Skinnified Sunday: Salted Caramel Mocha Brownie Cupcakes

Hi friends! Today I am going to my friend Bekki’s birthday dinner which means I got to make dessert! HOORAY!! I love any excuse to bake. Bekki loves sweet and salty, so I was pretty stoked when I came up with the idea of salted caramel mocha brownie cupcakes! Have you ever had the no pudge brownies? It’s a box brownie mix that is fat free and uses yogurt instead of oil. Heather and I tried them a few times and they were delicious, so I stole the idea and used yogurt in these too. I haven’t had one yet, but my friend Colin confirmed that they didn’t suck. Whoot!

I got the base recipe from Mom Advice

My Swaps:

Dannon Light & Fit vanilla yogurt for butter (-fat, -calories, -saturated fat)
Organic sugar and Splenda for regular sugar (-sugar, -calories, maybe the organic sugar balances out the fakeness of Splenda? 🙂 )
5 egg whites for whole eggs (-fat, -calories, -cholesterol)
Whole wheat pastry flour for all purpose (+fiber, +protein)
+ Starbucks via (+yum)

Skinnified Salted Caramel Mocha Brownie Cupcakes

yeild approx 35 mini cupcakes

3/4 cup Dannon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
6 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
1/3 cup Splenda
5 egg whites
2 tsp vanilla (or you can skip it because the vanilla in the yogurt has the same effect)
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
Freshly ground sea salt to taste
Cool Whip for topping
Fleur De Sel Caramel for topping

Directions:

1) Combine flour, sugar, Splenda, via, and cocoa powder.

2) Add in egg whites one at a time, mixing after each addition.

3) Add in vanilla.

4) Melt unsweetened chocolate, and add in along with yogurt.

5) Mix until combined, scraping down sides of the bowl when necessary.

6) Transfer into lined and greased mini cupcake tines (I ran out of mini liners so half of mine are full size).

7) Top each cupcake with a pinch of sea salt.

8) Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, until toothpick in center comes out mostly clean (but don’t over bake–you still want a gooey brownie center!)

9) Top with desired amount of cool whip.

10) Put a little caramel in the microwave for approx 10-15 seconds to warm, then use a whisk to drizzle over the cupcakes.

11) Enjoy!