These wonderfully rich double dark chocolate brownies are made with heart healthy canola oil that is high in monounsaturated fats and may improve your cholesterol levels.
Cocoa, being a bean, is also rich in a group of phytochemicals called flavanols, which may improve blood flow and the function of your blood vessels.
A heart healthy oil works as well as or better than butter, shortening or margarine in baking, especially when you are talking about a brownie, cake, pastry, pie crust or quick bread. I recommend using canola, corn, olive, sunflower and just about any non-tropical vegetable oil in baking.
Since oils and shortening are 100 percent fat, and butter or margarine is 80 percent fat, you only need to use three-fourths of the amount of oil when the recipe calls for butter or margarine. For example, if a recipe calls for 12 tbsp. of butter, then substitute 9 tbsp. of oil and add a little extra moisture (use water or larger eggs) to make up the lost volume of moisture in the recipe.
"This is a heart healthy-fat dessert option for a special occasion. Enjoy!"
- Michelle MacDonald, RD, MS, CDE, Dietitian, Health Services
Ingredients
-
9 tbsp. canola oil (as a substitute for ¾ cup or 12 tbsp. melted butter)
-
1 ½ cups sugar (may reduce per your own preference and taste)
-
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
-
3 eggs (use extra-large eggs for added moisture)
-
¾ cup all-purpose flour
-
½ cup Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa
-
½ tsp. baking powder
-
½ tsp. salt
-
1 cup Ghirardelli semisweet chocolate chips
-
½ cup coarsely chopped nuts (optional)
Directions
-
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8” x 8” pan with canola oil.
-
In bowl, stir together oil, sugar, vanilla. Add eggs; beat well with spoon.
-
Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to egg mixture, beating until well blended.
-
Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan.
-
Bake 40-45 minutes, until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool for 10 minutes, and serve with fresh fruit.