Healthier Brownies?

[Lalanae]

Haven't tried this, but maybe I will this weekend and see if Eric and his kid like it (without telling them that it has pumpkin in it beforehand, of course!)

From: http://food.yahoo.com/blog/hungrygirl/14596/hg-s-holiday-fixes-slim-down-your-faves

HG's got a great trick for ousting that evil stuff from your chocolatey desserts. Instead of oil, eggs, and butter, simply add a can of pure pumpkin to a box of devil's food cake mix. Add nothing else. Your batter will be thick (and may give your arm a workout while you stir it!), but the result will be amazingly moist and fudgy brownies that are way lower in calories and fat. And pumpkin also adds fiber, which means you'll fill up faster. So even if you're family's fave recipe includes a peanut butter swirl or hunks of chocolate stirred in, this trick'll still slice lots of fat and calories from your batch o' brownies.

[Lalanae]

Made these last night. Eric didn't know about the pumpkin substitute and said the brownies were good. I coulldn't tell the difference. I used brownie mix (not Devil's Food cake mix as noted below).

If you make these, be sure to mix the brownie mix into the pumpkin somewhat gradually, instead of mixing the pumpkin into the mix...unless you want the arm workout mentioned below.

I don't see myself ever making brownies with oil and eggs again. Not only am I cutting fat and calories this way, but pumpkin has lots of nutritional benefits.

[Xatrei]

My mother has has been making some muffins like this the last few years. I've had a couple, and they're pretty tasty. I wouldn't have known the pumpkin was in the recipe if she hadn't told me.

[Lalanae]

Ooh I love muffins Trying that next.

[Sheryl]

would you suggest using the brownie mix over the devil's food cake mix? i'm not exactly sure what the difference is between the mixes, if there is any, or if it's just the amount of wet ingredients that you add that differs.

and what size can of pumpkin? 15oz?

[Xatrei]

The key difference between brownie mix and devils food cake mix or scratch recipes is the lack of leavening agents (baking soda) in the brownie mix, which produces a denser, gooier end result. There are other differences in the ratios of ingredients, but leavening is what separates brownies from cake. It just depends on what you're going after, something brownie-like or something more like a cake or muffin.

[Lalanae]

The brownies i made ended up more fudge-like, which I like, but cake mix may yield a more traditional brownie.

yep, a standard 15oz can of pumpkin is what I used.

[Spankes]

You can make diet cake and cupcakes as well. One box cake mix + 1 diet soda of any flavor (Dt. Dr. Pepper is pretty good). Mix, bake.

[Sheryl]

i finally made some of these this weekend. i used a 15oz can of pure pumpkin and devil's food cake mix. holy shit, this was the stickiest, gooiest batter i have ever seen. it wasn't so bad mixing it up, but my hand was definitely tired, even though i was adding the mix in small increments. spreading it into the pan was the biggest challenge. every time i'd smooth it one way it would pull away from the other end of the pan. i felt like i was trying to bake taffy.

with the devil's food cake mix, the end result is more cake than brownie in my opinion. they're good, just not the consistency i expected. if i try this again i'll be using brownie mix instead. i can also definitely taste that there is pumpkin in these, but i'm not sure if i would notice if i hadn't actually put the pumpkin in myself lol. i love pumpkin though so it's not an issue.

i'm definitely glad i saw this post. i never actually read the brownie box, i mean i already know they're horrible for me haha, but the difference between the mix and the finished product with the eggs and oil is nearly 100 calories per serving. i think the entire can of pumpkin had 40 calories and an obscene amount of fiber! it's absolutely worth the struggle with the batter!!

[Lalanae]

Just wanted to post a followup. I made this with a box of plain brownie mix and the pumpkin was detectable. Last time I used a brownie mix that had chocolate chunks in it and I couldn't taste the pumpkin.

[Fash]

Were they still good?

[Lalanae]

Eric ate em so they couldn't have been too bad....unless he's just tired of me bitching at him for not being open to healthy food alternatives. I thought they were still good, but if I want chocolate I'll stick to my Weight Watchers mini cake snacks or make the kind of brownies with the chocolate chunks

[Truant]

but if I want chocolate I'll stick to my Weight Watchers mini cake snacks

OMG those are SO good! Shocked the hell outta me tbh.