How Do You Like Them Apples?

Last night I rediscovered the wonders of cooking with applesauce instead of oil. We were making brownies and instead of putting in the 1/2 cup of oil that is called for I put in 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce. The brownies turned out a little bit more "fluffy" rather than "fudgey" but they still taste FANTASTIC and check out the differences:

1/2 cup of all natural canola oil (which is what I would have used)
Calories = 960
Calories from fat = 960
Total fat = 14 grams
Fiber = 0 grams

1/2 cup of all natural (unsweetened) applesauce
Calories = 45
Calories from fat = 0
Total fat = 0 grams
Fiber = 2 grams
PLUS 30% of your Daily Value of Vitamin C

So there you have it! This one seems like pretty much a no brainer. If you haven't ever tried using apple sauce I would highly recommend it. I can't remember where I learned it but it is a great little trick. I haven't tried it in a lot of other recipes, but I am considering trying it in other baking recipes (cakes, cookies, etc.) that ask for oil. You just put in the same amount of applesauce as you would have put in oil. Happy (and healthy) baking!