Light Fudgy Brownies

By Hklbrries

Instant coffee in the batter intensifies the chocolate flavor. Beating the sugar and eggs together gives the baked brownies a crackly surface.

There are several competing theories about the origin of brownies (some involving tales of cooks too proud to admit they accidentally omitted the baking powder from their chocolate cake recipes). Brownies received a mention in the 1897 Sears Roebuck Catalog, and rose to popularity in the 1920s. Typical brownie recipes might include as much as a stick of butter, but ours contains half that. And while many brownie recipes are chock-full of chocolate, ours gets its rich, chewy flavor from lower-fat cocoa powder. The lightened version is rich, chewy, and fudgy, but gets only 30 percent of its calories from fat.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbsp hot water
• 2 tsp instant coffee granules
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Cooking spray
• 1 tbsp powdered sugar, optional

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Place sugar and eggs in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until thick and pale (about 5 minutes). Combine hot water and coffee granules, stirring until coffee granules dissolve. Add coffee mixture, butter, and vanilla extract to sugar mixture; beat at low speed until combined.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, cocoa, and salt, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add flour mixture to sugar mixture, stirring just until moist (batter will be thick).

Spread batter into an 8-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 325 F for 23 minutes or until brownies sping back when touched lightly in center. Cool in pan on wire rack. Garnish brownies with powdered sugar, if desired.