“Skinny” Brownies

I love when I get visits on my site from friends who aren’t food bloggers. Last week, our computer tutor emailed me that he and his wife made my butternut squash risotto. And this week, one of Larry’s colleagues emailed me a recipe for low calorie brownies that I renamed “skinny” brownies.

Not much of a baker or chocoholic, I immediately thought of the February Chocolate Blog Hop coming up with the theme being chocolate. After a little research, I discovered the recipe was called “Amaretto Fudge Brownies” from the Weight Watchers One Pot Cookbook.

For me, the combination of amaretto and chocolate didn’t set off any fireworks, but adding orange liqueur and orange zest sounded pretty good. Orange and chocolate is a favorite combination of mine. I substituted decaf coffee crystals instead of espresso. Grand Marnier was my choice for the liqueur and I added fresh orange juice.

Somehow, I knew my pan of brownies would fall short of the 16 promised in the original recipe. Even so, they weigh in under 150 calories and are low in fat and sodium. Larry ate four, so I guess they passed the taste test.

Thanks to Susan for including me in the blog hop!

Yields 12 brownies

• 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup all-purpose unbleached white flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of kosher salt
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg white
• 3 tablespoons orange liqueur
• zest of one organic navel orange
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 4 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tablespoon instant decaf coffee granules
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish with the oil.

3. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

4. Using a large bowl, whisk together the egg, egg white, liqueur, orange zest and vanilla.

5. Stir in the sugar, melted butter and orange juice. Mix well.

6. Add the cocoa and coffee granules.

7. Add the flour mixture and the walnuts. Stir gently until just blended.

8. Pour into greased dish and bake for 18 minutes. Cut into squares when cooled.