Brownies!

 

Brownies are one of my favorite things ever. If you don't like brownies, you need to question your priorities.

Guilt-Free Brownies

Ingredients:

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, broken into pieces
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, plus 1 large egg white
1 container (2.5 ounces) prune puree (1/4 cup)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch-square baking pan with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, bring an inch of water to a simmer over low heat. Place chocolate and butter in a medium heatproof bowl; set bowl over pan. Stir occasionally until melted. Remove from heat. Immediately whisk in sugar, egg, egg white, prune puree, vanilla, and salt until smooth.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour and cocoa. Stir into chocolate mixture just until incorporated.

Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake until top is firm (a toothpick inserted in center will come out with a few moist crumbs), about 30 minutes. Let cool completely in pan. Using foil, lift brownies from pan. Peel off foil. Using a serrated knife, cut into 16 squares.

Source: Martha Stewart Everyday Food January/February 2005. You can find it here.

Notes: I microwaved the chocolate rather than doing a double boiler approach. You could also use 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips if you don't have the baking chocolate bars. Also, I don't know how guilt-free these brownies are when you and your husband pretty much eat the whole thing between the two of you within 48 hours.

Ghirardelli Classic Brownies

Ingredients:

4 oz. Ghirardelli semi-Sweet Chocolate Baking Bar (1 bar)
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/3 cup Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour an 8x8-inch pan. In a heavy 1 1/2 quart saucepan, melt chocolate bar and butter over low heat, stirring until smooth.

Remove pan from heat; cool to room temperature. Stir in brown sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, mix well. In bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly fold in flour mixture; mix well. Stir in chips. Pour butter in pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.

Source: I got this on the back of my bar of Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate baking bar. You can find the recipe here.

Notes: The only change I made was that I didn't stir in any chocolate chips since I didn't have any on hand. They still tasted great. I can only imagine that chips within the brownie just made it even more awesome!