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There is nothing like a
Brownie to satisfy a chocolate craving. This Low-Fat Brownie has a wonderfully
moist and chewy texture and a deep chocolate flavor.
Serve them plain, dusted with confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, or topped
with fresh berries and/or a scoop of low fat vanilla ice cream, frozen yogurt,
or a fruit sorbet.
Now when I say 'low fat' I mean
that this brownie is much lower in fat than a regular brownie. So how do we make a
brownie lower in fat? One way is to use cocoa powder instead of semi sweet
chocolate as semi sweet chocolate can have as much as triple the amount of fat as cocoa
powder. The reason for the reduction in fat is that cocoa powder is made when
chocolate liquor is pressed to remove three quarters of its cocoa butter. For
this recipe we are using Dutch-processed Cocoa Powder
which adds a rich chocolate flavor to these brownies. Now the brand of cocoa
powder you use will determine the flavor of your brownies, so use the best you
can afford.
The second way to reduce the fat
intake is to just use less of it. Most brownie recipes call for at least 1/2 cup
(113 grams) of butter, but this recipe reduces the fat to 1/3 cup (75 grams). Of
course, then there is the question about the type of fat. If you are watching
your cholesterol it is a good idea to find a substitute for butter (which is a saturated
fat). So for this recipe we are using one of the natural soft buttery spreads (I
like either Smart Balance® or Earth Balance®) that are
made from oil. You will notice that I am not recommending stick margarines which
were once recommended as a substitute for butter but that was before we knew
that the trans fats (listed as either 'hydrogenated' or 'partially hydrogenated'
oils) that are used to make margarine solid raises bad cholesterol (LDL) and
lowers good cholesterol (HDL).
So to conclude, these brownies are
lower in fat because we are using cocoa powder instead of semi sweet chocolate
and we are using less fat and it is in the form of a natural buttery spread
instead of butter (a saturated fat). We are also using light sour cream instead
of full fat. This brownie recipe is adapted from Canadian Rose Reisman's book Rose Reisman Brings Home Light
Cooking where she says that each brownie is about 90 calories with about 4
grams of fat (this can vary depending on ingredients used).
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