Egg-free Brownies

This is another recipe adapted from Ida Bailey Allen's collection. The results are not as chewy as regular brownies, but I think it's a good substitute.

1 ½ C flour (I use whole spelt)

½ C dry cocoa

½ t salt

1 C granulated sugar

1 t baking soda

¼ t cinnamon (optional)

1 C plain yogurt (I use low-fat, but fat-free would probably also work)

1/3 C vegetable oil (your choice, but something without a strong flavor of it's own)

1 t vanilla

½ C chocolate chips (optional)

½ C chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Combine dry ingredients, stirring them with a wire whisk to blend. Add yogurt and stir. Gradually add vegetable oil. Stir in the vanilla. Add optional chocolate chips or nuts. Pour into a greased, 9X13 pan. Bake 30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean (provided it hasn't hit a chocolate chip) and the brownies pull away from the sides of the pan. For an extra treat, serve warm with vanilla or cherry ice cream.

Cook's notes:

• I do not find this recipe overly sweet, so I use the full amount of sugar. If you are accustomed to decreasing the sugar in recipes, keep in mind that the sugar dissolves into the wet ingredients and adds moisture, so you may need to add some.

• You can use milk (cow, rice, nut, etc) instead of yogurt if you add a T of vinegar, lemon juice or other acid. The texture may be different, though. The original recipe called for buttermilk, which would probably be great, but I never have.

• The original recipe suggested cooking this in two round cake pans and putting the cakes together with jam, and topping the whole thing with powdered sugar. I think it would be good that way too, but I haven't tried it.

Rachel Rogel lives in Ohio where she enjoys expressing herself through art, gardening, cooking and getting together with friends from her local support group.