Friday, April 16, 2010

Nearly No-Guilt Brownies

I made these brownies this past week when I needed a chocolate fix. I admit I was skeptical, but they were really good! However, I did cheat a little. Here is the recipe--
Nearly No-Guilt Brownies
2 egg whites & 1 whole egg (cheat #1--I needed a little more substance than egg whites alone can provide)
3/4 cup low-fat cottage cheese (Sounds weird, but you can't even tell.)
1 tsp vanilla (I have some real vanilla right now that my sister-in-law brought back from Mexico and it is so yummy!)
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate, melted & cooled

Place the eggs, cottage cheese, and vanilla in a blender or food processor; cover and process until smooth. (Cottage cheese curds would seriously ruin the experience, so make sure it is smooth.) Combine the sugar, flour, baking powder, & salt; add to blended mixture. Cover and process for 30 seconds.
Meanwhile, melt chocolate in a double boiler (Who has a real double boiler? Seriously, I have never met the person. You can make your own. Boil a few cups of water in a saucepan and cover with a bowl that fits in the top. Put the unwrapped chocolate in the bowl and stir occasionally. It will melt pretty quickly, but will not burn. This is a little trick I learned on the Food Network.)
After the chocolate is melted, let it cool and then add to the mixture. (Resist the urge to lick the chocolate bowl. It smells good, but it is not--not even for a "dark" chocolate lover like myself.)
Cover and process just until blended, about 15 seconds.
Pour into a greased 8 inch square baking dish. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick tests clean (do not over bake). Cool on a wire rack.
Now, the recipe says to dust the brownies with 2 tsp. of powdered sugar. I preferred the leftover butter cream frosting I had in the fridge with 1/2 cup of cocoa added. This added a bit of guilt to the recipe, but it was SO good.
What's a brownie without at least a little guilt anyway?

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