Healthy Lower Calorie Brownies (still made with real ingredients)
on Mar 10, 2016, Updated Aug 22, 2024
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Healthy Lower Calorie Brownies are just the chocolate treat you need without the guilt. This recipes has no beans, avocado, or protein powered either. Just normal stuff done right.
Healthy Lower Calorie Brownies
Healthy Lower Calorie Brownies (still made with real ingredients) is the fourth recipe in whole food dessert week and you are going to love these! This recipes is a little different from the Whole Wheat Honey Chocolate Chip Cookies, Blueberry Muffin Date Bites, and Whole Wheat Honey Cake because these are meant to be lower in calories. These brownies have no butter or oil in them but they also don’t have any hidden beans, avocados, or protein powder. It’s just a smart recipes that uses ingredients wisely. They aren’t your traditional perfect brownie (I have that recipe for you right here), but they are a fabulous chocolate fix without too much guilt.
I made these, cut them into pieces, and then hid them in the freezer. I would just pull one out every once in a while when I needed a chocolate treat and they sure helped with my cravings. They were delicious frozen! The recipe comes from my friend Tiffany at Feel Great in 8 (I’m doing a round of the Feel Great in 8 challenge RIGHT now! I love her program, this is the 4th time in about 2.5 years that I’ve done it). She plugged it into MyFitnessPal and says that this treat has 130 calories, 2.9 grams of fiber, and 3.2 grams of protein per serving. Not too shabby!
Can you put brownies back in the oven if undercooked?
If you find that your brownies are a bit undercooked, heat the oven back to the proper cooking temperature and leave in for another 3-5 minutes.
Don’t under-bake these lower calorie brownies because they don’t taste soft and gooey, they just taste like gummy and raw (not a good thing).
What type of cocoa powder and chocolate chips are best to use in baking?
The chocolate cocoa and chocolate chips that you use will really play a big role in how these taste. I recommend a high quality dutch-processed cocoa and I’m obsessed with these chocolate chips.
How do you know when brownies are cooked?
To know if your brownies are cooked and not gooey in the middle, insert a toothpick in the center of the pan. If the toothpick comes out clean, they are done.
Healthy Lower Calorie Brownies (still made with real ingredients)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup almond butter, or creamy natural peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 4 tablespoons unrefined coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup plus a tablespoon whole wheat flour or whole oat flour, oats you blend up in your blender
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup + 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and grease a 9×9 inch baking dish.
- In a medium bowl mix together the almond butter, honey, coconut sugar, vanilla and apple sauce. Mix until well combined. Add the egg and mix to incorporate.
- Add the wheat or oat flour, cocoa powder, soda, baking powder and salt. Stir until the mixture comes together and there are no dry pieces but don’t over mix. Add the 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and stir to combine. Pour the thick batter into the prepared dish and use a spatula to evenly spread it around and smooth the top. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chips on the top of the prepared brownies.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes until the mixture is cooked through in the center (if you under bake these, they taste and feel like they aren’t done). I like gooey brownies but it’s not the same here, so bake them the full time. Serve warm. These also freeze very well and are delicious frozen. I made a batch and hid them in my freezer for when I need a little treat.
Notes
Nutrition
Here’s a few more healthy desserts you might enjoy:
- Blueberry Muffin Date Balls (healthy, no-bake treat)
- Healthy Key Lime Pie Smoothie
- Healthy Breakfast Cookies
- Healthy Applesauce Cookies
- Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins
- Healthy Pumpkin Pie Recipe
- Easy Healthy No-Bake Cheesecake
- Healthy Whole Grain Zucchini Muffins
- Healthy Cherry Energy Balls (Homemade Cherry Pie Larabars)
- Healthy Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs
- Maple Sweetened Healthy Banana Muffins
This recipes has no beans, avocado, or protein powered either. Just normal stuff done right. Healthy Lower Calorie Brownies are just the chocolate treat you need without the guilt.
made a double batch and these are AMAZING!! So fudgey and rich chocolaty! I used sugar free syrup instead of honey and they turned out so good!
I made this last night for the family and they allll enjoyed it. I used all King Arthur whole wheat flower and added 6tbs of coconut sugar instead of 4. I added a handful of chocolate chips to 1/3 of it and to my corner I added a few Lilly’s sugar free chocolate chips and 4 crushed walnuts. So good! Will definitely use this again.
Oh thank you for letting us know what worked for you! So fun!
The brownies tasted great! I didn’t have coconut sugar so I just used normal sugar and I accidentally put a 1/4 cup more of dark chocolate chips. I love that they are not too sugary. They are very rich tasting. I usually get a headache from sweet stuff and I didn’t. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Can I substitute the wheat flour for almond or coconut flour to make it grain free?
I know very little about using either of those flours so I really don’t know. I’d search for a paleo brownie recipe, those are generally made with those flours!