Name: Low Fodmap Cocoa Brownies
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 8 Tbsp Butter (To reduce the fat grams you may use 1/4 cup butter and either 1/4 cup Greek yogurt or 1/4 cup applesauce); 1/2 cup white sugar; 1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed; 1/2 cup cocoa (I like Hershey's Cocoa, 100% Cacao); 1/4 tsp salt or 1/8 tsp if using salted butter; 1 tsp pure vanilla extract; 2 large eggs; 1/2 cup all purpose flour or KA Measure for Measure GF flour; 1/4 tsp baking powder (optional) Fudgier without it; 2/3 cup broken pecans (optional); 1/2 cup GF choc. chips. mini choc. chips or or choc chunks (optional)

Pandemic Low Fodmap Cocoa Brownies

These low fodmap cocoa brownies were made with pantry and fridge ingredients that are almost depleted since we have been sheltering at home, thanks to Covid 19. (Here are some of the meals I have made using what I have on hand. Shrimp fried rice, quick Roman bean soup, spaghetti and meatballs.)

Dealing with Low Baking Supplies

I still have flour, sugar and cocoa thanks to my having the foresight to buy a lot of baking supplies during my last grocery store foray. But the price of vanilla is in the stratosphere. I don’t know what happened there, but maybe vanilla comes from the East and the East is a no no now. Who knows?

Now my children made me promise to stay home during this most recent uprising of new Covid variants . I promised but I did have my fingers crossed. I mean, people, I need groceries in order to cook for my blog.

Anyway, to make myself feel better, I made these low fodmap brownies and they do taste delicious. Doesn’t chocolate make everything better?

INGREDIENTS:

8 Tbsp. butter (1 stick) (to reduce fat I sometimes use only 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup apple sauce or plain 2% Greek yogurt) You can also use vegetable oil instead of butter,

1/2 cup cocoa (Hershey’s 100% Cacao or Trader Joe or your own favorite)

1 tsp pure vanilla (Good luck finding it!)

2 large eggs

1/2 cup AP flour ( or for GF brownies, you ca use King Arthur’s Measure for Measure GF Flour)

1/4 tsp salt (1/8 tsp if using salted butter)

1/2 cup white sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)

1/2 cup broken walnuts or pecans (optional)

1/2 cup GF choc. chips or mini- choc chips (optional)°

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 350 ° (325° if using a dark non-stick pan) and grease and flour an 8″ square pan

In a two quart saucepan, melt the butter. Keeping the mixture on low heat, with a wooden spoon, stir in the sugar, cocoa and salt.

Keep stirring over very low heat until all is incorporated and the mixture seems like a thick batter.

Take it off the heat. Quickly stir in one at a time, the two eggs (and the yogurt or applesauce if substituting them for the other 1/4 cup of butter), so that the eggs have no time to cook in the mixture. Add the vanilla. With a wooden spoon or a spatula, stir the mixture forty strokes or until it becomes shiny and smooth.

Then carefully stir in the flour making sure all the flour is mixed in from the bottom and from the sides. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the bottom and sides so that the flour is totally incorporated.

Then, stir in the nuts and chocolate chips, if using them.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it from corner to corner so that the batter is evenly divided. Bake it in a 325° oven for 30 min. or until a toothpick comes out clean.

A toothpick inserted in the center of the pan should have some fudgy crumbs, but all around the sides, the toothpick should come out clean. It might take longer than 30 minutes, so test every two minutes after 30 minutes, if they are still not done. When they are finished baking, place the pan on a cooling rack. Better a bit under baked than overbaked and dry.

After they are cool I usually cut them into bars and freeze them until I want to serve them. I have been known to test them occasionally right from the freezer, so I know they are delicious even frozen.