Recipe: Healthy Fudgey Brownies

I'm sure you'll be busy on Friday with all the cooking and guests arriving, gifts being unwrapped, etc.. Luckily desserts are easy to make ahead, so you can get these out of the way now. Brownies are a great holiday treat, and this healthy version includes applesauce, which can be tricky for cakes, since it can make them too heavy, but is perfect for dense, chewy brownies. If you're looking to cut calories a bit this year, try this healthier version of everyone's favorite chocolatey dessert.

Healthy Fudgey Brownies
(Makes 12 to 16 small brownies.)

(Image courtesy of PANPOTE at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup flour
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup firm-packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg white
6 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 inch square baking dish with parchment paper, making sure you leave plenty of paper sticking out of the dish.
• In a bowl, stir together the flour, unsweetened cocoa, salt, and baking soda until well combined; set aside.
• In a large heavy saucepan over low heat, melt the unsweetened chocolate and butter together, stirring constantly, until smooth; remove and let cool.
• Once cooled, add the brown sugar, egg, egg white, applesauce, and vanilla extract to the saucepan, stirring until nice and smooth, then add the dry ingredients to the saucepan and stir until mixed well.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake in preheated oven for 22 to 25 minutes or until the brownies shrink away from the sides of the baking dish.
• Remove the baking dish to a rack and let cool completely before lifting the brownies out using the edges of the parchment paper. Then peel the paper back and cut the brownies into squares to serve.

Recipe - Coconut Cocoa Oatmeal Drop Cookies

We don't usually post a lot of dessert recipes here, but hey, dessert is okay once in a while too! Depriving yourself of everything you crave leads to binge eating, which as we all know is not healthy. Packed with cocoa, coconut, and oatmeal, these hearty cookies will satisfy your sweet tooth - and they're drop cookies, so they're easy to whip up from scratch in a jiffy - no artificial flavorings or preservatives here! The secret is in moderation - try these next time you get a craving - just remember to stick to a few, and put the others in the cookie jar for later!

Enjoy!

Coconut Cocoa Oatmeal Drop CookiesImage via Wikipedia
(Makes about 4 dozen.)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed solid
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sweetened coconut flakes
1 1/2 cups rolled oats

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Put the butter and both sugars in a large bowl and beat with electric mixer until well blended, light and fluffy.
3. With beater running on slow, add in the eggs and vanilla extract and mix until incorporated.
4. In separate bowl, blend together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt, then slowly add to butter mixture with beaters running until blended.
5. Add the coconut and oats and stir with a large spoon until mixture is well blended.
6. Drop dough onto ungreased cookie sheet by tablespoons and bake 8 to 10 minutes.
7. Remove from oven, let cool for a minute, then slide off onto a wire rack to cool completely.