This recipe has been on my “to-try” list for the past 20 years. It’s an old one from from Jane Brodie’s Good Food book, and what took me so long to make it was the fact that it calls for dry milk powder – an ingredient I never remember to buy.
Well, I’ve been on a Jane Brodie kick lately and finally remembered to buy the dry milk. Were the brownies worth the 20 year wait? Sure. They tasted good and were definitely wholesome and I liked that you could really taste all the components – oats, nuts and chocolate. In a way, they reminded me of chocolate oatmeal cookies in brownie form. They do taste oaty and will taste even oatier if you do like I did and use ground up old fashioned oats instead of quick cooking. If you have quick cooking oats, do yourself a favor and use those.
Wholesome Brownies (adapted from Jane Brodie)
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 cup)
5 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 scant cup quick cooking oats**
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/3 cup nonfat dry milk
1/2 cup chopped nuts (toasted)
½ teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoonssalt (optional)**
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 inch square metal pan with foil and spray foil with cooking spray.
Melt the chocolate chips and butter together in microwave or in a bowl set over barely simmering water.
Meanwhile, mix oats, wheat germ, milk powder, baking powder and salt together in a bowl; set aside.
Whisk (or just beat with a spoon) the eggs together in a mixing bowl. Whisk in the vanilla, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Beat in the melted chocolate/butter mixture. Add the oat mixture and stir until well blended, then spread mixture into the pan. Bake on center rack for 20-25 minutes or until brownies appear set. Cool on rack.
Lift from pan and cut into 9-12 or 16 squares. Jane Brodie somehow managed to cut 24! These are easier to cut if you chill them before cutting. If you try to cut them while they’re hot, they’re a bit crumbly.
Now here are the notes on what NOT to do.
**It’s important to use quick cooking oats – I used old fashioned oats and even thought I ground them up a bit in the food processor, the brownies still had a little chew to them.
**Don’t be tempted to increase the salt. I made the first batch with ½ teaspoon and had to throw them out because they were too salty. Jane Brodie says to use ¼ teaspoon and that it’s optional – well, I can see how it would be optional if you were using salted butter or margarine, but I’d be cared to leave it out completely if using unsalted butter. But like I said, ½ teaspoon of salt was too salty, so if you are watching sodium and want to leave it out for that reason, the brownies would still probably be good.
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m sure I would forget to buy milk powder, as well. Not your usuall grocery-list ingredient. But these brownies do look great, and I love the idea of having a wholesome tasting brownie every now and then!
Oaty brownies?? Fun!!
i have never heard of oaty brownies – hahaha because of the oats, now others can claim that they’re good for you!
I like the idea of these brownies and I’m glad you tried them and shared your results. If you have leftover dry milk powder you can use it in bread machine recipes that call for milk. Just put the appropriate amount in with the dry ingredients and add the water with the wet ingredients. It’s convenient.
Hi Anna,
I don’t think I could bring myself to use dried milk in baking, because we use it in the lab and that’s what I associate it with! Any ideas for substitutions?
I chatted with Valerie at the BakeOff last year (and tried her Mexican Chocolate Crunch Brownies, which were delicious!), and she told me about your blog. So, yours is the first food blog I started reading, and is definitely one of the ones that inspired me to start my own. Love it!
there are a number of good recipes in that book. I made the oatmeal bread for years. Her sweet potato apple casserole is a staple at Thanksgiving.
these look really interesting. ilove oats
Those look wonderful!!
That’s a powerful & delicious brownie…how YUM!! I love everything about it. I don’t have wheatgrem at the moment, ot I’d be in the kitchen right away!!
Is that an oxymoron? Wholesome Brownies! No matter to me, they sounds great!
These look good….as I am posting this week a number of low fat and ‘good for you’ recipes…this looks like one for the trying!
These sound good, great healthy twist to them!
I am so pleased to have found your site. I just adore cookies so this is such a great place to be. These cookies look and sound great!
I have that cookbook and still cook from it. I haven’t tried those, though. I’ll have to try them!
I adore oatmeal cookies and brownies, but never thought of combining together elements of each. Great recipe!
I made these last night. I think they are very good – yes, a little crumbly to cut even after refrigerating but I wrapped them individually and am sending them in lunches! I left out the nuts and used 6 oz. of bittersweet chocolate. I’ll make these again for a healthier chocolate snack.
Martha has a delicious recipe for Schraft’s Butterscotch cookies that calls for a wee bit of powdered milk. Since you’ve got it on hand you may want to try out the recipe. Everyone thought they were yummy.
P.S. I read your next post and I totally get that highway phobia thing!
Thanks for posting this! Made it this weekend and it was a hit with me and the family…only modification was that I used 6T of butte and wheat bran instead of wheat germ. Yum! Your advice on chilling before cutting was sound.
Thanks for sharing this delicious vintage recipe! I didn’t have wheat germ, so I substituted dessicated coconut. I used finely ground Irish oats (hey, it’s St. Patrick’s Day) since it’s pretty much oat flour.