During my high school years, my mom’s coworker gave birth to an angelic blue-eyed boy. Shortly after swaddling him in a blanket and announcing his name, the doctors realized something alarming: he basically lacked an immune system. Similar to the movie “The Boy in the Plastic Bubble,” they transported him to a specialized sterile room in an elite hospital in San Francisco while debating over surgical procedures.
His parents moved into a Ronald McDonald House a block away from the medical center, and my mom commuted into the city after work a few days each week to visit them. She rode the elevator up to the baby’s hospital room, chatting with the couple and relieving them of their watchful duty to run errands, shower, and nap. Gradually, once she vigorously scrubbed her hands with soap and donned teal scrubs, they invited her into the boy’s sterile environment too.
After her hour-long trip to and from San Francisco, Mom lost all energy and motivation to cook dinner. She stopped by a few gourmet eateries around the hospital before driving home instead, presenting us with peasant pies to split. (We usually fought over the curried one!) And on particularly horrendous bumper-to-bumper traffic days, Mom bought a brownie from the bakery next door too.
With the texture of fudge, the oversized treat disappeared within seconds after she pulled it from the white paper bag. We attempted to cut the first one she ever purchased into quarters in order to share a bit with Dad after he arrived home from work… But that plan crumbled to pieces after we each nibbled off a bite. Mom always ordered 2 after that incident, but we were barely satisfied with just half of a rich brownie!
However, a boatload of butter contributed to that decadent indulgence, and the treats left large grease stains on the sides of the paper bags. Before the fat took its toll on our bellies (and exercise routines), we tried weaning ourselves off of them one day at a time. Years later, we still fantasize about those heavenly chocolaty squares, so I finally resolved to bake a healthier version.
After a few tries, I successfully created The Ultimate Healthy Fudgy Cocoa Brownies! Packed with intense dark chocolate flavor, the luscious squares practically melt on your tongue, leaving behind sweet luxurious memories—but not a single ounce of guilt. Each regular-sized brownie only contains 99 calories, but these skinny treats don’t taste healthy at all!
These brownies come together faster than a box mix. Just whisk the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another; then stir them together and pour the batter into the pan. So simple! And unlike the prepared packages sold at the grocery store, this recipe contains NO preservatives or artificial ingredients.
Cocoa powder contributes all off the chocolate flavor. It’s true—you don’t actually need melted chocolate to make a rich, decadent brownie! Although I always swoon over my ooey gooey brownie recipe, I rarely enjoy scrubbing the extra dirty bowl from melting chocolate. (I’d much rather lick it clean instead!)
I opted for whole wheat flour in the final rendition of these low-fat brownies. For 100% whole wheat baked goods, I almost exclusively choose Gold Medal; other brands turn my treats dense and dry. Its flavor is difficult to detect, and it adds a little extra healthy fiber. But you could easily substitute all-purpose flour instead if you prefer!
Just like the easy box mixes, I used oil instead of melted butter. Again, it reduces the number of dirty dishes (or pots) to wash—always a benefit in my kitchen! You only need 2 tablespoons of oil; skim milk and Greek yogurt contribute the rest of the moisture while keeping these brownies low in fat and calories. (Bonus: the Greek yogurt bumps up the protein content too!)
These brownies bake at a mere 300°F. This fairly low temperature prevents the edges from crisping and ensures the entire pan stays fudgy. Incredibly fudgy. Leave it in the oven for only 24-28 minutes. Although the center may look wet, it continues to cook as it cools in the warm pan. If you pull out the brownies after too much longer, they’ll dry out and crumble.
Look at those fudgy beauties! They just exude dark chocolaty decadence and smooth luxurious flavor. It can be our little secret that they’re The Ultimate Healthy Fudgy Cocoa Brownies and secretly skinny. Nobody would believe you after they sampled one of these moist, indulgent squares!
Can you blame me for devouring 3 the second I finished the photo shoot?
And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy brownies!
The Ultimate Healthy Fudgy Cocoa Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (120g) whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour (measured like this)
- ¾ cup (60g) unsweetened cocoa powder (measured like this)
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 tbsp (30mL) canola or vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (144g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (60mL) nonfat milk
- ¼ cup (60g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F, and lightly coat an 8”-square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar. Mix in the milk and yogurt. Add in the cocoa mixture, stirring just until incorporated.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan, and bake at 300°F for 24-28 minutes (24 minutes for fudgier brownies; 28 minutes for firmer and less fudgy brownies). Remove the pan from the oven and place on a wire rack. Cool completely to room temperature in the pan before slicing into squares.
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
P.S. After a bone marrow transplant, the doctors allowed the sweet little boy to head home and recover. I baby-sat him for a few summers as he grew, and he currently lives a normal, active, Thomas-the-Tank-Engine-obsessed life. Thank goodness for modern medicine and miracles! ♥
Has anyone tried these with ground flax and water to replace 1 or both of the eggs?
I haven’t tried that Lisbeth, but if you’ve had success doing that in other brownie recipes, it should probably work with this one too!
These looks so good! I had to laugh when you said you ate 3 right after the photo shoot and I can see why… YUM! LOL =)
Thank you so much Emily!
Please help! I just made these and I followed everything perfectly. The dough was very thick and the final result was almost like play-dough. No flavor and a very odd texture. What did I do wrong?
I’m sorry Desi; that must have been disappointing. If the batter was thick enough to be considered “dough,” then there was either too much flour and cocoa powder or not enough wet ingredients (including sugar). Be sure to use a light hand with the spoon-and-level method! I’ve found that if I scoop the flour directly from the container, I end up with 1.5 times as much. Make sure to use the full amount of sugar, Greek yogurt, and milk as well. Hopefully your next batch turns out perfectly!
These brownies look AWESOME! I really want to make them, but I’d like to log them into My Fitness Pal. Do you have the nutritional info on these aside from just the calories, so I can make a custom entry just for them? I reeeaaallly wanna make them, but I’m a nut about logging food into my little app! :’) Thanks so much!
D’OHHHHH! I am so dumb! I see it now, the giant link that says VIEW NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION hahahaha! So sorry for the dumb question, I don’t know how I missed that… what can I say, it was a reeeaalllly long day at work. I think I really need chocolate, lol.
No need to apologize Ally; it’s easy to miss! 🙂 Chocolate always makes me feel better after a long day — or even before, as a little motivation to stay on top of everything!
Thanks for the recipe! Made these last night for Valentine’s Day! YUMMMM!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Amy! 🙂
Hi! I need some advice! My aunt’s coming home from overseas and she requests me a chocolate cake. I’m thinking of turning this into a “cake” in my 24cm springform, I would double the batch and add maybe whipped cream or chocolate cream cheese frosting and/or filling? What do you think?
If your aunt is craving chocolate cake, I’d recommend this recipe of mine and baking it in your springform pan. The cake will be done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. I hope you enjoy your time with your aunt Austin!
Do you think I could sub applesauce for the oil?
You could, but I wouldn’t recommend it Karena. There’s only a tiny bit of oil, and replacing it with applesauce would make the brownies more gummy than chewy.
I’ve been looking at all of your brownie recipes and they all look amazing – and I kept thinking the calories had to be too good to be true. This recipe for example is made in an 8 inch square pan and it says it makes 16 brownies, so that’s a REALLY tiny Brownie. Your pictures are VERY deceiving, because they are clearly not the actual serving size of one brownie for 100 calories, they are like at least double the size. Very misleading you should take pictures of the actual size of the brownie that is supposed to be 100 calories.
I’m sorry for the confusion Cindy — this is the actual size of the 100-calorie brownies! Each of these brownies is just a touch less than 2×2″ in size. I like taking close-up photos of treats, so maybe that’s why they look deceptively large. 🙂 I hope you enjoy the brownies if you try them!
I’m sorry, but these brownies are absolutely awful. When I saw the recipe I thought they looked SO good that I made them immediately. I made them exactly as the recipe is written. They are nothing like brownies whatsoever. They are not fudgy. They are not chewy. They are cake like, with no flavor except chocolate. They are not sweet. They are bland, dry and almost grainy.. I baked them at 300 degrees for the shortest time. I did nothing wrong according to the recipe. I don’t know how anybody could like or eat these. I chewed half of one and spit it out into the garbage. I guess I’ll bring the remaining 15 to work and pawn them off on desperate people.
I’m sorry they didn’t turn out the way you expected; that must have been disappointing. If the brownies were cakey, bland, and not sweet, then there was too much cocoa powder in the batter. How did you measure it? I’ve found that if I scoop it directly from the container instead of lightly spooning and leveling like with flour (as I describe here), I end up with 1.5 times as much, which would result in the issues you described. Hopefully that helps and your next batch turns out perfectly!