Got a craving for something sweet? Try no-sugar-added brownie brittle

Sugar and wheat are my trigger foods, especially in combination (as in frosted cupcakes). A trigger that sends me into eating more and more. Not good.

That means that almost all desserts are off the table. However, once in a while, I have a hankering for one.

More than 25 years ago, one of the best recipes I created was a no-added-fat brownie. Drained applesauce for the stick (¼ pound) of butter worked perfectly. Never considering the 2 cups of sugar for a 7-by-11-inch pan of brownies was definitely a dietary error.

Yes, I fell for what turned out to be fraudulent, upside-down information about fats and sugars.

A recipe by Elizabeth Barbone for Gluten-Free Brownie Brittle piqued my interest for a wheat-free dessert. Barbone's recipe used white rice flour as a wheat flour substitute and she sweetened her brittle with a half-cup of sugar. Hmmm.

Thinking I could create a sugar-free, gluten-free brownie brittle, I headed to my kitchen. There is no white rice flour stored in my pantry. Instead, there's almond flour. That should work.

Trading out a nonsugar substitute for sugar is not as easy as it might seem since I moved away from “artificial” sugar substitutes like NutraSweet and Splenda a long time ago. Organic stevia has worked well for me for the last few years.

Barbone used vanilla extract, a common addition to brownies. I decided to top my brittle with sliced and toasted almonds and added almond extract along with the vanilla.

Finally, Barbone suggested topping her brittle with semisweet chocolate chips. Regular chocolate chips are sweetened with sugar, so that would not work. I had Lily's brand stevia-sweetened (no sugar added) dark chocolate baking chips in my pantry and went with those.

My sugar substitution cut 387 sugar calories (and 100 carb grams), and my chocolate chip trade trimmed nearly another 100 calories and gave the boot to another 41 sugar grams.

Next, I went with sliced toasted almonds to top my brittle, adding just 12 carb grams (0.5 grams per serving).

Fortunately, I had the right-size pan, a half-sheet pan, available, and parchment paper with which to line it to keep my brittle from sticking to the pan.

The brittle batter is pourable, and an offset spatula works perfectly to level and spread the batter nearly edge-to-edge. If the batter's too thick, the brittle turns out to be more like a wafer-thin brownie; not bad, just not brittle.

My first attempt turned out insufficiently sweet, so I increased the stevia by 50%, from 12 packets to 18. Much better.

My gluten-free, no-added-sugar chocolate chip and almond brittle turned out wonderfully well. They looked good and tasted great while satisfying my sweet tooth.

Give it a try.

Don Mauer welcomes questions, comments and recipe makeover requests. Write to him at 1leanwizard@gmail.com.

No-Added-Sugar, Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle

9 tablespoons (57 grams) superfine almond flour

18 packets of stevia (equal to ¾ cup sugar)

2 tablespoons natural cocoa powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon sea salt

2 large eggs (organic preferred)

2 tablespoons ghee, melted (or neutral vegetable oil)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon almond extract

½ cup (75 grams) sugar-free dark chocolate baking chips (Lily's brand, preferred)

½ cup (50 grams) dry-toasted, sliced almonds

Place the oven rack in the middle position and begin heating to 350 degrees. Line a half-sheet pan (18-by 13-inch) with parchment paper, and set aside.

To a medium bowl add the almond flour, stevia, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt; whisking together to combine. Add eggs, ghee (or oil), vanilla and almond extract. Whisk until smooth (it will be thick, but pourable). Pour the batter onto the prepared baking sheet and, using an offset spatula, evenly spread it out to about one inch from the pan's edges. Distribute chocolate chips and almonds evenly onto the batter.

Bake for about 16 minutes, or until set. Remove the pan from the oven and cut it into 2-by-2-inch pieces with a pizza cutter or thin knife. Cool the brittle completely on the baking sheet.

Makes 25 pieces.

Nutrition values per serving: 57 calories (75.6% from fat), 4.8 g fat (1.5 g saturated fat), 3 g carbohydrates (1.2 net carbs), 0.3 g sugars, 1.8 g fiber, 1.4 g protein, 19 mg cholesterol, 42 mg sodium.

Based on a recipe by Elizabeth Barbone (glutenfreebaking.com)