Happy Birthday America! Independence Day is not only for the U.S.A. but also for C.J. and brownies. Drumroll please … I have found the most amazing brownie recipe for me, finally! … Independence Day for me will now celebrate my freedom from lackluster brownies that just don’t cut the muster.
For some of my newer readers, let me explain. Because of my diabetes, I try to eat lower carb foods. Obviously, some foods just cannot have the carbs removed and still be good. At times, I began to think that brownies were in this category because I have been trying recipes for years but couldn’t find one that worked for me.
I’m not trying to take all the carbs out, just enough so that my pancreas doesn’t get pooped out (FYI … when you eat carbs, your body produces insulin to “process” the carbs. In Diabetes, your pancreas has trouble doing this). Of course, I haven’t tried all the brownie recipes out there but it sure feels like I have. I prefer dense, fudgey, gooey brownies and this is the type of recipe that I’ve had difficulty finding, I just want it to fit reasonably within my nutritional plan.
Enter Mark Bittman’s fabulous basic brownie recipe. Queue the lights, music, angels descending from heaven … whatever you envision when one of THOSE moments take place in your life.
As I was making these for the very first time, I just knew it was going to work. A whole pan of brownies with such a small amount of flour. My first thought was “I can totally de-carb this thing”.
I was not mistaken, the recipe was very good and dear hubby agreed. After I made the original recipe, I began tweaking for me and my health plan. I’m not exaggerating … I made this recipe at least five times in only a couple of days and finally found the modifications that worked for me and dear hubby. This is monumental because the hubs can eat carbs all day long. Low carb recipes don’t excite him so many times he’ll try my food and say, “it’s okay” or some other derivative not to hurt my feelings.
I haven’t actually taken the time to compute the carbs in this recipe but the whole pan only has 1/4 cup of white whole wheat flour which is only about 18 carbs. That’s very low for an entire recipe, much less for a dessert. My head has been spinning for a couple of weeks now but I will get around to it and update the post with the information when I do :-)
Obviously, one can tell from my pictures that I got pretty excited. I don’t usually frost brownies but these are special brownies, these are independence brownies. I bought the stuff and started practicing how to beautify my gorgeous brownies.
For those of you that have the talent and skill to make pretty food, please forgive me. These pictures must be difficult to view without laughing and I apologize but I did have a good time playing and the hubs truly enjoyed the non sugar-free icing :-)
My fabulous, marvelous, amazing, life-changing brownie recipe was adapted from Mark Bittman’s basic brownie recipe which was in How to Cook Everything: The Basics. This recipe is not to be missed and this should go on everyone’s baking to-do list.
Hope you enjoy as much as I have … Happy Independence Day to all :-)
Ingredients
- 8 Tbsp (1 stick) butter, plus a little more for greasing the pan
- 3 oz unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped (I used Bakers brand)
- 1/2 cup Whey Low Granular (sugar substitute)
- 1/2 cup Whey Low Gold (brown sugar substitute)
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- Pinch salt
- 1 tsp espresso powder
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F.
- Grease a square baking pan (8x8 or 9x9) with butter.
- Combine the stick of butter and the chocolate in a large microwave-safe bowl on medium for 10-second intervals, stirring after each. When the chocolate is just about melted, remove the bowl from the microwave and continue to stir until the mixture is smooth.
- Stir in the sugar.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
- Gently stir in the flour, salt, espresso powder and the vanilla.
- Fold walnuts into the batter, gently.
- Pour and scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until just barely set in the middle. (Err on the side of underbaking: An overcooked brownie is dry and cakey, while an undercooked brownie is gooey and delicious).
- Cool on a rack until set. Store, covered, at room temperature.
Adapted from Mark Bittman's basic brownie recipe ... http://markbittman.com/how-to-cook-everything-the-basics-brownies
FYI ~ The carb count will vary depending on what specific ingredients are used but my very best calculation (based on the ingredients I used) and for 9 servings = 4 carbs each :-)
I as wondering if these were healthy i am trying to loose weight cause of heart prob so i am watching my calories/fat and im def watching carbs cause my sugar is high thank you
Healthy is definitely different for everyone. This recipe is good for low carb diets but it does have plenty of fat so you may need to make modifications if this is an issue for you. This recipe has an entire stick of butter which would be high in saturated fats so you may want to opt for a vegetable oil or even split the fat half and half with applesauce to lower the fat count.
What are the net carbs on this recipe?
The carb count will vary depending on what specific ingredients are used but my very best calculation (based on the ingredients I used) and for 9 servings = 4 carbs each :-)
Do you know how many carbs per serving? Brownies are my weakness, but trying to lose weight by eating low carb. Also, can I use Truvia?
The carb count will vary depending on what specific ingredients are used but my very best calculation (based on the ingredients I used) and for 9 servings = 4 carbs each :-)