Refined Sugar-Free Brownies - Trial #1

I’m on a mission to develop the best, fudgiest, and naturally sweet brownies!

This is my 1st attempt, and they were GOOD! I think I can make them even better next round! These were sweetened only with coconut sugar and turned out delicious, but slightly cakey at room temperature.

I’m on a journey to replace processed sugar with natural sweeteners. (If you have any tips and tricks let me know!) Sugar is not only used for taste. It is important for the texture and structure of brownies. Whisking eggs with sugar gives brownies the crackly top. Replacing white sugar with a natural sweetener requires some testing...

Here are the ingredients I used for my first batch of naturally sweetened brownies:

• 1 cup unsalted butter

• 2 ¼ cups coconut sugar

• 1 ¼ cups unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 4 eggs, room temp.

• 1 ½ cups all purpose flour

• 2 cups refined sugar free milk chocolate chips (Lilly’s)

First, I preheated my oven to 350 degrees.

I melted 1 cup of butter and 2 ¼ cups of coconut sugar in a sauce pan over medium heat for a couple of minutes. I took the pot off the heat when the mixture became shiny and fully incorporated. I let it cool slightly.

I transferred the butter and sugar mixture to a bigger bowl. I added in 1 ¼ cups of unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of baking powder.

In a separate bowl I whisked together 4 eggs. I made sure my batter wasn’t too warm before I added the eggs. If it was too warm, I would have ended up with scrambled eggs in my batter.. Ew!

I whisked in the eggs for a minute or two. Whisking eggs with sugar helps to create the crackly top of the brownies. 

I folded in 1 ½ cups of flour and 2 cups of Lilly’s milk chocolate style chips. The chocolate chips made my brownies gooey and fudgy!

I lined my 9x13 dish with parchment paper and poured in the batter. I baked the brownies for about 30 minutes, until a toothpick came out clean. 

They tasted delicious. I topped a warm brownie with my refined sugar-free maple whipped cream, and it was sooooo yummy!

Here’s what I would do differently next time:

I love a fugdy, soft brownie with a crackly top, even after they’ve cooled. These were a bit cakey at room temperature, but when heated up they were good. The melty chocolate chips helped them stay soft and gooey. Coconut sugar is drier than white and brown sugar. Baking powder also contributed to the brownies being cakier. 

Next time I am going to try less baking powder (or none) and a different natural sweetener. I think a combination of a liquid/dense sweetener with the coconut sugar could help me create the fudgiest brownie! 

Stay tuned for the 2nd refined sugar-free brownie trial! I’ve just started my refined sugar-free lifestyle and am still experimenting with natural sweeteners in baking and cooking. If you test this recipe out, I would LOVE your feedback!