Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Skinny Brownies


Since posting about the Molten Chocolate Cake the other day, I've made it (and of course eaten it) twice. I can't help it, it's so good. But since I'm always trying to be healthier, I decided I need to supplement my chocolate indulgence with something a little lighter.

Now I know what you're thinking, lighter never tastes better. But as I'm trying to prove with this little blog, lighter and healthier can taste just as good or, dare I say, better. Don't get me wrong, I've had "light" desserts in the past that have been...less than desirable...but these Skinny Brownies are different. Really they are. In fact, they're tasty and decadent, while still being healthy.

And by healthy I mean 1 brownie/serving is about 150 calories, or 4 Weight Watchers points. Also, they just so happen to be gluten-free!

Skinny Brownies

Yield: 9 servings | Prep time: 5 minutes | Total time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup almond meal
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/8 tsp. salt
  • 4 egg whites
  • 1/4 cup applesauce
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Optional: 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions: 
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8x8 baking dish and set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, almond meal, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
  3. Mix in egg whites, apple sauce, vanilla extract and chocolate chips.
  4. Pour batter into prepared baking dish and bake for 28-32 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of brownies comes out clean.
  5. Allow to cool, then cut into 9 squares.

I personally enjoy chocolate chips in my brownies, so I added them. However, the brownie batter is not as viscous as full-fall brownie batter, so the chocolate chips sink to the bottom of the pan. That doesn't really bother me, I just ate my brownie upside down. If you don't like this, you can:
  1. Put the chocolate chips on top of the brownies 10-15 minutes into the cooking time.
  2. When the brownies are cooked, remove the baking dish from the oven and sprinkle chocolate chips on top of the cooked brownies. Then, put the whole thing back into the turned-off oven for 2 minutes, or until the chocolate chips are melty. Smear the melted chips around to make a glaze
  3. Don't add the chocolate chips. This will save you about 50 calories (see nutritional information below)


Here's your nutritional break-down for 1 brownie with chocolate chips:
158 calories | 6g total fat | 2mg cholesterol | 25g carbohydrates | 2.5g fiber | 21g sugar | 4g protein
4 Weight Watchers points

And 1 brownie without the chocolate chips: 
108 calories | 3g total fat | 20g carbohydrates | 2g fiber | 16g sugar | 3.5g protein
3 Weight Watchers points

Enjoy and thanks for reading!

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