Every once in a while (okay, more like very often), I get the urge to bake something. Anything. Even if I only have the ingredients to make something plain and simple, like chocolate chip cookies or cocoa brownies, I’ll do it just to get my baking fix. There’s just something so pleasing and comforting about it, and I often use it to de-stress. Not just the baked goods themselves, but the entire process of making them.
So, to fulfill my most recent yearning to bake something, I made blondies. Not just any blondies, but health-ified ones – whole wheat, almost fat-free, banana chocolate chip blondies.
Whole Wheat Banana Chocolate Chip Blondies
Adapted from Sunny Side Up in San Diego‘s recipe for Basic One-Bowl Blondies – a super easy go-to recipe.
Makes 16 blondies, 120 calories each
- 7 tablespoons (1/2 cup minus 1 tablespoon) unsweetened applesauce
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
- 1 medium banana, sliced
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and grease an 8×8 inch baking dish. Hint for greasing the dish: if you’re skeptical about those cooking sprays designed for baking, don’t be! I’ve use them several times, and they work quite well and are very convenient.
Add the applesauce into a medium bowl, then stir in the brown sugar. Try to get rid of as many lumps as you can. Whisk in the egg and vanilla extract. Add in the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Fold in the chocolate chips and sliced banana, and pour into the baking dish, using a spatula to level off the top. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean or with only a few moist crumbs attached.
The applesauce replaces the butter in this recipe, making these virtually fat free (with the exception of the egg) and reducing the calorie count significantly. Plus, whole wheat flour has more nutrients and fiber than white. I can tell you that I make these swaps all the time in baking recipes, and can never tell the difference. Even when I have others try them, they can’t tell either – once I tell them the swaps I made, they’re always surprised.
Happy healthy baking!
