Low Fat Fudgy Brownies 5/5 Spoons

I was thinking the other day, "When did I really start cooking and baking?" And I couldn't even really answer myself. When I started cutting meat out of my life at about 21 even then I rarely made meals or baked. I was in school and working full-time at a bagel shop so I ate a lot of well.... bagels. I ate a lot of pancakes, Kraft Mac n Cheese and frozen pizza. I don't remember there being all that many veggies going on in my diet. The thought of that now totally grosses me out but somehow I maintained my existence on alcohol, carbs and no sleep. Moving to Chicago has pretty much changed my cooking existence. I baked and cooked long before being here but now it is my outlet, it is my daily affirmation. Somehow this is all leading to me talking about the most perfect Low-Fat Brownies I've ever had. I just thought it was important to give a little back story of my food world, even if it is just a small snippet.

Can I say that I've spent a really long time trying to find the PERFECT low-fat brownie recipe? As much as I love butter and sugar and chocolate, with how often I crave desserts I can't eat a stick of butter every day. America's Test Kitchen ran an episode about lightening up chocolate desserts and although I don't think Chris and the other cooks were all that excited about the episode (they missed their butter!), it was pretty good overall.

(Photo courtesy of America's Test Kitchen Feed)

I didn't get any of my own photos of these brownies because well.... my roommate and I ate them within like a 24 hour period. I couldn't even believe after all the time I've attempted lower fat brownies that I finally had found a winner. Needless to say I had to "celebrate" my victory by eating 1/2 a pan. It only seemed logical. These were fluffy but fudge like at the same time. They had a really nice chocolate flavor without being too sweet. Here are my notes:

-- Pretty sure I put about 1/2 t. kosher salt in the mix. I like my chocolate treats on the salty side.
-- I don't have chocolate syrup on hand, like ever, so I just used an extra tablespoon of butter. Yup, more butter, but it's much less than you would find in any other brownie recipe!
-- 1 cup of sugar? No thanks. I used a 1/2 cup.
-- We always have fat free sour cream, so that's what I used, it worked well of course.

(Photo courtesy of Rose's Recipes)

So easy and so good. These are great to bring for a treat to work or a family gathering or like just bring them on the train and eat them with a fork. Or plop them on the seat next to you in your car and grab it with your hands and shove it in your mouth. You are smart people, you know what is best for you.

Up next, more America's Test Kitchen goodness (and much, much more butter) with Monkey Bread!

JACKIE'S TOP 5

So, I know I was going to review Red Velvet Waffles with Coconut Cream Cheese Topping first but I just wanted to come here and throw out some of the recipes I can't wait to make. I always have a long list of things I'm dying to make, but these are my top 5 as of right now. My stomach is just not as big as my desire to make all this food! Here we go (and these aren't any order, I'm just listing them off):

#1: Sweet Corn Arepa Pancakes

(Photo courtesy of roboppy's Flickr page)

I've never had an arepa.... until this morning. Well let me say that I had an arepa style pancakes at Tweet (my favorite brunch spot in Chicago) and they were dynamite. They were covered with creme fraiche, soy chorizo, over easy eggs, avocado, some sort of amazing hot sauce and black beans. Every bite was a dream. I want to re-create some of those same flavors at home with this recipe. It calls for some orange juice which I think is a great compliment to the strong corn flavor. This is an easy meal with a ton of flavor and my favorite thing of all: a vehicle for a million condiments piled on top.

#2: Cookies and Cream Fudge Brownie

(Photo courtesy of BBC)

Not gonna lie, I have a huge crush on Lorraine Pascale.

(Photo courtesy of Tory Burch)

Sigh.....

Anyway, she has a show on Cooking Channel called Simply Baking. She made these on her last show and they looked so fudge-y and decadent, they are totally going to be made for like Thanksgiving or Christmas dessert. They are not everyday brownies but I bet they are just what I'm looking for.

#3: Vegan Nanaimo Bars

(Photo courtesy of One Green Planet, which is an awesome website BTW)

I had no idea what Nanaimo Bars were until like last week. I had heard of them but literally my mind always went blank when people talked about them. For some reason the name alone evoked feelings of numbness. Don't ask me why, I don't question my motives anymore.

I don't know what I was so scared of.... these are veganized bars filled with chocolate, graham cracker crumbs, nuts and a creamy pudding filling. WHAT HAVE I BEEN MISSING ALL THESE YEARS???? I can't wait to make these and review the hell out of them here. Then we can all share in the joy.

#4: Spicy Pumpkin Soup with Coconut Milk (Vegan and Gluten Free!)

(Photo courtesy of Gluten-Free Goddess)

I love pumpkin anything. Pumpkin soups are amazing. The last time I made pumpkin soup I had told my roommates that I was making it and to not eat dinner after work because there would be delicious food waiting for them. I felt like a jilted wife when they both came home at 10 pm having had dinner and ready to go to bed. Don't I sound sad here? I don't want to equate fall soup with depressing dinners! Anyhow, I divided up the soup into portions and ate it for a week and it was just as good on the 7th day as the 1st. This one is vegan and gluten-free and sounds amazing.

#5: Fettucine NoFredo with Roasted Butternut Squash (Vegan)

(Photo courtesy of Kreeli)

This is my friend Christa's dish (she used to run VeganMania in Vancouver, she is pretty amazing and you can find awesome recipes there). Vegan alfredo sauce? You are joking. But that picture is no damn joke. I plan on making this on a really cold day which will be coming sooner rather than later.

Thank you for indulging in my food fantasies. There will be a waffle recipe review this weekend. Until then, take care of yourself and eat some great food!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Brownies 3/5 Spoons

Look above everyone! A dessert that I didn't absolutely love! Okay, well it was still good enough for me to be eating it for the last 3 days that's for sure. I honestly don't think I hate desserts unless they involve raisins, rhubarb or gelatin in some way.

(Photos courtesy of Go Vegan Meow!)

I just can never find a vegan brownie recipe that is to my liking. I want it to be fudge-like but not too sweet with intense chocolate flavor. I don't want it dry, crumbly or to be like cake. If I want cake, I'll make a cake. Really, that's all I ask. I will say that this recipe does make a great deep chocolate punch but I think that's mostly due to the fact that I used Ghiradelli chips (which are in my opinion, THE BEST that you can find at least in the grocery store). These were far too flat and crumbly without the oomph that you typically get with even a boxed brownie. (PS - I love boxed brownies. Don't hate. They give you consistent results every time and are a fudge-y brownie lovers dream.) So here are my notes:

-- The recipe is kind of confusing. She tells you to use 1 c. of chips (2/3 c. melted, and 1/2 c. chips added in). Certainly doesn't add up to 1 cup. I used those amounts anyhow.
-- I've been using almond milk now instead of soy and love it. I am a milk alternative convert!
-- I bumped the sugar down to 1/2 cup.
-- Instead of 1/4 t. salt, I used 1/2 t. kosher salt. I like the saltiness with the chocolate flavor.
-- And this was hilarious but I totally forgot to put the chips in at the end and I had already panned them, so I just sprinkled them on top. They looked really nice.

I have no idea how she fit this into a 9x13 pan. I used a 8x11 (I think) pan and still had to spread it out with a firm hand. This batter was not moist and wet like most brownie batters, this was firm like a cookie dough. It was weird but I went with it. These are okay. They have a nice chocolate flavor like I said before but they are not hand held brownies. You have to eat them on a plate or napkin because they crumble far too much. And for some reason, I find that annoying.

So if anyone can suggest to me a wonderful vegan brownie recipe, I would be way more than happy to try it out and review it here. Up next, another sweet, Tuscan Lemon Muffins!

Pumpkin Brownies 4/5 Spoons

I took about a bunch of Excedrin (ok, 3) and now I'm back with the fury of one thousand suns! I cooked and baked and chopped veggies this morning, went for a walk, talked to my temp contact through Northwestern, watched an episode of Big Love and woke up at a decent time today. I'm proud of me even though my body aches and I have cramps up the wazoo. Ok, enough about my lady drama.......

So I know for sure I'm not the only one who flips when there is talk of a canned pumpkin shortage. I even bought a fancy can of organic pumpkin this past summer because I crave pumpkin all year long. I was overzealous and went bonkers this past fall and bought like 10 cans of the stuff. Now that we are moving and want to try to eat all the food we have so there is less to take with, I've been looking for pumpkin recipes. This is the second time I've made these Pumpkin Brownies.

(Photos courtesy of Eating Is Art)

Here are my notes:

-- As usual, I used half of the sugar called for and I loved it even better this time around.
-- I don't use the entire bag of chocolate chips... that is just too much for me. Yes, I love chocolate but with the chips I use (Ghiradelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chips) I think it would become overwhelming.

This is a perfect combo of tender cake and dark chocolate gooey-ness that I crave on almost a daily basis. I think the warm spiciness of the ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg always go well with the dark, richness of bittersweet chocolate.

I give this recipe:

4/5 Spoons!

I'm on a roll, more from me later!

Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies 5/5 Spoons

Hi lovers!

Like my new layout??? It's super hot. I needed an upgrade here and now I feel quite refreshed. I'm doing this post on a different computer so it might be shorter than normal and less rambling (thank jeebus, right?)

(Photo courtesy of Fake Ginger)

So this recipe is bananas! It has a wonderful combination of chocolate and salty peanut butter to make me eat about half the pan overall.

Notes:

-- I think the only thing I changed was using Earth Balance for the peanut butter swirl part instead of butter. I liked that it was saltier than my normal unsalted butter I use while baking.
-- As for chocolate, I always use Ghiradelli's 60% Cacao Bittersweet chips. They are my favorite and it's the only kind I buy now.

I mean really, do I need to explain the incredibly sexy marriage between chocolate and peanut butter? It's mouth watering, sensual and off the chain. So enjoy this recipe with my best wishes.

I give this recipe:

5/5 Spoons!

I promise I'll be doing more this weekend..... so see you again soon!