Healthy brownies? Yes, they exist! Former model and healthy dessert chef Crosby Tailor shows us how to whip up decadent brownies with better-for-you ingredients.

If your New Year's resolution was to cut back on sweets but you desperately miss dessert, good news: It is possible to have your cake and eat it, too. Or in this case, your brownies.

While working at the food market Erewhon in Los Angeles a few years ago, model-turned-healthy dessert chef Crosby Tailor learned to reconcile his sweet tooth with his desire to stay fit.

"I was dating a girl and [we] were both having issues eating things that had a lot of sugar," Tailor tells us. "It turned into a little bit of a love affair, figuring out how to make these sugar-free sweets."

The model soon taught himself to make luscious baked goods that taste (and look) incredible. Even better, many of his go-to recipes are packed with protein and healthy fats, thanks to ingredients like coconut oil (or mct oil), pastured eggs, and nut butter. And instead of using refined sugar, Tailor prefers to sweeten his dishes with Lakanto, which is made from erythritol and monk fruit. Lakanto is zero on the glycemic index, will not cause any kind of insulin spike, and is safe for diabetics. Overall, these brownies are very low in carbs and higher in fat, so instead of burning glucose for fuel, your body will burn ketones for energy and stay in the fat burning zone. Just make sure you behave yourself and avoid anything sugary while eating them, or else you're defeating the whole purpose! 

Watch us make the brownies on Health's Facebook page, then get the full recipe below.

Crosby's Chocolate Chunk Double Fudge Brownies

Yield: 12 brownies

For the chocolate chunks (Crosby's Chocolate):

1/2 oz. cacao butter, chopped 

2 Tbsp. Lakanto sweetener (blend lakanto into a powder for smoother consistency)

4 Tbsp. cacao powder

2 pinches pink Himalayan salt

2 Tbsp. Bulletproof Brain Octane oil 

For the brownies:

1/3 cup melted coconut oil or Brain Octane Oil (plus more for greasing pan)

3 large eggs (preferably pastured)

1/2 cup Lakanto sweetener (powdered)

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 Tbsp. smooth, unsalted almond butter or ghee

1/3 cup cacao powder

1/4 cup coconut flour

1/8 tsp. pink Himalayan salt

Top w/ chunks of Crosby's Chocolate 

For the Almond Butter Icing:

1 Tbsp. smooth almond butter

1 tsp. Brain Octane Oil (or MCT oil)

1 Tbsp. Lakanto

Generous pinch pink salt

1. Make chocolate: Melt cacao butter down on stove on low heat. Place 2 Tbsp. Lakanto in a high-speed blender or coffee grinder; process until powdery.
2. Add powdered Lakanto, cacao, and salt to bowl or round bottom coffee cup with cacao butter & Brain Octane; stir until just combined. Freeze for 20 minutes.
3. Make brownies: Preheat oven to 350ºF; grease an 8-inch square baking dish with coconut oil or ghee. In a medium bowl, whisk together coconut oil, eggs, and vanilla until combined. In a small bowl, combine cacao powder, coconut flour, salt, and Lakanto; stir to mix. Add to egg mixture; mix well. Stir in ghee or almond butter; mix well. Pour and spread batter in prepared baking pan.
4. Remove Crosby’s Chocolate from freezer; place on a cutting board. Using a sharp chef’s knife, chop chocolate into chunks. Sprinkle on top of brownie batter. Bake for 13-14 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into brownies comes out clean (brownies should still look fudgy). Let cool in pan on a wire rack.
5. Make icing: Place all ingredients in a bowl; stir until well combined. Spread on top of cooled brownies. Cut into 12 pieces and serve.

 (*Part of his article was originally published on health.com on February 10th, 2017 written by Beth Lipton).