Cocoa Olive Oil Brownies with Dark Chocolate Chunks and Sea Salt

I happen to like a fad diet every now and again. It's like a food phase for me, I go through plenty of food phases where I'm obsessed with a certain food (hence my blog name, Sarah Cupcake) or diet. I've tried fasting, been vegetarian, tried low-carb, Weight Watchers, organic food, and the like. I've learned a lot from each "diet" and carried along many good food habits from each stage - from fasting I learned the importance of fiber and (sorry) pooping, I eat almost no red meat and only occassional white meat after learning the health risks and environmental hazards of the meat production industry, from low-carb diets I learned the importance of whole grains, from Weight Watchers I learned what an actual serving size is, and reading about about organic diets brought into my mind an overall awareness of the dangers of processed foods and commercial pesticides. I don't regret going on any of these "diets" for one minute! I may not have lost 50 pounds or gotten into a size 2 but I learned valuable things about how I like to eat and what is healthy.

I came up with this recipe as a more healthy alternative to the traditional brownies. I really think that the olive oil, dark bitter chocolate chunks, and coarse salt add a new dimension to the brownies. I'm really happy to be able to put my new knowledge of baking together with my old knowledge about healthy food. And, btw these are amazing!!

Cocoa and Olive Oil Brownies with Dark Chocolate Chunks and Sea Salt
Yield: 16 small brownies

INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
2 large eggs
3.5 ounces (1 bar) dark chocolate (60-72%), chopped into small pieces
coarse salt for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8" square pan, line in either direction with aluminum foil, overlapping the sides by few inches, and grease the foil.

In a large bowl whisk together the cocoa, flour, 1/4 tsp salt, baking powder, and sugar. Add in the olive oil and eggs. Whisk just to combine, there should be no visible flour or large lumps, but you shouldn't be whisking after that point. Gently fold in the chopped chocolate. Pour into the prepared pan and sprinkle generously with coarse salt. Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes. Do not overcook, you want the brownies to by fudgey! Let them cool for 30 minutes before lifting the brownies out of the pan with the foil. Slice into 16 pieces and enjoy!

SOURCE
Sarah Cupcake original