Healthy Treat for Today: Chocolate Chip Brownies
ByDo you like rich chocolate like I do?
For me…the richer the better…
And this is one wealthy brownie. Loaded. Rollin’ in it. It’s got bank.
These babies require a glass of milk. A tall one.
After you have these, a brownie from a box just won’t do anymore. You won’t even be able to call those boxed things brownies anymore. They’ll just be a brown square of blah-ness. Nope, now these…these are real brownies.
And, guess what?! I experimented a little with the chocolate chips to see if I could make them with butter instead of coconut oil.
Oh yeah!! You SO can!
The chips are a little softer when made with butter, but they still worked just fine.
And they definitely taste good.
And make great Chocolate Chip Brownies!
Chocolate Chip Brownies
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup sucanat
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup homemade chocolate chips (chunks)
Stir together butter, rapadura and cocoa. Mix in egg and vanilla. Stir in flour and mix until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour into a 8×8 baking stone or pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
I had to double this recipe today because I’m taking a few to some friends tonight, and because…YUM!
Get yourself a tall glass of milk and sit down and enjoy one of these rich treats!
And then, get up and jog a few laps, because even though these are on the healthier side of things…
They aren’t carrot sticks.
:)
MMM! I can’t wait to try these!! How much butter did you use for the chocolate chunks instead of the oil???
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thanks for stopping by my blog today. I actually do really well with my meals- I eat pretty simply and watch for added sugars in any of the packaged things we get- I’m just in a bad habit of eating ice cream with fudge and nuts every night- so I am trying to figure something out for that- back to measuring portions I guess…or back to having hubby make homemade ice cream for me- so I can control the sweetener used and the amount used. we’re also experimenting making our own fudge sauce, so we’ll see how that turns out. I found a GREAT website that I think you’ll enjoy on your no sugar plunge. She uses natural sugars in all her recipes- let me know what you think. And brownies are my favorite baked good- so I will have to try these- they look divine! Here’s the link
http://www.sweetsavvy.com/
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Great post, thanks for stopping by CFO Moms!
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I substituted the exact amount of butter for the oil that it called for…one cup I believe.
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What is rapadura? :) I will have to remember the homemade chocolate chips recipe! :) We have used cocoa/sugar/oil in place of chocolate in recipes, but not for chocolate chips… :)
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We made this over the weekend, they were very good. But, I did notice that there wasn’t any baking powder or salt in the recipe. I was wondering if this is intentional or just a mistake in typing. I did add both of these to my batch and they turned out great!
Thanks again for the great recipes and ideas. I have really been enjoying your site.
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Have you ever tried adding cayenne pepper, cinnamon and ginger to your brownies to make Mexican brownies? It’s really fantastic! I don’t know if ginger should really be in there, but I add ginger to almost anything I think I can, so that’s what I do.
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Oh my these were soooo very good and sooo very simple to make! Thank you for sharing another excellent recipe. It took alot of control to only eat one brownie.
I made the chocolate chunks too and was a little disappointed, but that was my fault, I used salted butter and I thought they were too salty. I think I will try the coconut oil next time.
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i LOVE you!!!!! I am such a sucker for brownines. When I came across your recipe i jumped up and made them on the spot (: I used sucanat because that is what I had but I think it is pretty much the same as rapadura. Anyways, they absolutely ROCK!!! Thank you so much for sharing….
Jeni
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Sounds yummy. I, too, am wondering what is rapadura? A type of sugar?
Thanks! Aileen
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Laura Reply:
July 15th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
Rapadura is dehydrated cane sugar juice. It’s one of the healthiest forms of sugar and I love it. I’ve actually switched since writing that post to using organic Sucanat which is the SAME thing, just cheaper. Rapadura is a name brand for the sucanat product.
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Nice! I’ve got to try this with the homemade chocolate chunks. Could a person use regular sugar? No way I can afford the Sucanat I’m afraid. I’m curious too as to why no baking powder or salt?
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Laura Reply:
August 4th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
Yes, you can use regular sugar, substituting it one for one. Without baking powder or salt these are SO MOIST AND FUDGEY!!! The baking powder would give make them a little more cake-like. I like my brownies fudgey! (Fudgey isn’t a word so there’s not right way to spell it. But that’s what these brownies are. Like fudge. Fudgey. Fudgy.) :)
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Where do you buy your sucanat? Is it something that I should be able to find at a decent price locally or is it one of those things that’s just cheaper to buy in bulk on the internet?
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Laura Reply:
November 18th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
I order my sucanat from my food coop, Azure Standard. I have also found it at Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EA3M92?ie=UTF8&tag=wwwheavenlyho-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B000EA3M92
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these are the bestest brownies ever thankyou!!! MM MM!! . have you tried them wioth honey? I just wonder if it will work out or not. Thanks again :D !!
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tanya Reply:
November 24th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
i mean honey instead of the sugar :)
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tanya Reply:
November 25th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
ok i know i keep replying to my own comment haha! I did try the brownies with honey instead of sugar and it was definatly not the same!! SO you dont have to answer my question .. beacuse i just did :)
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Tanya, I have found that when baking with chocolate a mixture of honey, maple syrup, and molasses taste better than just one sweetener. However, I’m not sure what other liquid you would decrease in this particular recipe to get the same wet to dry ratio. We tried these and the taste was great; my family just likes a more cake-like brownie.
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Although homemade chocolate chips are divine, I thought you might be interested to know (if you didn’t already) that there is a brand called Rapunzel that makes organic rapadura sweetened chocolate chips. I just ordered some from my co-op and I’m anxiously awaiting their arrival. I can’t wait to try this brownie recipe. Yum!
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I made these tonight and they taste fabulous! However, mine were flat a pancakes. What did i do wrong? I doubled the batch and used 1/2 cup coconut oil along with the stick of butter. Everything else was the same. I used regular sugar too as I don’t have rapadura yet.
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Laura Reply:
April 19th, 2010 at 10:14 am
Hmm…since these don’t have any leavening in them, they are a little flatter…although mine are usually not “flat as a pancake”. I’m not really sure what to tell you on that…but I’m glad yours tasted good!
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bek Reply:
January 12th, 2011 at 12:25 pm
Could be an altitude issue depending on where you live.
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I’m pretty seasoned in the kitchen and mine came out horribly, like one of the worst things I’ve ever made :( I used freshly milled flour hard whole wheat but I realized afterwards that it was set for bread flour. Should I have used pastry flour instead?
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Laura Reply:
May 2nd, 2010 at 3:16 pm
Yikes…I don’t know what could have happened! I actually just use regular milled hard white flour instead of pastry flour, so I doubt that could have been it. I wish I knew what to suggest…
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So, I’m fairly new at this health food stuff :) I bought sucanat, but I’m not sure if I what I got was stale or something. It is very grainy in whatever I cook. Should it be that way, or dissolve?
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Laura Reply:
May 22nd, 2010 at 7:17 am
Hmm, mine doesn’t dissolve in the butter like white sugar would either I guess. But, when it bakes…it always does fine. Does yours do okay when you bake with it?
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I made the brownies this evening and they were chocolate mush. (good tasting chocolate mush, but definitely not brownies) I served them in a bowl with a spoon! I followed the recipe exactly except I cooked them for a bit longer because it seemed so mushy. The only thing I can think of it that it is very hot and humid. Would that make much of a difference??
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Laura Reply:
June 10th, 2010 at 7:19 pm
Yes, the humidity would make a difference. Weird that they would be THAT mushy though. :( Glad they still tasted good!
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Thanks for sharing this recipe. I’m going to soak the wheat overnight in melted butter to break down the phytates and I’ll let you know how the recipe does. I have been looking for a fudgey brownie recipe forever. Every cookbook recipe I have attempted tasted like foam with little, if any chocolate flavor. Also, thank you for sharing the chocolate chip recipe as well. I gave up cooking my special chocolate chip cookies when I read the ingredients one the #1 name brand chip.
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Danielle Reply:
October 28th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
Hmmm I don’t know if using melted butter would break down the phylates. You need an acid medium, like buttermilk, kefir etc.
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Carmen Reply:
October 28th, 2010 at 5:39 pm
LOl, you’re so right. What if I used a tbls or two of kefir with the butter?
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These are scrumptuous! I didn’t have any chocolate chips on hand or time to make them, so I added my own twist to the recipe to make them extra yummy. I spooned the batter into a mini muffin pan and swirled a dollop of raspberry jam into the top of each. Voila! Raspberry swirl brownie bites. Thanks for the recipe!
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My 13 year old son made these for my birthday present today. They are delicious!! Thanks for the recipe.
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I can not wait to try them, I have recently fallen in love with your butterscotch bars and your chocolate chip cookie recipe, we make one or the other of them almost daily ( at this point we should cut back on the sugar, even if it is sucanat ) Thanks for all you do, I find your blog the most helpful blog!
Katie
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I just made a batch of these brownies (minus the chips), and served it with slightly sweetened raw whipped cream.
OH MY GOODNESS!
These brownies were CHEWY, and YUUUUUUMMMMYYYY!!!
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
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Thank you so much for sharing your family journey into healthy eating!!! I have just recently found you and am really interested to learn more! I mill our wheat and bake most all of our grain products and we avoid the “deadly 3″ (flavoring, coloring and perservatives) I am working at switching to organic, and finding my green thumb which seems to be buried by this black thumb which keeps killing my plants… but I am rambling now. Anyway, my question is regarding succanat. I have and use honey granules in place of refined sugar… you have only ever referred to succanat. Are honey granules not good for us? I have read about using succanat in place of brown sugar but have yet to order it from my co-op. Any info you can share would be greatly appreciated!
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Laura Reply:
January 16th, 2011 at 3:00 pm
I’m not sure about honey granules…I need to research them a little bit. Sucanat is the healthiest form of sugar that I’ve found through my research. I would imagine that honey granules are okay if they’re just made from honey.
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Hi Laura,
Just for your information this recipe works great with 3/4 cup of rapadura and 1 cup of ww flour. I am always trying to cut out a little more sugar and they still taste the same. Love the recipe,
Juanita
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I made these, minus chocolate chips a few weeks ago. SO EASY AND YUMMY!
DD (6yrs old) made these (with a little help from me) and will cut them out with a heart shaped cookie cutter when cooled off. Cute for Valentine’s day!!!
Thanks for sharing!
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I was just wondering if I could make this with White Flour? They look scrumptious! =D
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Anne Reply:
June 2nd, 2011 at 2:39 pm
And can I use Wax paper instead of parchment paper???
Thanks! =D
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Laura Reply:
June 2nd, 2011 at 8:07 pm
Sure!
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Laura Reply:
June 2nd, 2011 at 8:07 pm
Yes, this recipe should work fine with white flour!
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Do you think I could make these with palm shortening instead of the butter? I’m going to a party where there’s a little boy with a severe milk allergy. Normally I’d use coconut oil, but I only have the kind that tastes like coconuts and I don’t like how brownies made with it turn out. Shortening was my only other thought for the butter. Or maybe applesauce?
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Laura Reply:
June 19th, 2011 at 1:26 pm
I think it’s worth a try to use palm shortening, but I feel like they may turn out a little bit hard instead of chewy-ooey-gooey. Applesauce would for sure work, so that’s a good option. It’s sweet of you to try to accomodate the little boy!
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My family loves this recipe! Our favorite way to make them is to use a muffin tin and line it with cupcake liners (one recipe does about 11 cupcakes), fill the cups and then with a spoon make a small well in the center of each brownie. I warmed up a bit of peanut butter and stirred in some chocolate chips so they melted a bit, then spoon about a teaspoon of the peanut butter mixture into the well in the top of each brownie. Bake at the normal temperature but for a little less, just keep an eye on it. They are sooo yummy. Like a bit Reeses peanut butter cup!
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Laura Reply:
August 13th, 2011 at 4:07 pm
I LOVE this idea!
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The baby in my tummy is doing flips after I ate these incredible whole food brownies:-). I’m SOOO glad I discovered this recipe. I’ve enjoyed incorporating your recipes into my monthly menu plan and am so grateful for your inspiring and healthy ideas. Now, if I can just keep myself away from eating the rest of the pan of brownies!
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Thanks to this wonderful recipe…I am having an acne breakout in my 40s…but who cares. Our 7yr old daughter loves helping mix up these brownies and thinks time is going to slow while they cool down. Super easy and quick.
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sorry…wanted to add..i did not have rapadura, used turbinado. still wonderful!
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Yum! Can’t wait to try these! My husband made something similar recently with coconut oil, cocoa, and honey. Once it hardened in the freezer, the chunks made homemade ice cream taste like Moose Tracks. I’ve used sucanat in the past, but we use mostly honey or agave. Do you know if sucanat is as healthy as honey? I think it would probably work better in some baked goods.
We have been enjoying your chocolate pudding recipe. It so reminds me of the pudding my mom would make when I was a kid. And I got used to eating it warm because I never wanted to wait for it to chill in the fridge. Thanks for the great recipes!!
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Laura, where can I find the frosting recipe for the frosted brownies? YUM!
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That recipe can be found here:
http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/chocolate-fudge-frosting-the-healthier-way
Enjoy!
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Tracy Moore Reply:
October 8th, 2011 at 1:11 pm
Thanks, Lindsey!
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My son told me these were the best brownies he had ever had. Better than boxed :-)
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I certainly hope when you say to “pour” these into their baking pan, that they don’t *pour* – because mine sure didn’t!!! It was a very beautiful thick blob that I *plopped* into the baking pan and had to mash into the pan to fill it and even the “batter” out a bit. Is that what yours are like? Or can you actually *pour* your batter? I’m a bit nervous. I sure hope mine turn out well – they are going to a church potluck tomorrow! :)
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Laura Reply:
January 25th, 2012 at 7:58 am
Yeah, “pour” is probably not the right word to use to describe this step, although I’m not sure I’ve ever had to mash mine into the pan. Maybe add an extra egg next time? Hope they turned out well!
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Do you think coconut oil would work for the butter? I am about out of butter and wishing for brownies!
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LindseyforLaura@HHM Reply:
February 2nd, 2012 at 12:25 pm
It should work out just fine. :)
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I just made these with oatmeal flour (oatmeal blended in my Vita-mix blender) for a friend that doesn’t do well with too much wheat. They look and smell great just like they do with wheat flour. Haven’t tried them yet, though!
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These were pretty good! I only had peanut butter chips, but it was a great addition! They are very rich! Mine stuck to my stoneware pan though :( I guess I didn’t butter it enough. Still a great recipe though!
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If I don’t have sucanat (it’s pretty expensive around here) would brown sugar be the proper substitute?
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Ashley Reply:
May 12th, 2012 at 9:50 am
I always use brown sugar in her recipes, and haven’t had a problem!
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I made these today, and while the flavor was great, they were a little grainy. Seems like probably the sugar? Should I let the sugar melt in the warm butter for a little bit? Thanks!
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Hi Laura,
I made these and trippled the batch. They were a little oily on the bottom even though I used butter. Do you think I can cut back on the butter, without sacrificing the crumbly top (which I love and haven’t been able to achieve in a long while)? I always thought I had to melt choc. chips/baking choc/ choc. bar to get the crumbly top. You showed me I COULD get one using cocoa powder. So please help me keep that top I love, without the oily bottom. Thanks in advance.
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I pinned this to my pinterest account so I don’t lose it! I can’t wait to try these!!! I currently have a brownie recipe that uses Crisco (I know blasphemy, right?) and because of that I don’t make them that often. This recipe I could totally do every week! Thanks!!!
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