Bonny Babes Childcare Centres

Delicious Chocolate Brownies with a Healthy Twist

These Healthy Chocolate Brownies are a healthier take on a chocolate brownie. They have lower sugar than a traditional brownie and are made with wholemeal flour and has zucchini added for a nutritious boost.

Healthy Chocolate Brownies only contain 1/3 cup of maple syrup and 50g of dark chocolate chips along with a banana as sweeteners. And if you compare this with the traditional 1 1/2 cups of sugar and 200g of chocolate that is normally added to brownies you will see this is a big reduction in sugar! And don’t worry, you can barely see the zucchini and you definitely cannot taste it!

Also we have included some tips for how to turn these chocolate brownies into Christmas Tree brownie treats, perfect to bring along for those Christmas functions where you need to bring a plate!

Ingredients

• 125g butter melted
• 100g (one large) extra ripe banana mashed
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sifted cocoa
• 100g (1 medium) grated zucchini
• 1/3 cup (50g) dark chocolate chips
• 1 1/4 cup (150g) wholemeal flour
• 1/4 tsp of baking powder

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 175c and grease and line a 27.5cm x 17.5cm x 3.5cm slice pan
2. Melt the butter in the microwave and allow to cool slightly
3. In a large bowl mash the banana until it forms a smooth paste with no lumps
4. Add in the butter, maple syrup, vanilla and eggs and whisk thoroughly together
5. Add the sifted cocoa into the bowl and whisk the mixture thoroughly to combine
6. Mix in the zucchini and chocolate chips and then fold through the flour and baking powder until just combined
7. Spread into the prepared slice pan and bake at 175c for around 15 minutes or until the brownie is just cooked through and the top bounces back when lightly touched and a skewer inserted comes out mostly clean.
8. Allow to cool in the pan before removing and cutting into portions.

Chocolate Brownie Christmas Trees

1. After baking your Healthy Chocolate Brownies, allow them to cool. Then with a sharp knife, cut the brownie into thirds width-ways.
2. Cut the thirds into isosceles triangles (you will get around 5 triangles per third), trimming the edges if required. The base of the triangle should be around 5cm wide. You will have some left over brownie from the ends. These are for you to test 
3. Decorate your Christmas Tree Brownies with piped green icing (I beat 100g softened butter with 1 1/4 cup of icing sugar, 1 tsp milk and a few drops of green icing together to make a delicious buttercream icing) and top with sprinkles and a candy star.

Also a tip for you if you do not have a piping bag, just put the icing into a small zip lock bag, seal the bag and cut a small hole in one of the lower corners. Works a treat!

This healthy kids recipe was sourced from the Goodie Goodie Lunchbox website, head over to check out many other healthy child friendly recipes!

Here at Bonny Babes, we provide children with opportunities to experience a healthy, balanced and nutritious menu through our freshly cooked daily meals and daily education program. We work with families to ensure we meet the nutritional needs of each child within the centre, so we encourage parents to keep up the good work at home, and get your children into the kitchen too!