Healthy Brownies?????

No, I am not kidding! Not only are these brownies low in fat and calories, but they are made with 100% whole wheat flour! Why would anyone ever deviate from the best loved ooey gooey sinful alternative? Summer is quickly approaching. Need I say more? I was a little skeptical about this recipe for obvious reasons, but I was pleasantly surprised. These brownies are not chewy and they aren't very gooey, but they are moist, chocolaty and delicious. One recipe makes 24 brownies each containing a meager 137 calories and 6.6 grams of fat! My chocolate loving husband thought these were really good and both of my kids loved them! My favorite brownie recipe? Probably not. My favorite healthy brownie recipe? Definitely!

Ellie Krieger's Double-Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup whole-grain pastry flour (or 1/2 cup each whole-wheat and all-purpose flours)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
4 large eggs
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally; do not let the bottom of the bowl touch the water.

Whisk the flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and brown sugar until smooth, then add the yogurt, oil and vanilla and whisk to combine. Whisk in the melted chocolate mixture until blended. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just moistened.

Spread the batter in the prepared pan and sprinkle with walnuts, if desired. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool almost completely in the pan on a rack before slicing.

Per brownie (without nuts): Calories 137; Fat 6.6 g (Saturated 2.8 g); Cholesterol 40 mg; Sodium 55 mg; Carbohydrate 16.5 g; Fiber 1 g; Protein 2.4 g

Per brownie (with nuts): Calories 160; Fat 9 g; (Saturated 3 g); Cholesterol 40 mg; Sodium 55 mg; Carbohydrate 17 g; Fiber 1 g; Protein 3 g

Chicken Balls (Ebelskivers)

For about a year, my 4-year-old had been wanting chicken balls for dinner. She created this idea that you could form chicken into balls and dip them in "white ketchup." For a while, every time we went out to eat she asked me if they could make chicken balls for her. Finally, I found a recipe for chicken meat balls. She told me that she liked them, but I could tell she wasn't truly satisfied. Then I got an email from my sister-in-law with this recipe for Chicken Ebelskivers with a buttermilk dipping sauce. I made them for dinner and my kids LOVED them!! The next day, my 4-year-old asked me when we were going to have chicken balls for dinner again. You may be asking, "What are ebelskivers?" They are these fun spherical Danish pancakes. You have to have an ebelskiver pan to make them. I have the Williams Sonoma nonstick pan and I love it. Ebilskivers were already a breakfast favorite around here and now they are a dinner favorite too!


Chicken Bites (Ebelskivers)

2 cups all-purpose flour (I used half whole wheat)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 large eggs, separated
2 cups whole milk (I used 1 ½ cups skim milk + ½ cup nonfat plain yogurt)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
8 ounces chopped, cooked chicken breast meat
5 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley (or 5 tsp dried)
1 shallot, finely chopped
Buttermilk Dressing

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper. In a small bowl, lightly whisk the egg yolks, then whisk in the milk and 2 tablespoons of the melted butter. Add the yolk mixture to the flour mixture and , using a wooden spoon, stir until well blended. The batter will be lumpy.

In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff, but not dry, peaks form. Fold about one-third of the egg whites into the batter to lighten it, then fold in the rest just until no white streaks remain. Gently fold in the chicken, parsley, and shallot, taking care not to deflate the mixture.

Brush the wells of the ebelskiver pan with some of the remaining melted butter and place over medium heat. When the butter starts to bubble, add about 2 tablespoons of the batter to each well.

Cook until the bottoms of the pancakes are lightly browned and crisp, 3-5 minutes. Use 2 short wooden skewers to turn all the pancakes and cook until lightly browned on the other side, about 3 minutes longer.

Transfer the finished pancakes to a platter and keep warm in 200 degree oven while you repeat to cook more batches. Serve right away with the buttermilk dressing for dipping.

Buttermilk Dressing
3/4 cup mayonnaise (I substituted some of the mayonnaise with nonfat plain yogurt)
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 ½ tablespoons chopped Italian parsley (or 2 1/2 tsp dried)
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried minced onion
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

In a bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, buttermilk, parsley, cheese, and dried onion until blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 8 hours, to blend the flavors.
Makes about 1 cup