Layered Wheat Germ Brownies

Source:  Hodgson Mill Wheat Germ

Botom Layer:
1 c wheat germ
1/2 c flour
1/2 brown sugar
6 T butter melted

Chocolate Layer:
1/3 c cocoa
1/3 c margarine
3/4 c sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
2/3 c wheat germ
1/2 c flour
1/4 t baking powder
1/4 t salt

Chocolate Icing:
2 T butter
3 T cocoa
1 c powdered sugar
1 t vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix together bottom layer ingredients.  Lightly pat evenly in ungreased 9 inch square pan.  Set aside.  Melt cocoa and butter over low hear, stirring occasionally.  Beat in sugar, eggs and vanilla.  Stir in wheat germ , mixed with flour, baking powder and salt.  Spread over bottom layer in pan.  Bake 25-30 minutes.  Cool slightly -- spread with chocolate icing.

Icing:

Melt butter and cocoa.  Remove from heat and mix in one cup of powdered sugar, vanilla and 1 T of hot water.  Spread over brownies.

So wheat germ.....It's the reproductive part of the grain, and usually gets removed by the milling process that produces refined grain products.  It's high in all kinds of nutrients, like phosphorus, Vitamin A, folate.  It's also a good source of fiber.  So it's very, very healthy.  But it looks like sawdust, and kind of tastes like it.   I got a box of wheat germ for some recipe (maybe even the terrible mistake of the healthy muffins that I chronicled in this blog earlier).  Then you have a whole box of wheat germ, and what do you do with it.... I would mix it into yogurt, or smoothies -- it melts in and ups the nutritional content.  But it takes a long time to use up a box of wheat germ that way.  So i was excited to find this recipe, and try it.  In fact,  I made this for a co-worker's birthday, and took it to the office.  I wouldn't say that it got rave reviews, but I think most people enjoyed it, and the fact that it wasn't overly decadent, and was somewhat nutritious made it a popular choice.

It's fairly easy to make.  The only note I would make is that the icing was very thick.  I actually didn't read the part about adding the water, so I added a bit of milk to the icing.  It still is pretty thick, and not liquid.  I also used unsweetened cocoa, to cut down on the sweetness.  Now I know the recipe says -- ungreased pan -- but I felt that the bottom layer didn't come out easily from the pan, but was crumbly and stuck to the bottom.  Next time, I will grease the pan, or add a little extra butter to the bottom layer to make it more moist and stick together better.

The name "brownie" is misleading.  It's not a brownie.  It's most of a chocolate bar.  It's very good.  Do not fear the wheat germ. The bottom layer is crunchy and nutty -- reminiscent of an oatmeal layer.  In the chocolate filling, the wheat germ just serves to thicken the chocolate.  It's not overly sweet, but still tasted pretty rich  I would recommend this recipe if you are in the mood for a little dessert that's not overly decadent and that you can feel OK about eating.