Honey Brownies - Celebrating a few hundreds

I am happy to share with you that today is my 100th day of blogging. My blog is also being followed by 100+ friends in Google connect and also in Networked Blogs. I would like to thank all my fellow bloggers and friends who made this happen by their constant support and encouragement. I feel really delighted for every comment left in my posts. I wanted a reason to celebrate this and so I made brownies.
Anybody who loves chocolate definitely cant say no to brownies. I am a big fan of brownies, but I mostly find the restaurant brownies bit too sweet for my palate. When I planned to bake brownies, I wanted to keep it as a simple and basic brownie but also low in sweet and so opted to use honey instead of sugar. Honey is a natural sweetener and is rich in antioxidants, minerals and vitamins which is not present in refined white sugar. Also the addition of honey gave a special moist and soft texture to the brownies.

Ingredients:

All-purpose flour/Maida - 1/2 cup
Unsweetened Cocoa powder - 1/3 cup
Baking powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Semi-sweet chocolate chips / Chopped Walnuts - 1/2 cup (optional)
Vegetable oil - 1/2 cup (Can substitute with 1/2 cup - 1 stick of butter if using)
Honey - 3/4 cup (Can substitute sugar) See notes below for sweet preference*
Maple Syrup - 1/4 cup
Vanilla - 1 tsp
Egg - 1 (I had one lone egg so just used it, Can use one more if desired)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a 9" square pan with parchment paper with an inch overhang on two opposite sides. This enables easy removal of the brownies from the pan. In a large mixing bowl mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt with a whisk for a minute. Fold in the chocolate chips/walnuts if using. In another bowl mix the oil, honey, maple syrup with a hand mixer until well mixed. Add in the vanilla and the egg and beat for another 30 secs. Now pour the wet mixture over the dry ingredients and gently wrap and fold until well mixed without any lumps. Do not overmix. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 mins. A toothpick inserted into center of the oven should come out clean. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 mins. Transfer the brownies from the pan to the cooling rack and allow it to cool for 30 mins. Cut into 9 big squares or 16 small squares. Serve with a glass of milk.

 

Note: 

1. All the ingredients are measured using the baking measurement cups and spoons.

2. The eggs should be in room temperature.

3. If using regular sugar/butter instead of honey/oil, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth.
4. According to the review from my readers, I would suggest skipping maple syrup and use just 1/2 cup of honey for not-very-sweet brownies.

Sending these Honey brownies to the Best Brownies event by Divya and Fast Food not Fat Food event by Priya.

Also linking this to This Week's Cravings by Mom's Crazy Cooking and Hearth and Soul Hop.