"What you see before you, my friend, is the result of a lifetime of chocolate."-Katherine Hepburn
Scrolling through your news feed this week probably looks like this: Health Care, Health Care, Crazy Jet Blue Pilot, Health Care, $4 Gas, Health Care, Chocolate helps you lose weight and Health Care. What's that you say? (before and after health care) In case you missed the news earlier this week, chocolate can actually help make you thinner. ( And no for the record, this is not what I read when I clicked on one of those diet links you get on the top of your Gmail page (Lose 80 lbs by eating Twinkies!) This is legit. (Well legit until we find out the whole thing was sponsored by Godiva.) A study done at the University of California at San Diego reports that those who consumed chocolate the most frequently had a lower BMI on average than those who consumed it the least. The theory is that the metabolic effects of certain ingredients in chocolate make it a good slimming food because it is calorie- neutral. To celebrate the good news, I immediately ran to the pantry to whip up some guilt free chocolate brownies from the Miette recipe book.
As a huge fan of SF's Miette (as seen here), I purchased the cute bakery's book but, it has for the most part, served as eye candy on our cookbook holder. Fighting the temptation to pull out the ol' Duncan Hines box to fill the brownies craving, I opted instead to crack open the book with it's gorgeous scalloped edges. The brownies recipe is actually one of the easier (if not the easiest) recipes in the book. The Miette trick for their delicious brownies is to bake the brownies individually and they recommend using muffin or cupcake pans instead of baking it in one piece and cutting. The result is crispier edges on each brownie. I used a combination of square and round muffin pans and was pleased with the results. The recipe also calls for espresso powder which like me, if you do not want to run around looking for, can be simply substituted with instant coffee. Also, the optional walnuts add the perfect touch. Overall a win-win-win: a delicious treat, a use of the Miette book and I think I may have just lost a pound.
image source: SD (a special thanks to my hand model/mom)
-SD
Love Miette and been thinking about getting the book. Interesting idea to bake them in cupcake pans.
Posted by: SG | March 29, 2012 at 03:23 AM
I tasted these treats and they are yum! Eat it with coffee ice cream and you just may never eat anything else for dessert
Posted by: RM | March 29, 2012 at 12:21 PM
Okay so my problem is that i don't have much of a sweet tooth. But these look soooooooooooooooooooooooooo amazing and delish. I will HAVE to make these. Love the cupcake idea. so much better than buying a pan shaped like a maze to get more edges. beautiful pics!!
Posted by: amee | March 29, 2012 at 07:26 PM
Yum yum!! Another great post! Can't wait to try these :)
Posted by: punk gal | April 01, 2012 at 09:50 PM
My dear,
I found your blog by chance, while peeking others and I decided to check it out! I’m glad I did it, because I am really delighted with yours. It's beautiful, well structured, interesting… and it has completely got me hooked. I think we're going to get along just fine! ;) I’m your new follower and I’d be very pleased if you like my blog enough to follow it as well!
I wish you lots of success and will surely come back often
kisses
http://cottoncandy-peaches@blogspot.com
Posted by: aida | April 04, 2012 at 03:55 PM