Sherm's Bingeing Brownies
From CRSWiki
By Michael Sherman
Contents |
Ingredients & Amounts
16 servings
Mixing Bowl
- 1 1/2 cup (120g) Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1/2 cup (60 g) Rice Bran
- 3/4 cup (60 g) Psyllium Husk
- 1/3 cup (35 g) Chopped Hazelnuts
- 1/4 cup (30 g) Whole Wheat Flour
- 1 1/2 Tbsp (23 g) Brewer's Yeast
- 1/3 cup or 1 scoop (20 g) Whey Protein Powder
- 1 tsp (6 g) Baking Powder (no sodium)
Blender
- 1 1/2 cup (360 g) Nonfat Milk
- 6 large (200 g) Egg Whites
- 1 1/2 cup (200 g) Papaya
- 1/3 cup (80 g) Pumpkin (canned)
- 2 med (75 g) Endive
- 1 large (50 g) Whole Egg
- 1 1/2 Tbsp (20 g) Canola Oil
- 2 tsp (10 g) Almond Extract
- 1 tsp (5 g) Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 tsp (3 g) Salt
- 1 1/2 tsp (2 g) Sucralose
- 2 capsules (1 g) Calcium (elemental)
- 1 capsule (15 mg) Zinc (elemental)
Substitutions
- 2 tsp (10 g) Peppermint Extract instead of Almond Extract - to make a mint chocolate brownie
- 1 1/2 Tbsp (5 g) Stevia (white powder) instead of Sucralose -Sucralose is three times sweeter than Stevia
- 1 cup (150 g) Guava instead of 200 g Papaya (or see Ingredient Notes)
- 1 carrot Carrot instead of the Pumpkin (but see Ingredient Notes)
- 1/3 cup (35 g) Almonds for Hazelnuts
Instructions & Comments
The ideal pan is a non-stick, 9x13x1" brownie pan. (1" deep makes it easy to get the brownies to be a uniform thickness.) If you don't have a non-stick pan, spray the one you have with a canola-based spray oil like Pam. (Don't use an olive oil-based spray because the taste is wrong for brownies.)
You can use a 9x13x2" pan, or a pair of 8x8x2" pans. I have also had very good luck using a pair of cheap disposable 6.5x9x1.5" aluminum foil brownie pans.
1. Preheat oven to 325 F.
2. Combine in mixing bowl: rice bran, psyllium, cocoa, protein powder, flour, brewer's yeast, baking powder. Mix by hand until uniform and without lumps. Then add hazelnuts last (if you add them earlier you won't be able to tell when you have lumps). Set aside.
3. Put in blender: egg whites, egg, milk, oil, vanilla extract, almond (or peppermint) extract, pumpkin, endive, papaya (or guava), sucralose (or stevia), salt, calcium, zinc. Blend on high until very smooth.
4. Add liquid to dry ingredients; mix vigorously. Scrape mixing spoon to make sure there is no dry stuff hidden on it.
5. Pour batter into pan(s) and spread evenly. Wet the back of the mixing spoon with hot water (or spray a little canola oil on it) and use it to push the batter around to make it an even depth and to make a smooth, flat top. Pay special attention to the edges; it is easy to leave gaps and low spots there. Professional brownie makers cut off the edges and discard them to make all the brownies uniform; I don't discard anything!
6. Lick spoon until clean; put back in drawer if no one is watching.
7. Cook 30 minutes in the upper half of the oven. Do not attempt to use the "toothpick test" (where you cook until an inserted toothpick comes out clean). If you do, the Brownies will be overcooked. The mix will rise substantially in the oven but will shrink back somewhat during cooling.
8. When cool enough to handle (5 minutes or so) cut in 4 by 4 pattern to make 16 rectangular Brownies. (This is a little awkward if you used 8x8 pans. You have to cut those in a 2x4 pattern.) Put these *upside down* on a towel or cooling rack. This allows moisture to evaporate from the bottom and improves the texture noticeably. Cool for at least another 10 minutes.
9. Refrigerate or freeze in Tupperware. These freeze really well, although they do shrink a bit there.
To eat a frozen Brownie, microwave on high for 30 seconds. That should leave the Brownie still cool but edible.
Ingredient Notes
Cocoa powder: I use Nestlé's Toll House cocoa from my local grocery store. Ingredients: 100% cocoa. Label shows 15 calories per Tablespoon (5g). Some other brands show somewhat higher calorie density; get the lowest you can.
Rice Bran: You should get rice bran in sealed containers if possible, though open-bin rice bran is still better than any other grain! I can get Ener-G rice bran at a local health food store. You can easily get it by mail from their web site. Look under "flours" to find the rice bran product and buy the 8 oz (227g) size which costs less than $2. You can also order the product by telephone 1-800-331-5222. Keep it refrigerated.
Psyllium husk: This is fine to obtain open-bin or in packages. Make sure you get pure psyllium husk with no flavorings. No refrigeration is necessary.
Hazelnuts (a.k.a. filberts): You can get hazelnuts pre-chopped in sealed bags at the grocery store. They are approximately the size and texture of chopped walnuts.
Whey protein powder: You could probably also use soy protein isolate -- I already use that in Megamuffins so I don't want it in my Brownies.
Baking powder: I use a potassium-based baking powder I get from my local health-food store. (Watch out -- if it is caked hard it is no longer any good.) If you have to use a sodium-based baking powder, that's OK. Try to find aluminum-free baking powder if possible but there is no need to panic if you can't.
Eggs: If you can get high-omega-3 eggs, use one for the whole egg. Don't use expensive omega-3 eggs for the whites -- only the yolk contains the omega3 fat. I use 1 cup of commercial liquid egg whites (e.g. Egg Beaters or All Whites) in place of the six hand-separated egg whites.
Papaya or Guava: This is the primary source of vitamin C for the Brownie. I found it easy to get papaya, but apparently guava is seasonal. Guava has by far the highest density of vitamin C per calorie of any fruit (360mg/100cal). Strawberry, Kiwi and Papaya are roughly tied at half that density, and Orange has about one third. I couldn't get guava, rejected strawberry and orange because of their prominent roles in my muffins and kiwi because of the seeds, so that left me with papaya. Strawberries would be a good alternate to papaya if you don't already consume a lot of them like I do.
Canned Pumpkin: This is the primary source of vitamin A for the Brownie. Pumpkin has the same vitamin A density as carrot. However, most people eat lots of carrots and very little pumpkin, so this is a better choice from a variety point of view. Carrots also appear in the muffin recipe, so I didn't want them here.
Calcium and Zinc supplements: If you choose to use supplements, as I did for calcium and zinc, please note that the amounts listed are *elemental*. You may need a larger amount of supplement to provide the required elemental amount. I use 2 calcium carbonate powder capsules of 1g each to get a total of 2g of elemental calcium. Without supplementing, calcium will be at 8% RDA and zinc at 9%, just short of my 10% requirement.
Nutrition Facts
| Per Serving (70 g) | |
|---|---|
| Calories (kcal) | 100 |
| Carbohydrates | 14.4 g |
| Protein | 7.6 g |
| Fat | 4.7 g |
| Omega-3 PUFAs | 0.14 g |
| Omega-6 PUFAs | 0.86 g |
| Vitamin A | 780 IU |
| Vitamin C | 8.3 mg |
| Vitamin E | 1.1 mg |
| Calcium | 140 mg |
| Magnesium | 97.5 mg |
| Fiber | 6.8 g |
