2009 March 19 | dinner with Julie

Archive for March 19th, 2009

Two Bite Brownies

I don’t know about you, but I get unreasonably excited when I see those Two Bite Brownies set out at parties or other events for which people don’t want to bake. I end up spending my time coming up with all sorts of diversions to ensure people don’t notice how many I’ve eaten. Because it’s kind of rude to come to a party and eat all the Two Bite Brownies. But really, it’s survival of the fastest, isn’t it?

And have you tried them frozen, on ice cream with warm chocolate sauce?

So naturally I had to come up with a homemade version that was slightly lower in fat. (If you thought they were good out of the bag, try them warm out of the oven.) They are better for kids’ parties than cupcakes, I think, requiring no frosting; if you wanted to you could press a Smartie, or a Junior Mint, or a mini Oreo cookie into the top of each one as soon as it comes out of the oven. That way your candy of choice melts/fuses delicately into the surface, without needing to be ravaged by the heat of the oven and possibly sinking all the way in to the dough.

Speaking of: if you have me pegged as someone who enjoys her cookie dough, you’re right. Brownie batter is no different. And employing my favourite defense against random acts of tasting – chewing gum in the kitchen – doesn’t work when the combination is gooey chocolate plus a hint of mint; in fact it inspired me to add a capful of peppermint extract to the batter.

I was on traffic duty this afternoon, which meant on-air right up until 6, so W and I made a pot of ham and black bean soup (using the bone we doggy-bagged from my Mom’s on Sunday) last night to reheat as needed tonight. My plan was to make a cheddar beer bread using a can of Guinness left over from St Patrick’s Day, but that totally didn’t happen. Which was probably a good thing, as it left extra room for brownies.

Two Bite Brownies

At only 2 grams fat per pop, these will satisfy your need for chewy brownies. Be careful not to overbake them – they should be slightly puffed but still soft to the touch. Freeze leftovers and serve them frozen or warmed in the microwave with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup. (If you don’t have mini muffin cups, the batter can be baked in an 8”x8” pan at 350°F for 25-30 minutes.)

1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. instant espresso or coffee, dissolved in 1 tsp. water
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, mix together butter and sugar until well combined. Add eggs, vanilla and coffee and stir until well blended and smooth.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Add to the egg mixture and stir by hand just until combined.

Spoon the batter mini muffin cups that have been sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until puffed but still soft to the touch. Do not overbake! Cool in the pan on a wire rack.

Makes 24 brownies.

Per brownie: 85 calories, 2.3 g total fat (1.3 g saturated fat, 0.7 g monounsaturated fat, 0.1 g polyunsaturated fat), 1.5 g protein, 15.5 g carbohydrate, 14.2 mg cholesterol, 1 g fiber. 23% calories from fat