Applesauce Brownies
These double-chocolate Applesauce Brownies are ultra-fudgy and made without oil, butter, or refined flours! And don’t worry—no veggies, beans, or weird ingredients here. They’re so delicious, you won’t even miss the butter and oil!
Servings: 16 bars
Cost: $3.72
Equipment
- 8 x 8-inch baking pan see note 1
- Small blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup oat flour old-fashioned oats that have been blended
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/4 cup brown sugar lightly packed, see note 2
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder not Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips divided, or semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- Pulse oats in a food processor or small blender until ground into a flour consistency. Measure 1/4 cup after blending.
- In a large bowl, mix peanut butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, egg, and applesauce until smooth. Once smooth, stir in oat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and 1/2 cup chocolate chips until combined.
- Transfer batter to the lined baking pan, smoothing it evenly. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips and gently press them in. Bake for 20–22 minutes or until lightly puffy. Check doneness by seeing if the batter pulls away from the edges slightly or a toothpick inserted in the center (not in a chip) comes out clean or with moist crumbs or clean.
- Remove and allow to cool in the pan on a cooling rack for about an hour before cutting and serving. Enjoy!
Notes
Note 1: Only use an 8x8 baking pan, and don’t forget to line it or these brownies won’t come out well.
Note 2: If you are new to healthier desserts, you may want a bit more sugar in these brownies. If you make a lot of healthier recipes and don’t mind the brownies being less sweet, you can slightly reduce the sugar. I like these brownies best with a lightly packed 1/4 cup. If you'd like them sweeter, add 1/3 cup.
Gluten Free: To have gluten-free brownies, make sure all ingredients are, in fact, gluten free. While the ingredients called for in these brownies are naturally gluten free, make sure to check all your ingredient labels to verify they weren’t processed in a facility with gluten.
Storage: Store cooled brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. These brownies are best enjoyed within 2–3 days.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 140kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 110mg | Potassium: 187mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 20IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 1mg