I am excited to bring you the first of many guest posters on Lemon-Sugar!  Erin at The Spiffy Cookie is an amazing cook, baker and person.  She’s a lot of fun to read, follow and has a ton of fabulous recipes on her site.  I mean, cake batter puppy chow?!?  Are you kidding me?  Amazing. I’m honored to have her contribute today, and ask that you all go pay her a visit and tell her I sent you.  Thanks again, Erin – take it away!

Hello Lemon Sugar readers! To confuse you my name is also Erin, but I hail from The Spiffy Cookie and I am very luck to be guest posting here today. I recently tried her Gnocchi with Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce and it became an instant hit. Then after seeing her Peanut Butter Cookie Cupcakes and Blueberry Muffins with Maple Butter, I could only hope that my post could hold her normal readers’ attention.

Have you ever heard of No Pudge brownie mix? It’s a quite delicious mix which only requires the addition of a carton of fat free vanilla yogurt, and viola you have fat free brownies! For a no-fat brownie they are pretty awesome too – nice and fudgy. As a result they quickly became my favorite boxed brownie mix, especially when adding toppings or other goodies mixed into the batter. Makes me feel less guilty when I shove Reese’s peanut butter cups inside.

Unfortunately, grocery stores around me stopped carrying this brownie mix. I haven’t the slightest idea why because I bought it on the reg. Guess fat free brownies don’t have much of a place in the South(?). As a result, any time I am out of town and find boxes lingering at other grocery stores I stock up. In desperate times I have even contemplated purchasing a stock-pile from Amazon. But then one day I found a recipe for homemade No Pudge brownies.

This homemade version is as close to a replica as I could have hoped for. I think they may be even better since they were made with whole wheat flour. Oh how I love making homemade versions of store-bought items. This means I no longer have to demand grocery store outings whenever I am visiting friends in other cities!

Now that I have an unlimited supply of fat-free brownies at my finger tips, what are your favorite mix-ins or toppings for your brownies? Sometimes I like to just spread a little peanut butter straight out of the jar on top. Or Nutella. Or Biscoff. Or any other nut butter known to man, or yet to be invented because there are varieties popping up all the time. So spread on brownie + nut butter lovers.

In case you were unaware, Erin and I are both dessert contributors to Culinary.net at the beginning of every month. Be sure to check us out!

More Fudge Less Pudge Brownies
Yield:  16 brownies

Ingredients:
3/4 cup white whole wheat flour (all purpose flour can be used)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups fat free vanilla yogurt (I used Chobani Greek Vanilla Yogurt)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8×8-inch pan with nonstick cookie spray, set aside.

2. Mix flour, sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Add in yogurt and vanilla. Stir well to combine. The mixture is fairly dry and thick, and will take a bit of work to fully combine.

3. Spread evenly into prepared baking pan. Bake for 25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. Allow to cool then enjoy!

Source: Adapted slightly from Love From The Oven.