"Create Your Own" Brownies

These brownies are rich and fudgy and the best part is that you can add whatever flavoring you want to them!  I personally like them with the cheesecake swirl or peanut butter cups, but they are even good just using chocolate chips and serving with vanilla ice cream.  These brownies aren't difficult to make and are much better than a box (plus you can impress people telling them you made them from scratch)!

Step 1 Gather the ingredients

1/2 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. applesauce (you can use 1 pack of those single serving applesauce containers)
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 c. white sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. salt

1 c. of your choice of mix-ins (mini marshmallows, chopped candy bars (Snickers, York peppermint patties, Reese's peanut butter cups, etc.), chopped nuts, dried fruit, chopped caramels, etc.)  OR you can just use 1 c. semisweet chocolate chips for plain chocolate brownies OR for cheesecake brownies follow directions through pouring batter into pan (using 1 c. semisweet chips as mix-in) then beat together 1 package softened cream cheese (8 oz.), 1 egg, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, and 1/2 c. sugar.  Swirl over top of brownies and bake as instructed in recipe.

Comments

[stripedstarfish]

Oh, it sounds so easy! Yum! Think I'm serving brownies for dinner - forget something practical...
Do you pack the brown sugar or spoon it into the measuring cups loosely? Also, are you measuring the flour scooped straight out of the bag with the measuring cup(s) or after you fluff it up a bit or sift it? Can I use margarine instead of butter?
Thanks!

[werniea]

I think I just spooned the brown sugar into a measuring cup - if you want it to be a bit more sweet then I would pack the brown sugar. The flour I just scoop out of the bag. And I would think that you can use margarine instead of butter, it may change the texture a bit, but it should be fine!

[ChrysN]

Brownies made with peanut butter cups sound delicious, yum!