Peanut Butter-Chocolate Brownies (with oat flour and yogurt–shhhhhhhh!)

I’m going to keep this simple.  It’s dessert time.  This recipe makes a small pan of lower-fat brownies.  We’re starting with cocoa powder in lieu of chocolate.  Instead of butter, we’re using peanut butter and yogurt.  How about some whole-grain oat flour?  Put them together and you have an easy sweet treat that’s much healthier than a traditional brownie–but the kids will never know it.  You can also get all of these ingredients in organic form.

Pan:  I used a 3-cup rectangular Pyrex to create 6 servings, each about 2 inches square.  You could double this recipe and bake it in an 8×8 pan.  If you double the recipe, you’ll need to increase baking time by 5-10 minutes.  (Thanks to Shoopee for reminding me about the increased time!)

Dry Ingredients

• 1/3 cup whole-grain oat flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• optional:  handful of dark chocolate chips

Wet Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup natural peanut butter, softened and mixed with
• 1/4 cup plan nonfat yogurt
• 1 egg (or 2–see variation*)
• 1-2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F, and grease (or use spray oil on) your baking pan.  Mix together all of the dry ingredients.  In another bowl, stir together the softened peanut butter, yogurt, and sugar.  Mix in the egg and vanilla.  Add in the dry ingredients.  Spread into prepared pan and bake at 325 degrees for about 25 minutes.

This brownie is extremely rich and dense, so I like to serve it with a small glass of milk.  Do you want a brownie with a bit less density?  Try using two eggs instead of one egg.

Copyright 2010 Ozarkhomesteader.  Tweets and short excerpts are welcome with full URL and attribution to Ozarkhomesteader.  Please contact me for permission to use photographs.

Read Full Post »

Chocolate Sauce in 1 1/2 minutes or less

When I started this blog, I knew I was going to have to share family secrets to keep it worthwhile for you, my wonderful readers.  Tonight I’m going to share my “recipe” for the quickest but still marvelously creamy and delicious chocolate sauce, perfect for Valentine’s Day.  This chocolate sauce is a ganache you can make without heavy cream and without chopped chocolate. It’s fast enough and inexpensive enough that it could be a regular treat (if there is such a thing!).  It’s kind of Ozark ganache:  simpler, more down to earth than French granache.

Begin with a glass (Pyrex-type) measuring cup.  Pour 1/3 to 1/2 cup of dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips (preferably organic) in the bottom.  Pour in milk to cover 2/3 of the chips.  In other words, if you poured in 1/2 cup of chips, pour in the milk to the 1/3 cup line.  Note:  this is not 1/3 cup milk, since the milk is being displaced by the chocolate chips.  It’s more like 1/4 cup. Microwave the chip-milk mixture for 45 seconds to 1 minute, depending on how much milk and chips you used.  Let the measuring cup rest briefly (perhaps while you’re getting out ice cream!), and then stir the mixture until it becomes creamy and all of the chocolate chips are melted.  Too thick for you?  You can add a splash more of milk and then stir again.  Pour over delicious ice cream, brownies, or cake.  Eat.  Savor.  Moan in ecstasy.  Eat some more.

Variations:

Do you want a creamy, thick dipping sauce–fondue–for strawberries and other fruit?  Don’t add the extra splash of milk.

All adult gathering?  Substitute butterscotch schnapps for 1/2 (or more) of the milk.

Want an extra rich flavor?  Pour in a splash of good vanilla extract on top of the milk before you microwave.

Read Full Post »

Chocolate-Chip Gingerbread: It’s Beginning to Smell a Lot Like Christmas!

Two smells from exotic places make me think of the holidays:  ginger and chocolate.  Neither product is local, and wars were fought over both of them as the world learned of their culinary power.  Nonetheless, if I use all other local, organic ingredients, I’m happy to use ginger and chocolate in moderation, just as my grandparents did.  This recipe for Chocolate Chip Gingerbread uses both flavors, and it’s easy enough for a grade schooler to bake.  Enjoy!

• 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick), melted
• 1/4-1/2 cup apple sauce
• 1 egg
• 1 cup molasses  Grease your measuring cup to get all of the molasses out.  If any linger, swirl the hot water (below) in it to finish the job.
• 3/4 cup hot water
• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 + 1/3 cups whole-grain oat flower
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2-3 tablespoons of ginger  Yes, this is a lot of ginger. If you don’t like it, use less.
• 1-2 tablespoons of cinnamon
• sprinkle of allspice  If you don’t have allspice, you can use a really, really tiny sprinkle of ground cloves.
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Grease 2 bread pans, each about 4″ x 8″.  In a large bowl, mix together the wet ingredients, being sure not to cook the egg with the hot water.  Now toss all the floury dry ingredients and spices on top, taking care to sprinkle the baking soda across the top.  Stir everything together thoroughly to make a thick, dark batter.  No, don’t add the chips yet! Now pour about an inch of the batter into the bottom of each greased pan.  Now mix the chocolate chips into the remaining batter and pour it, split evenly, on top of the inch of chip-free batter in each bread pan.  Bake at 325 degrees F for about 50 minutes.  Cool well before you remove it from the pan.

Read Full Post »