Sugar Free Brownies ♯

I have searched online high and low for a good lower G. I. brownie recipe. Almost all the candidates that I have found so far use a sugar alcohol as the sweetening agent, which, as far as I can tell, is only available from online sources. But I wanted a recipe I could make from things I can buy in my supermarket. As is my usual bent when faced with such adversity, I make my own, my way. I started with some now-forgotten example, added and substituted ingredients, tasted, and retried until something worth recording resulted. This is my best attempt so far and it’s pretty good. I think it can still be tweaked here and there, when I figure out how to, to become even better.

  • 1 ½ cup <sugar>
  • 1 ½ cup lower G. I. flour mix†
  • ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup walnuts or pecans
  • 4 oz nonfat milk
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup X (egg substitute)
  • 8 oz nonfat cream cheese, cubed
  • 1 cup walnuts or pecans (same as above)

Assemble all the dry ingredients, except for the nuts, in a mixing bowl and stir until blended. Fold in the first cup of walnuts. In a food processor or blender, put the milk, vanilla extract, X, and water. Blend on low speed, dropping in chunks of cream cheese until the mixture is smooth. Fold the liquid ingredients into the dry mixture until the consistency is uniform.

Cut a 12” × 12” square of parchment paper and scissor a 1¾” 45° angle diagonal cut at each corner. Fold the resulting flaps to fit a 9” × 9” baking dish. Spray the dish with canola oil and line it with the parchment paper. Pour the brownie batter into the lined dish. Arrange the second cup of nuts in a pleasing pattern on the top, slightly pressing them about halfway into the dough. Bake in a 350° F oven for 30 minutes. Remove and allow the brownies to cool before removing from the pan and cutting the cake into 2” squares.

Nonfat Sugar-Free Vanilla Yogurt ♯

When a dollop of some creamy sweet concoction is called for, say as a dessert topping or icecream substitute, you can use the following recipe. It contains no fat, has low sodium, and is fairly low in carbohydrates—just what my gastronomic guidelines call for. Be sure to use Greek yogurt that contains live cultures and only 5–8 grams of carbohydrate per cup.

  • 1 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
  • 2 tbsp <sugar>
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract

Put the yogurt in a mixing bowl, add the other ingredients, and mix well with a fork. Scoop it back into its container and refrigerate until needed.

Makes one or two servings, depending on application and appetite.