Brownies

Expectation: That I would never find a winning whole grain brownie recipe.

I've always loved the idea of brownies, but find that I am often disappointed at picnics and parties when I taste a not-worth-the-calories brownie that is too sweet or too cake-y or too hard. Therefore, I never anticipated finding a blog-worthy brownie recipe. But, after a brief whole grain hiatus over the holidays (there was plenty of baking, just not of the whole grain variety), I stumbled upon this recipe. "Rosie" promises "the best, richest brownies" and describes them as "fudgy" and "deep(ly) chocolate(y)". And, they use oat flour! So, I had to try them out. I made the oat flour myself by popping a cup of oats into a blender. Overall, these were super easy to make, and as good as Rosie promised!

One ingredient to pay attention to is dutch cocoa. There are two different kinds of unsweetened cocoa out there: natural and dutch-processed. It turns out that using the correct kind is important, as you can read about below.

Another alteration that I made was adding chocolate chips and walnuts. I firmly believe that brownies should always have chocolate chips in them, so I never make them without. And, as you know, I love nuts. This recipe will hold up with the added chips and nuts or without.


Ingredients:

• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1/2 cup dutch cocoa
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup finely ground oat flour
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (optional)
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preparations:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8x8 inch pan.

If making your own oat flour, put a heaping cup of oats into the blender and blend until fine. Measure out a cup of the oat flour and set aside.

Combine the melted butter with the dutch cocoa. Add the sugar and allow the butter to cool for a bit (you don't want to cook the eggs!). Once the bowl feels cool to the touch, beat in the eggs one at a time.

Next, add espresso powder, vanilla, salt and oat flour and combine. Last, toss in the chocolate chips and walnuts (if you'd like). Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Allow the brownies to cool in the pan before devouring (this is seriously the hardest part). 

About the grains and ingredients:

Dutch Cocoa Powder is cocoa that has been processed with alkali to neutralize acidity, increase solubility and remove bitter flavor. Some people believe it is important to use the cocoa specified in a recipe because the different types of cocoa react differently to baking powder and baking soda. Unfortunately, the dutch-process also reduces the amount of antioxidants in the cocoa, and it can be pricey. For more information, check out this write up by David LeBovitz. I purchased a box of Droste Dutch processed cocoa at QFC for $14.99.

Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats are oat groats that have been steamed and flattened by a roller. Rolled oats cannot be eaten raw, but are the main ingredient in minimally cooked recipes, like granola. I bought a two pound bag of Bob's Red Mill Organic Old Fashioned Rolled Oats at Whole Foods for $4.39. Rolled Oats have a GI of 58. See how I used them in coffeecake and peach apricot bread.