Chocolate Fix: A Guest Post, By Healthy Sous-Chef Partyologist, Lea Bowen

Not sure what got into me last week, but I needed a chocolate fix that only a batch of brownies could satisfy. I decided to take my traditional brownie recipe that I'd found in a magazine years ago and see if I could make them a little better. I replaced two of the eggs with egg whites and substituted some of the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour and used raw sugar instead of refined white sugar. By no means, did I make these dark chocolate brownies into health food, but I was able to make some small changes that made me feel a tiny bit better about eating them. Mostly, I think I made them better in the taste category, by adding some of my favorite ingredients like espresso powder, fleur de sel and toasted almonds.

I hope you will enjoy this chocolaty indulgence as much as I did.

Better Chocolate Brownies:

2 cups Raw Sugar

1 1/2 sticks Butter, melted

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Egg

2 Egg Whites

2/3 cup All-Purpose Flour

1/3 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 tsp Sea Salt

1 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1 tsp Instant Espresso Powder

Topping:

1 60-70% Cacao Dark Chocolate Bar

Toasted Almonds

Step One:

Place raw sugar, butter, vanilla, egg and egg whites in a large bowl and mix to combine.

Step Two:

In a separate bowl, whisk together flours, sea salt, cocoa powder and espresso powder.

Step Three:

Gradually add flour mixture to the sugar and butter mixture and stir to combine.

Place batter in a 9 x 9 pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until batter pulls away from sides. Allow to cool and cut into 25 pieces.

Optional Garnish:

Melt one 3.5 oz dark chocolate bar on the stove top over low heat. Spread a thin layer of melted chocolate on top of brownie pieces and top with a pinch of fleur de sel and a whole toasted almond.