Low Fat Fudgy Brownies with See's Chocolates

A while ago, Sees Candies kindly sent me 1lb of assorted chocolates. I absolutely loved their toffee crisps. They were so addicting! Initially I was going to bake cupcakes with a chocolate surprise in the centre. On second thought, I realized there would probably be sinkage and gooeyness from raw batter so that was out of the question. Soggy cake really grosses me out so I went with something where I wouldn't have to bake the chocolate. Ingrid inspired me to dress up my 'plain' low fat fudgy brownies so I topped them off with marshmallows and broiled it until it got toasty. Then I added chopped up See's chocolates. Some people are opposed to add ins when it comes to brownies and I'm usually one of them, but this was a fun twist. I really liked the combination of the chocolate chunks, marshmallows and fudgy base because of all the different textures. Plus, when it comes to assorted chocolates, I'm always curious about what they all taste like and have the urge to take a bite out of each of them. By chopping them up into smaller pieces, I can try more flavours at once!


Low Fat Fudgy Brownies
Adapted from Cooks Illustrated

3/4 cup (3.75 oz) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
2 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 T unsalted butter
2 T low-fat sour cream
1 T chocolate syrup
2 t vanilla
1 egg
1 egg white (I omitted)
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp instant coffee granules (I added)
enough marshmallows to scatter the top
chopped up chocolates

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 350.
Fold 2, 12-inch pieces foil lengthwise so each measures 7 inches wide. Fit sheets into 8-inch square pan, pushing foil into corners and up sides of pan (to help remove brownies--optional).
Spray foil or pan with cooking spray.
Whisk dry ingredients together.
Melt bittersweet chocolate and butter in large bowl over a double boiler until smooth.

(This is the part I changed: Add sugar and mix until slightly melted. It will look grainy because there is so little liquid. Add sour cream, syrup, vanilla and whisk, add egg and whisk, fold in dry ingredients until combined)

(The original directions tell you to: whisk in sour cream, syrup, vanilla, eggs, and sugar. Fold in dry ingredients until combined.)

Bake until slightly puffed and toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few sticky crumbs attached, 20-25 min.

Scatter marshmallows on top of brownie base and broil until they get toasty/melty. This happens quickly so keep an eye on the oven.

Remove from oven and scatter chopped up chocolates on top. You can press some of them down into the melted marshmallows so they don't fall off when being cut.

Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

Low Fat Fudgy Brownies

A lower fat fudgy brownie that actually tastes good exists!! This was just too exciting because I don't usually like regular brownies. They're just too rich for me, but most low fat brownies come off tasting like cardboard and have a weird texture. Finding the right recipe was going to be difficult, but once again, Cook's Illustrated came to the rescue. They managed to lower the fat just enough without skimping on flavour. I adapted their low fat fudgy brownies by removing the extra egg white, adding instant coffee and following King Arthur's directions to get that crust I love so much. I like it better without the extra egg white because I think lightens the texture up too much. You won't get quite the density, heaviness (or greasiness) of a full fat brownie...obviously since these contain a fraction of the amount of fat, but you won't feel cheated on flavour and texture either. The best part was the surprise reaction I got from my friends and family after I told them the brownie was low fat.


I had to be careful not to overbake these because they are lower in fat. It's just as important not to underbake them either or the texture might end up being gummy and you'll feel like you're eating goo. These are ready when the center looks slightly puffed and a toothpick inserted into the center has sticky crumbs attached. If the toothpick comes out clean, then they'll be overdone and dry. You also have to make sure you don't overmeasure the flour or else they will be dry and lose its fudginess. I will definitely be making these again!

Low Fat Fudgy Brownies
Adapted from Cooks Illustrated

3/4 cup (3.75 oz) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
2 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 T unsalted butter
2 T low-fat sour cream
1 T chocolate syrup
2 t vanilla
1 egg
1 egg white (I omitted)
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp instant coffee granules (I added)

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 350.
Fold 2, 12-inch pieces foil lengthwise so each measures 7 inches wide. Fit sheets into 8-inch square pan, pushing foil into corners and up sides of pan (to help remove brownies--optional).
Spray foil or pan with cooking spray.
Whisk dry ingredients together.
Melt bittersweet chocolate and butter in large bowl over a double boiler until smooth.

(This is the part I changed: Add sugar and mix until slightly melted. It will look grainy because there is so little liquid. Add sour cream, syrup, vanilla and whisk, add egg and whisk, fold in dry ingredients until combined)

(The original directions tell you to: whisk in sour cream, syrup, vanilla, eggs, and sugar. Fold in dry ingredients until combined.)

Bake until slightly puffed and toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few sticky crumbs attached, 20-25 min.
Cool completely on wire rack.

Low Fat Blueberry Muffins

These were supposed to be cupcakes until I tasted my blueberry puree and found it a little bland. I was pretty sure baking wouldn't magically release more blueberry flavour so I decided to make muffins instead, since additional fruit is added. I made Cook's Country's low fat blueberry muffins, although I don't know if I would call these low in fat because there was still 1 tsp of butter per muffin. Maybe if compared to a Costco muffin then sure, but then again, those are gigantic! I wasn't actually planning on making a low fat recipe. All I wanted was something that wasn't overly rich and used milk/buttermilk as their liquid so I could substitute the blueberry puree for some of it. Too bad it led to a greyish batter, but other than that, these were really good! I also creamed the butter and sugar for a lighter texture because that's how I like them. You can always melt the butter for a quicker and denser muffin.

Cook's Country Low-Fat Blueberry Muffins

1 cup blueberries (I used 1 & 1/4 cups)
2 cups plus 1 Tbl. all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
4 Tbls. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup nonfat buttermilk
1 teaspoon grated zest and 2 teaspoons juice 1 lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
Whisk 2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl. Whisk eggs and brown sugar together in medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Gradually whisk in melted butter, then buttermilk, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla until well blended. Fold into dry mixture with rubber spatula (a few streaks of flour should remain).
Toss blueberries with remaining tablespoon flour in small bowl. Gently fold blueberries into batter, being careful not to break berries.
Distribute batter in muffin tin and bake until light golden brown and toothpick or skewer inserted into center of muffin comes out clean, 25 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.

Light Banana Blueberry Bread

Our bananas ripened to the point where they just couldn't be eaten, but perfect for banana bread. This time, I decided to make light banana bread even though it involves taking out the KA. If anybody would have a tried and tested light recipe, it would be from Christopher Kimball and gang so I got the recipe from Cook's Illustrated.


I'm not usually too adventurous with the addins, mostly because I'm afraid of screwing up a perfectly good tasting recipe by adding in weird flavours or textures. My biggest fear though is from folding in anything extra and create a tough and chewy product. Every time nuts or chocolate is involved I always dump it into the flour first and then mix wet and dry. I could never risk folding it in gently after the wet and dry have been combined. In the beginning, I used to just poke blueberries in my muffins and chocolate chips in my cookies. I wasn't in the mood for chocolate or nuts so I added one cup of blueberries instead. Since there was so much fruit going in, I reduced the amount of bananas to 1 cup mashed and the sugar to 1/2 cup. As usual, I couldn't give up the opportunity to use my bundt pan!


I love blueberries and bananas together! The juicy blueberries squirt in your mouth and both fruits add a lot of moisture. I almost left my banana blueberry bread in the oven for too long, but luckily the irresistable scent of banana blueberry bread caught my attention before it was too late.

Light Banana Bread

Makes 1 9-inch loaf, serves 10

Nonstick baking spray with flour
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar -- divided (I used 1/2 cup)
3 very ripe bananas (about 1 1/4 pounds), mashed well (about 1 1/2 cups) (I used 1 cup)
1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional) (I used 1 cup blueberries)

Heat oven to 350. Spray loaf pan with baking spray. Mix flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and 1/4 cup of the sugar in medium bowl. Set aside.

In separate bowl, mix mashed banans, yogurt and vanilla. Set aside.

Beat remaining 1/2 cup sugar and butter with an electric mixer on medium high until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.

Reduce mixer speed to low. Beat in half of flour mixture, then one-third of banana mixture. Add half of the remaining flour, then one-third of banana mixture. Repeat once more, being careful not to overmix -- batter will be thick and chunky. Fold in add ins, if using.

Scrape batter into pan and sprinkle with walnuts, if using. Bake about 55 minutes, until toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove and transfer loaf to wire rack.