RECIPE: Skinny peanut butter brownies of dreams

Oh my days. These. Can we all just take a moment. Thanks.

Super squidgy, satisfyingly sweet, slightly salty, seriously scrummy and surprisingly skinny… I am a BIG fan of these peanut butter brownies! The contrast of textures is too good for words and the salty-sweet peanut butter-chocolate combo is such a winner in my books.

What's more, I've calculated that each brownie is under 120 calories! Yes, really! *jaw drops*

When I posted the above picture on Instagram and Facebook, the response that followed was astounding, and I knew I was on to a winner.

They are so moreish, moist and marvellous (wow, my alliteration is on FIRE today!) that it’s really hard to believe these babies aren’t choc-full (aren’t I punny too?) of badness. But they’re not. Allow me to explain why…

• They contain NO BUTTER OR FLOUR!
• Ground-up oats do the job of flour and provide slow-release energy. (And you could use gluten-free oats to make these babies GF friendly!)
• Fat-free yoghurt keeps the brownies beautifully moist without the need for butter.
• Egg-whites are a great source of protein and you don’t need the yolk which contains the high fat and cholesterol.
• Peanut butter is an energy-boosting ‘good’ fat.
• Using low-fat versions of everything keeps the calories down (but it’s not the end of the world if you only have regular versions of the ingredients.)
• Using cocoa powder in brownies gives a great chocolatey flavour and is much better for you than melted chocolate. 

They’re so soft and squidgy that these brownies are almost like fudge really, and who doesn’t love peanut butter chocolate fudge? I know I do. It just makes it even more amazing that these brownies are completely free from butter or oil. Say WHAAAT?!

Oh gosh! And I haven't even told you how quick and easy they are to make! Seriously beyond simple. All you need is a blender (I used a hand one but it doesn't matter.) This is totally one of my top recipes EVER!

I suppose the one slightly less healthy ingredient is the sugar, but when you divide that up into eight brownies it’s not so bad really.

As the brownies don’t contain loads of flour, you’re not left feeling bloated or stodgy after eating one, and because they’re so rich, you genuinely feel satisfied after a small-ish square (that’s not to say I couldn’t eat them all in one go though…)

This recipe is adapted from my skinny peanut butter swirl brownie cupcakes, which are also rather wonderful if I do say so myself. But these brownies are even better because they've got peanut butter in the chocolate mix too.

I actually made mine in a loaf tin measuring 20x11cm and I cut it into eight delicious brownies.

Ingredients

100g natural fat free yoghurt
50g skimmed milk
1 egg white
A pinch of salt
½ tsp baking powder
100g caster sugar
40g cocoa powder
30g oats
2 tbsp low-fat peanut butter

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and grease and line a loaf tin measuring 20x11cm.

2. Measure out all the ingredients into a blender, keeping behind one tbsp of the peanut butter and starting with the liquid ingredients for easier blending. Blend until you have a smooth, runny mixture and all the oats are ground up. Pour into your tin.

3. Melt the last spoonful of peanut butter until warm and runny, then drizzle over the brownie mix. (FYI, melted peanut butter is delish.) Give the mix a bit of a swirl if ya fancy and make sure every piece will get a decent amount of PB goodness. 

Pop in the oven for around 25 minutes - when done, a skewer inserted into the middle should come out just about clean (but a bit of moistness is good as we don't want dry brownies!)

4. Go round the edge of the tin with a knife then leave to cool fully. I was very impatient so opened the window wide, placed my tin on the window-sill, and let the fresh snowy air waft in and speed up the cooling process. Once cool, cut into squares and enjoy GUILT-FREE! Yuuuuuuuuum!

Hope you enjoy them, lovelies!