I bake brownies all the time because they are such a crowd pleaser, but every time that I bake a batch, someone will tell me that they just have to pass on something so rich. Brownies are known for being decadent and delivering a big dose of chocolate in every bite. As much as people love chocolate, it is understandable that you may not want to overindulge your chocolate cravings every day. These Applesauce Brownies are not completely guilt-free, but they are definitely a little bit lighter than your average brownie recipe and could easily qualify as an everyday treat.
The brownies have less butter than a traditional brownie recipe and include a generous amount of applesauce. I don’t like to think of the applesauce as a “butter replacement” because it isn’t a replacement for butter. It doesn’t add the richness or texture that butter does, so recipes that are heavy on the applesauce won’t have the same texture as those that use a lot of butter. What the applesauce can do, however, is add a lot of moisture to a recipe and that is exactly what it does here. These brownies are dense and moist, and that moisture gives them a richness that you wouldn’t expect to find in a lower fat brownie recipe. Try to use an all natural applesauce that doesn’t have too much added sugar.
Since I was keeping things on the lighter side, I opted to use unsweetened cocoa powder (regular and dutch process are both fine in this recipe) instead of melted chocolate. You get a lot of flavor from a relatively small amount of cocoa, so these brownies have a dark color and an almost dark chocolate flavor. I did want to make sure I put in enough chocolate, however, so I added a generous amount of chocolate chips to the batter. This amps up the chocolate flavor even more and adds just the right amount of decadence to the finished brownie.
These brownies will keep well for several days because they are so moist. I like to dust them with cocoa powder just before serving to give them a nice finished look.
Applesauce Brownies
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup plain applesauce
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips
cocoa powder, for finishing
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil and lightly grease.
In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, egg and vanilla extract. Add in the applesauce and sift in the cocoa powder, then mix until all of the ingredients are well combined.
Stir in the flour and salt, mixing just until the flour is incorporated and no streaks remain visible. Do not overmix. Fold in chocolate chips just until they are evenly distributed.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs (not wet batter) attached. Allow to cool completely before slicing. Dust brownies with cocoa powder before serving.
Makes 16 brownies
Kumar's Kitchen
August 13, 2013yummy,fruity brownies,so moist and brown….who can say no to these treats…yummm 🙂
Brenda Jennings
August 13, 2013Hi — I also use unsweetened cocoa powder instead of melted chocolate in many of my recipes and as you say — you do in fact get a lot of flavor from a relatively small amount of cocoa. I also discreetly add in a few chocolate chips as well! Nicely done!
Lily @ Life, Love, and Cupcakes
August 13, 2013I’ll admit…I’m not one to pass up brownies ever, I love the richness and firmly believe that too much is never enough 😉 but after making turtle brownies the other day, these might have to be my next brownie…those things were RICH!
Lauren
October 4, 2013These brownies look great! I’ve been trying to find an applesauce brownie recipe that has a chewy consistency once baked. Do these classic as chewy or cakey? Thanks!
Nicole
October 7, 2013Lauren – I would describe them as moist and fudgy. They’re not cakey at all, though they are not quite as chewy as some other brownie recipes either. I know that adds a third category – but I hope that helps!
angie
August 7, 2014Is it okay to use homemade applesauce(just apples steamed with water and lemon juice, then run through a blender) in this recipe?
angie
August 7, 2014Would these brownies taste good without the chocolate chips? And do you think the taste and texture would still be the same if I used oil instead of butter?
Nicole
August 7, 2014Angie – You should be able to use homemade applesauce, just be sure it is pureed very smoothly and is not chunky. I think that they need the chocolate chips for maximum chocolate flavor, but you can omit them or replace them with chopped nuts. And no, the texture would not be the same if you use oil instead of butter. Butter definitely works better in this recipe.
Ellie
November 9, 2014Tried these today. They’re great if you want a brownie with a bit of a fruity flavor. I cut the chocolate chips to 1/2 cup and they were still quite rich. Nice texture.