the freezer. Remember that willpower thing I mentioned before? Still don’t have it.

Ingredients
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, American-style or Dutch-process
3 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (50-72% cacao), coarsely chopped, plus 2 1/2 ounces chopped into mini chip-size pieces (I chopped up some caramel-chocolate swirl chips), divided
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup blended with 3 tablespoons lukewarm water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/3 cup chopped toasted walnuts (I omitted these)

Preparation

  1. Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°F. Line an 8-inch-square baking pan with foil, letting it overhang on two opposing sides (I used parchment). Coat with cooking spray.
  2. Sift flour, confectioners’ sugar and cocoa together into a small bowl. Combine the 3 ounces coarsely chopped chocolate and oil in a heavy medium saucepan; place over the lowest heat, stirring, until just melted and smooth, being very careful the chocolate does not overheat. Remove from the heat and stir in granulated sugar, corn syrup mixture, vanilla and salt until the sugar dissolves. Vigorously stir in egg until smoothly incorporated. Gently stir in the dry ingredients. Fold in the walnuts (if using) and the remaining 2 1/2 ounces chopped chocolate just until well blended. Turn out the batter into the pan, spreading evenly.
  3. Bake the brownies until almost firm in the center and a toothpick inserted comes out with some moist batter clinging to it, 20 to 24 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack, about 2 1/2 hours (hahaha, that’s funny).
  4. Using the overhanging foil as handles, carefully lift the brownie slab from the pan. Peel the foil from the bottom; set the slab right-side up on a cutting board. Using a large, sharp knife, trim off any dry edges. Mark and then cut the slab crosswise into fifths and lengthwise into fourths. (In other words, cut the brownie slab into 20 pieces.) Wipe the blade with a damp cloth between cuts.

Recipe adapted from Eating Well.

Comments

8 Responses to “Fudgy Brownies”

    justJENN on 1 April 23rd, 2009 9:08 pm

    Hm. No butter. I see. (said the blind man.)

    Rick on 2 April 23rd, 2009 9:40 pm

    Ack! Unemployed!

    Maybe we, your loyal readers, should organize a food-run to deliver sugar, flour, chocolate, cream, milk, nuts etc to you to keep you blogging!

    As for getting rid of them: Pick a busy bus stop, go down there and explain the situation to the commuters. I’m sure they’d love to help you get rid of the temptations .. and you’ll make the bus stop one of the most popular ever 😀

    Cheers!
    Rick

    Elyse on 3 April 23rd, 2009 9:51 pm

    I can’t believe how low-cal these brownies are! Incredible. And they look totally delicious. I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t pawn my desserts off on other people; I understand that your baking has slowed down without your coworkers 🙂

    jami on 4 April 23rd, 2009 10:41 pm

    cut into 20, and omitting the nuts, these look like 2 points each to me. whoohoo! they sound delish.

    Melanie on 5 April 24th, 2009 3:03 am

    I have the same problem with will power. And I don’t like my co-workers enough to feed them good stuff, so I just don’t do a lot of baking. These look really good and I might just have to try them. I bet your local firestation would appreciate any extra goodies you have,

    RissyKay on 6 April 24th, 2009 5:22 am

    Looks delicious! I also have no willpower and stuff my coworkers faces with dessert when I bake! Good luck with the weight loss! I am hoping to do the same once my crazy semester ends, so the low cal desserts are much appreciated!

    Seanna Lea on 7 April 24th, 2009 6:43 am

    Those are definitely tasty looking! It’s always nice seeing a tasty treat that isn’t 500+ calories (though those have their place too… usually in somebody else’s stomach!).

    Essie on 8 April 24th, 2009 8:37 am

    I’m back on WW too, now that Passover is over and these look really good! I think the key for me will be to cut them up right away and individually wrap and freeze each brownie. Hope to try these in the next couple of weeks! Thank you!