Brownies, oh brownes, the one thing that can make this girl weak at the knees. The way they flake in my mouth and they way they can make my whole house smell like I own a bakery.
My kids love it when I bake, because usually its not for me. I bake mostly for them, because I can't handle having a lot of goodies in the house for me. Temptation is a hard thing for someone who is supposed to be watching their every little carbohydrate intake. So I was hoping that this recipe would be a little easier on my diet. And now, review time!
Ease of Making: The recipe was easy to make. With a list of less than 10 ingredients, I am one happy cook! The only problem I had was in the recipe, it calls for you to put an egg white seperately into a dish. I was like why? People can figure out how to divide them without too much difficulty, but if that's what the recipe says, then that's what you need to do. Another issue I had was with the cream cheese. If you've never baked or cooked with cream cheese or know the texture, you wouldn't know that in order for it to mix easier you need it to be room temperature. That little tidbit was no where in the recipe. Unless of course you have a nice expensive mixer. I prefer to work my arm muscles right now. So for future references make sure you get your cream cheese to a room temperature for easy mixing. So its gets a grade of B+
Likeability: Ok honestly, who doesn't like brownies? Even badly made brownies, I'm still going to eat them. And putting cream cheese and chocolate in a brownie...take me away paradise! These brownies had my kids begging for more and more. Even I wanted to devour more. The only drawback I had was I personally do not like warm cream cheese. Its a personal preference. So to get that texture issue past me, I stuck the brownies in the fridge and it gave them an even more flavorful edge.
Diet or Disaster: This one is definietly not something you want to eat in large quantities if you are watching your weight. One brownie alone is 167 calories and 23 carbohydrates. A perfect snack or dessert should only be 15 carbs or less. This one is way too much. I would suggest breaking the brownie in half, which stinks, but hey, you work hard and you need to stay healthy for your family! It's worth the sacrifice, even if its not fun. I give this brownie a C for diet disaster! This recipe should not be allowed in a diet cookbook.
Recipe:
Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies
Taste of Home Guilt Free Cooking Cookbook
Ingredients:
3 eggs
6 tablespoons reduced-fat stick margarine
1 cup sugar, divided
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese
1. Seperate two eggs, putting each white in a seperate bowl (discard yolks or save for another use); set aside. In a small mixing bowl, beat margarine and 3/4 cup sugar until crumbly. Add the whole egg, one egg white and vanilla; mix well.
2. Combine flour and cocoa; add to egg mixture and beat until blended. Pour into a 9 inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray; set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and remaining sugar until smooth. Beat in the second egg white. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls over batter; cut through batter with a knife and swirl. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until set and edges pull away from sides of pan. Cool on a wire rack.
Happy Cooking Everyone!
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