This past weekend, something exciting happened… Something that I’ve been waiting for {rather impatiently!} since November… Spring Training baseball games finally started!
My dad and I are huge baseball fans, and we’re in the process of visiting all 30 Major League stadiums together. (We’ve been to 22 so far!) After I listened to games on my MLB app radio on Sunday, we began tossing around travel dates for this year’s stadiums—and Mom decided to join in too!
That evening, we booked flights to the Midwest to see Kansas City and St. Louis, and we tentatively set aside dates to head back to New York City. Although we checked off Shea and the old Yankee stadium from our list during my teenage years, we still haven’t visited either of the new NY stadiums!
Then, realizing how often Mom flies back to Arizona to check in on my grandparents, we thought about squeezing in another Diamondbacks game. Despite visiting Chase Field (previously Bank One Ballpark, aka the BOB!) multiple times already, it’s still one of our favorite stadiums. It even has a pool for fans behind the right field fence!
With how much excitement is bubbling up inside of me, I may end up packing my suitcases before the regular season even starts in April… ?
At the very least, this first weekend of baseball inspired me to bake one of my favorite desserts, yet with a fun sunshiny flavor twist as bright and happy as my heart felt after listening to games and finalizing travel plans… Which resulted in these Healthy Fudgy Dark Chocolate Orange Brownies! (Yes, brownies are basically my all-time favorite dessert!) This easy, no-mixer-required recipe contains no butter, refined flour or sugar—and just 75 calories!
So let’s talk about how to make them! You’ll start with white whole wheat flour and cocoa powder. That first ingredient sounds like a paradox, doesn’t it? Normally white flour and whole wheat flour are two different things! However, white whole wheat flour is made by finely grinding a special type of soft white wheat, whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat. This gives white whole wheat flour a lighter taste and texture, similar to all-purpose flour, but it still has the same health benefits as regular whole wheat flour.
Note: I’ve included my favorite gluten-free flour options in the Notes section underneath the recipe Instructions, if you prefer!
As for the second ingredient, just use regular ol’ unsweetened cocoa powder. You’re adding the same amount of cocoa powder as you are flour, so the brownies already taste exceptionally rich and chocolaty without Dutched or special dark cocoa powder. Just make sure you measure it correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale (← that’s the one I own and LOVE!), because too much cocoa powder will dry out your brownies and give them a bitter flavor.
To keep these brownies fudgy and tender without two sticks of butter or a cup of oil, you’ll use one of my favorite ingredients in healthier baking: Greek yogurt! Greek yogurt adds the same moisture as extra butter or oil for a fraction of the calories, and it gives your brownies a protein boost, too.
To sweeten your brownies, you’ll skip the granulated sugar and use coconut sugar instead! Coconut sugar is exactly what it sounds like: an unrefined sweetener that comes from coconuts. However, it does NOT actually taste like coconuts! It has a rich, caramel-like flavor, similar to brown sugar, and you can find it at many grocery stores near the regular sugars. (Or online here!)
For the fruity flavor, you’ll use both orange juice and orange zest. Don’t skip the latter! The zest actually provides the majority of the orange flavor because the citrus taste is highly concentrated in the orange peel. I promise it’s worth the extra effort of finding (and then washing!) your zester!
Ready for an extra chocolaty dessert? ? 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 brownies and feature them in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Healthy Fudgy Dark Chocolate Orange Brownies | | Print |
- ¾ cup (90g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- ¾ cup (60g) unsweetened cocoa powder (measured like this)
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tbsp (11g) freshly grated orange zest (about 1 large)
- 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (60g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup (60mL) freshly squeezed orange juice
- ½ cup (96g) coconut sugar
- 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, salt, and orange zest. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Stir in the orange juice. Stir in the coconut sugar Mix in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 300°F for 15-19 minutes (15 minutes yields the fudgiest brownies; 19 minutes yields slightly cakier brownies). Cool completely to room temperature in the pan, and let the brownies sit for at least 3 hours at room temperature for the fudgiest texture before serving.
Regular whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour. Oat flour (gluten-free, if necessary!) may be substituted as well, but be extremely careful when measuring it!
I don’t recommend using Dutched or special dark cocoa powder. The brownies already taste very rich and dark chocolaty without it!
Brown sugar or granulated sugar may be substituted for the coconut sugar, but the brownies will no longer be clean eating friendly.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
View Nutrition Information
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♥ Dark Chocolate Orange Truffles
♥ Practically Flourless Extra Fudgy Brownies
♥ Fudgy Dark Chocolate Raspberry Brownies
♥ Fudgy Dark Chocolate Frosted Brownies
♥ Fudgy Dark Chocolate Strawberry Brownies
♥ Fudgy Slow Cooker Brownies
♥ Fudgy Mocha Brownies with Coffee Drizzle
♥ Fudgy Dark Chocolate Cheesecake Swirled Brownies
Ooooo orange and chocolate in brownies?! That’s such an amazing combination!! I’ll definitely be trying these 🙂
Thanks Marina! I can’t wait to hear what you think of them! 🙂
Thank you, Amy, for printing the recipe in a neat little rectangle that can be printed out so easily, and thank you for putting the weight os each ingredient. We Brits find using ‘cups’ quite difficult. How, for instance do yu push some ingredients down into a cup? Weight is far better.
My pleasure Val! I was actually a chemist before a baking blogger, and since we measured everything in our lab in grams and mL, I’m much more comfortable with those! 😉 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these brownies! 🙂
ohhh wow, these sound so good! x
Izzy |http://www.pinchofdelight.com
Thanks so much Izzy! 🙂
Hey amy, this looks like a fantastic recipe 🙂 I was wondering if I could use normal plain vanilla yoghurt instead of Greek yoghurt? I just want to clear out my fridge instead of buying more yoghurt. Thanks 🙂
Yes, vanilla Greek yogurt will be just fine! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these brownies Sophie!
Amy thank you for another great recipe
Have you tried it with stevia?! I have a diabetic friend and I would like to make it as a present! Thank you!
You’re so sweet to think of your friend Angela! What’s the exact stevia brand and product you’d like to substitute? 🙂
Crystal stevia 1:2 ratio! Thank you!
Do you mean “Sun Crystals Stevia and Sugar Cane Granular Sweetener,” Angela? I didn’t find any products called “Crystal Stevia” when I did a quick Google search. Just want to make sure I give you the best recipe modification possible! 🙂
hi thanks for the message. I meant granulated stevia with erythritol! thats the correct term, sorry if I confused you!!
Actually Sun Crystal stevia is what I have got but in a different brand! (1:2 ratio to sugar)
I m trying to make your brownies with blanched almond flour ( for gluten free) and stevia. Its quite difficult I have to admit !!
thank you!
Okay! So if the product you have is a 1:2 substitute for sugar (ie ¼ cup your product = ½ cup sugar), then use ¼ cup of your sweetener + an additional 3 tablespoons of orange juice (or milk) to compensate for the missing volume. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear how your brownies turn out Angela!
hi thanks for the message. I meant granulated stevia with erythritol! thats the correct term, sorry if I confused you!! (e.g Natvia)
I m trying to make your brownies with blanched almond flour ( for gluten free) and stevia. Its quite difficult I have to admit !!
thank you for your time!
Actually Sun Crystal stevia is what I have got but in a different brand! (1:2 ratio to sugar)
thank you!!
I am allergic to coconut can I use honey as a sweetener instead? I won’t use artificial sweeteners x
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Gemma! I don’t recommend substituting honey in this particular brownie recipe of mine. This is because the orange juice is required to achieve the citrusy flavor, and substituting honey would add too much liquid to the batter. (In order to substitute honey, you’d need to omit the orange juice — not good! 😉 ) The best substitutes for the coconut sugar are granulated-style sweeteners in this recipe. However, I have plenty of other brownie recipes here where you can use honey instead! 🙂