Healthy One-Bowl Chocolate Chunk Brownies
I’m obsessed with this recipe! Brownies are my favorite dessert, and these are supremely rich, incredibly fudgy, and true chocolate heaven. They never last long in my kitchen! Leftovers will keep for at least five days (if not longer!) if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and they also freeze well.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup (60g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ½ cup (96g) coconut sugar
- 6 tbsp (90mL) nonfat milk
- ¾ cup (60g) unsweetened cocoa powder (measured like this)
- ¾ cup (90g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- 3 tbsp (42g) finely chopped dark chocolate (see Notes!)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F, and coat an 8”-square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter or coconut oil, egg whites, vanilla, and salt. Stir in the Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Stir in the coconut sugar. Stir in the milk. Add in the cocoa powder, stirring just until incorporated. Add in the flour, then evenly sprinkle the baking powder across the top of the flour (to prevent clumping). Gently stir until just incorporated. Gently fold in 2 ½ tablespoons of the chopped dark chocolate.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan, and gently press the remaining chopped dark chocolate into the top. 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 8 hours at room temperature for the fudgiest texture before serving.
Notes
IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: It's extremely important to measure the flour and cocoa powder correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own!) Too much flour and cocoa powder in the brownie batter will make your brownies dry and crumbly, rather than chewy and fudgy. Too much cocoa powder will also make your brownies taste bitter, rather than rich and chocolaty.
IMPORTANT MIXING NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: Follow the instructions precisely for the best results! The order of addition and order of mixing together ingredients is very important.
Do not use a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer! Use a whisk where explicitly instructed, and use a fork for everything else.
IMPORTANT BAKING NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: The brownies are ready to come out of the oven when the edges look firm but the center still looks glossy and underdone. The heat from the pan continues to cook the center while they cool. If the edges of the brownies pull away from the edges of your baking pan within 10 minutes of pulling them out of the oven, then you’ve baked them for long enough!
If you’re too impatient to wait for 8 hours once your brownies are at room temperature, then you can stick the pan in the refrigerator for 2+ hours after they’ve reached room temperature to speed up the process. (If you cut into them sooner, they'll be more cakey than fugdy.)
FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: 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 because it tends to be more absorbent than wheat-based flour.
COCOA POWDER NOTES: If your cocoa powder is very bumpy and/or clumpy, then sift it into the mixing bowl.
I do not recommend substituting Dutched or special dark cocoa powder for the regular unsweetened cocoa powder. Both Dutched and special dark cocoa powder have a different acidity level, which can affect the taste and texture of your brownies.
EGG WHITES ALTERNATIVE: If you prefer to use whole eggs, then use 2 large eggs AND reduce the milk by 1 tablespoon to compensate for the added volume from the yolks.
COCONUT SUGAR ALTERNATIVES: Brown sugar or granulated sugar may be substituted for the coconut sugar, but the brownies will no longer be clean eating friendly.
If you’d prefer, ½ cup (120mL) of pure maple syrup, honey, or agave may be substituted for the coconut sugar AND ¼ cup of the milk. (You still need to add those final 2 tablespoons of milk!)
MILK ALTERNATIVES: Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
DARK CHOCOLATE NOTES: For the best results, use regular bars of dark chocolate — not chocolate chips! Chocolate chips often contain stabilizers that prevent them from fully melting while baking. (I love bars from Ghirardelli and Lindt.) Cut them so the pieces are about the size of mini chocolate chips to ensure the chocolate chunks are evenly distributed.
GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: For the gluten-free flour, use as follows: ½ cup (60g) millet flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) brown rice flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) tapioca flour, and ½ teaspoon xanthan gum. Many store-bought gluten-free flour blends (I like this one from Bob's Red Mill) will work as well, if measured like this.
HOW TO STORE: Store leftover brownies in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They should keep for at least five days, if not longer. They freeze and thaw well too!
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat}
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.