![](https://cdispatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Abigail-Sipe-Rochester-column-mug2-230x300.jpg)
I’ve publicly sworn off sugar at least three times this year.
Every time, I tell myself that this time, it’s serious. No more sweet little treats. No more sodas. No more little lattes. It always starts with the best intentions.
But then, well, a few things happen. First, I get sugar cravings that I feel down to my bones. Just finished a big dinner? I want to eat something sweet. Have a slight headache while I’m at work? I need a pick-me-up. It’s 3 p.m. on a Tuesday? Sounds like a reason to go get a cookie to me.
Once those cravings are gone, I usually end up doing pretty well for a while. I drink more water and I get some variety in my diet. But inevitably, someone offers me something sweet at an unexpected moment. And who am I to say no to a friend?
If I can make it past the cravings and the southern hospitality, though, there’s one last hurdle that always gets me: the appeal of baking.
The action of baking something is inherently comforting. Putting on my apron, getting out my stand mixer, heating up the oven, they all feel like little treats even before the sugar gets poured. Plus, if a recipe is written well, all you have to do is follow the instructions exactly and you make something wonderful. It’s a thing of beauty.
So, this week, when I finally had a day off to relax after the many, many weddings I’ve been attending this summer, my stand mixer started calling to me. The shiny red exterior lured me in. The paddle attachment said, “yes, of course you can bake cookies without breaking your sugar diet.”
I found this recipe on the website I Heart Eating. The title said “brownie cookies,” and my willpower gave out. A moist, fudgy brownie you can eat like a cookie? I had to try baking them, for scientific reasons if nothing else. I’d just eat one and then give the rest away, if I had to.
Soon enough, my mixer was humming, the scent of chocolate was drifting through the air and I was practically dancing through the kitchen throwing these together. And when I got my first taste of the dough? And then my first fresh cookie from the oven? I knew the recipe was a winner.
When I told my husband I had made brownie cookies, he didn’t mention the “no sugar” thing, because he’s a smart man who loves me. Instead, when I offered him a cookie, he accepted and complimented me on them. And since then, my goal has been to feed as many of them to him as possible.
He was just so nice about it, he deserves a sweet treat, right? Plus, if he eats them, I can’t keep justifying eating “just one more.” And then another one. And then another one.
I may need to swear off sugar again after this.
BROWNIE COOKIES
(Adapted from I Heart Eating)
Ingredients
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips (60-70% cacao)
1/2 cup butter
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
Directions
■ Melt bittersweet chocolate chips and butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until melted and well-combined. Remove from the heat and set aside.
■ In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the eggs, sugars, vanilla, baking powder and salt on high speed for about 5 minutes, or until the batter is thick and creamy. Make sure to beat for the full 5 minutes.
■ Reduce speed to low, and mix in the melted chocolate until well-combined. Stir in the flour and cocoa powder just until combined. Add mini chocolate chips. Stir in to combine. Batter should now be thick and almost dough-like. Cover the batter and chill for 30 minutes.
■ Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop, drop batter onto prepared baking sheets.
■ Bake cookies about 8-10 minutes. Cookies will look set at the edges but still wet in the center. The shiny, crackly crust will develop as the cookies cool on the baking sheet.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.