Substitute for vegetable oil in brownies

Actually, there are really only a few oils you can substitute for each other, at least without any significant side effects.

The oils which generally are used interchangeably are peanut oil, canola/rapeseed oil, and sunflower oil. These oils have similar smoke points, don't impart any really noticeable flavour, and tend to be used primarily for high-heat cooking (pan-frying, deep-frying), so if you're paranoid about saturated fat for instance, you can substitute sunflower oil for peanut oil. Corn oil is in the same group, but I rarely see that used anymore. You can also use the "light" olive oil, but that will change the flavour of the dish. I believe walnut oil has similar properties, but it's considerably harder to find.

But keep in mind that oils are used for far more than frying. Many have highly-specialized uses:

• Extra virgin olive oil is most commonly used in sauces and salad dressings ("oil and vinegar" almost always means olive oil, there really is no substitute);

• Chili oil is really more of a condiment than a cooking oil. Even if you could cook with it, the result would be inedible due to the heat.

• Toasted sesame oil is used as a flavourings in Asian dishes. It's useless as a cooking oil (and cooking with it would be a terrible waste). Regular sesame oil, on the other hand, is often bought in a refined form and is generally used as a cooking oil.

• There are a lot of other more esoteric types of oil such as palm oil and coconut oil, which you really don't want to use unless you know what you're doing (you can ruin the flavour).

I could go on, but for now I'll refer you to the Types of oils and their characteristics as a starting point. Cooking oils really aren't freely interchangeable in all situations; even if you've accounted for smoke point and flavour, sometimes a significantly different fat content (i.e. grapeseed oil which is mostly polyunsaturated vs. canola oil which is mostly monounsaturated) can seriously mess up a delicate recipe.

It's better to be asking which oils you can substitute in a specific situation than to assume everything goes and list the "exceptional" circumstances.

If you have a recipe that already produces a dense fudgy brownie and you're looking to do it without oil, you're just out of luck.

If you're looking to produce a dense fudgy brownie and wondered if, while you were at it, you might cut back on the oil...NO, but here are some suggestions for making a cakey brownie more dense and "fudgey":

1. Follow Tim's advice above on using butter instead of oil. It's not doing anything as far as calories but it will produce better flavor vs. a neutral oil. However, particularly if you're planning to put nuts in them, you could replace a portion of the vegetable oil with walnut or hazelnut oil for enhanced nutty flavor.

2. Replace half of the whole eggs with egg yolks. Cakiness in brownies is partly due to the use of whole eggs. Egg whites have a drying effect on baked goods. In converting a brownie recipe I did, I used 2 egg yolks for each whole egg.

3. Replace part of the granulated sugar with corn syrup. They hygroscopic nature(ability to absorb moisture and retain it) of the corn syrup will create a more dense moist result. I think I replaced about half the sugar with corn syrup. The added moisture of the corn syrup will help to off-set the loss of moisture from removing the egg whites.

Method/Technique:

Heat chocolate, butter, cocoa powder over a hot water bath until chocolate is melted. Stir to blend to a smooth consistency. Set aside to cool slightly.

Beat egg yolks/whole egg with sugar and corn syrup until thick, light in color, and mixture forms a "ribbon".

Combine dry ingredients and make a well in the center.

Temper chocolate into egg/sugar mixture. Mix to blend well. Add to dry ingredients and fold together just until moistened. Pour into greased pan and bake until set.