Wow, I can’t believe its been nearly 2 months since we posted a sweet treat recipe! Our last sweet treat recipe was this Skinny Strawberry Cheesecake Rice Krispie Treat recipe back in February. Where does time go?!
Today’s recipe is a delicious blend of graham cracker, chocolate, and creamy marshmallow. The chewy and gooey consistency will leave you wanting more. What is not to love about all of these flavors in one bite?
There are several lower calorie ingredients in this recipe. I am pretty sure you will never guess one! As I do in most of my recipes I substituted a portion of the oil with applesauce. Not a surprise right?! Another typical lower calorie method I used was to decrease the sugar content. In the original recipe I only used 3/4 cups + 1 tablespoon sugar, which resulted in a semi-sweet result. Luckily the sweetness of the marshmallow compensated for the lower sugar level in the brownie layer. For a slightly sweeter (still not overly sweet) outcome I would recommend using 1 cup of sugar. You could also use a sugar substitute such as Splenda to dramatically reduce the calories. And now for the secret recipe substitution…
To further reduce the fat content (note one serving is less than 3 grams of fat) I used baby food prunes! Typically you can replace up to 1/2 of the fat with baby food prunes. No one will ever taste the prunes in the recipe! Just don’t let them see you prepare the recipe! I made the mistake of allowing my husband in the kitchen when I was baking with prunes and he refused to give the dessert a try. Given all the lower fat substitutions I decided to keep both eggs and not make any substitutions with egg whites.
These bars are best served warm right out of the oven or reheated for about 20 seconds before serving.
We have some more exciting recipes and NEWS coming up in the next few weeks. Stay tuned!
Your family’s dietitian,
Kristen Smith
Crust:
- 4 graham cracker sheets
- 2 tablespoons light buttery spread (ie. Smart Balance Light Buttery Spread) (you could also use butter)
Brownie:
- 2 eggs, large
- 4 ounces baby food prunes
- 1 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons unsweetened applesauce
- 5-6 tablespoons cocoa powder, unsweetened
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon – 1 cup granulated sugar (for a typical sweetness go with 1 cup total) (a sugar substitute could also be used)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Topping:
- 9-16 large (jet puffed) marshmallows
Best when served warmNutrition:
Librarian Lavender says
Those are looking really, really good!
dina says
this is a great healthy snack!
Ali says
nice