If you’ve been working hard on your New Year’s resolutions, I applaud you.
So far I’ve been meeting my expectations for myself in the new year. While many people choose to focus on healthy eating as a resolution, I prefer to think of that as an ongoing lifestyle.
I believe in eating all from-scratch cooking in moderation. Of course this occasionally means I get to indulge in a chocolate treat.
If you’ve been eating healthier in the new year, maybe you’re ready for a cheat day (or other excuse for a brownie).
I made these brownies in an effort to recreate my grandmother’s heirloom brownie recipe. She had a go-to that was crisp on top and super soft in the middle.
Unfortunately her recipe card was a bit… um… dated. The measurements just didn’t translate into modern baking and my initial effort left me with the saddest thing on earth – an inedible brownie.
I thought I had let it go, but after trying this recipe I discovered that even though the ingredients were obviously different, the outcome was the same. They took me straight back to my childhood.
My grandma was notorious for putting walnuts in her brownies, but I don’t roll that way. Instead I replaced the nuts with chocolate chunks (that’s a gooey little hole of chocolate on top of that brownie right there).
How do you fit treats into a lifestyle of healthy eating?
Grandma’s Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup butter,, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Coat a 9×13 baking pan with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, butter, and vanilla and beat until smooth. Stir in dry ingredients, mixing well. Fold in chocolate chunks. Transfer batter to the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs clinging, about 25 minutes.
Trish says
Those brownies look PERFECT. Wish I had one right now 🙂
Marly says
You know what? I agree with you…except for ONE thing. I would not be able to be in “moderation” around these brownies. I think I want to eat the whole thing!!
Lindsay Moe says
Totally!
Helen @ Scrummy Lane says
Hmm … interesting question … I very much believe in the motto ‘Everything in moderation’, and I guess this can be applied to other things in life as well as diet! I don’t like to feel like I can’t have a treat, but I suppose we need to remember that eating them is supposed to be an occasional thing rather than an everyday habit.
I like the recent trend for making sweet treats ‘healthier’, though, by using Greek yoghurt in cheesecake etc. etc.!
NBH says
I made these earlier tonight and followed the instructions – my batter was a very light brown and ended up needing 45 minutes to cook. The brownies taste good, but they definitely don’t look as dark as your photos! Any idea what went wrong?
Lindsay Moe says
Different brands of cocoa powder could produce a different result in color. I’m not sure why yours took so long to cook, mine were super fudgy, so maybe it is just a preference thing? I hope you were still able to enjoy them!