Healthy Fudgy Brownies...........isn't that an oxymoron?

Sometimes craving chocolate is serious business. Today was one of those days. I decided that I would make brownies. I also decided to give a new recipe a whirl. I did a google search for gluten free brownies and came up with a recipe that sounded "healthy". It included two different kinds of fruit!!!
      I am not sure fruit belongs in brownies, but I thought I would give it a try. I have been trying to eat more fruit and if you can get it in a brownie then I'm all for it!!
     Of course I had to tweak their recipe........I'm not one for following the recipe ha
Here is the link to the original recipe that I found in my google search: Emeril's Gluten Free- Dairy Free Brownies and now on to the recipe that it morphed into. (mine is not dairy free though, sorry folks)

"Healthy" Fudgy Brownies

 cooking spray
1 ¼ cups applesauce
1 cup cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 mashed banana
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup Gluten Free Flour Mix
1/2 tsp xantham gum
2 cups Milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 deg.  Generously spray a 8x8 pan with cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl peel and mash banana (if it doesn't mash easily you can microwave it for about 30 seconds to get it smooshey). Combine all of the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.  Pour the mixture into the 8x8 pan. Bake for 45-50 min. or until toothpick in the middle comes out mostly clean (remember these are fudgy brownies).

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Ok, so this was a new recipe for me. It wasn't too bad. It was moist and gooey. I could taste the banana just a little. I think that next time I would leave the banana out of the recipe. I don't think it really serves a purpose. I like cooking with applesauce instead of lots of oil so I would leave that in. I think that applesauce also adds moisture to our sometimes very dry baked goods.

Overall this is a pretty good recipe, would be better minus the banana. So I would give it another shot sometime. It cured my chocolate craving for sure!!