Wednesday 29 January 2014

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!
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18 comments

  1. Oh my good god these look absolutely out-of-this-world-ly delicious!! But did you know that apparently reduced fat peanut butter is actually worse for you than regular peanut butter because the fats they take out are actually good for you and they're replaced by bad chemicals and stuff... but yeah, can't wait to try these! :)

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    1. Oh that's interesting. I have to say I didn't know that actually, thanks. Hope you make them with whichever type of PB you like and you love them :) X

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  2. This recipe looks amazing - I made peanut butter swirl brownies a few months ago which were lovely, but I''ve been wanting to try a healthier version...I''ll definitely be giving this a go! If you don't mind me asking, how powerful do you reckon your blender is, as I'm worried mine might be too weak/cheap!

    Now craving brownies... x

    www.ninegrandstudent.wordpress.com

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    1. Thanks Chloe, and do let me know how you get on. No problem for asking... I don't think my blender was particularly powerful to be honest so I'm sure you'll be fine - it all blends together pretty easily. Hope you enjoy them :) X

      PS I am now also craving brownies...

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    2. I just have an £8 mini chopper from Amazon and it worked brilliantly :)

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  3. Oh my gosh!!! I soooo wish i could make these but im finding it impossible to figure out the conversions without a scale... :'((((

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    1. Oh no! What units did you want the ingredients in? :(

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  4. Replies
    1. Thanks Christine! I must say I think they taste it too :)

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  5. I made these with GF oats and GF baking powder and they worked a treat! They were sooooo super yummy that sadly I may have eaten half of them in one go. Totally worth it though :D fab recipe Rach xxx

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    1. Yay! So glad to hear it. Thanks Steffi :) xxx

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  6. Made these and they were a huge success! Thank you so much for this recipe. A great alternative when you're craving Reese's Peanut Butter cups. xxx

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    1. I'm so glad to hear it! And yes, great thinking with the Peanut Butter Cups comparison... I hadn't thought of that. X

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  7. Just baked up a batch this afternoon and they were so so yummy that my flatmates have already devoured the lot! The boys were extra surprised to find out they were 'skinny' brownies as well, definitely a winner :) bookmarked for many another baking session!

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    Replies
    1. Oh that please me greatly, Maddy! Am so thrilled to hear it. X

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