Vegan Fudge Brownies

Before I had children and settled down, I had a list of vices the length of my arm. Since becoming pregnant with my daughter, that list has shortened considerably.  One of my remaining vices is my complete and utter lack of self-control for cookies and brownies.  If they are left unguarded in my house, I will eat them until I feel sick. And I don't regret it! Because of this problem, I'm always on the look-out for healthy cookie and brownie recipes.  As expected, Chocolate Covered Katie's recipe for  Healthy Chocolate Brownies was a huge success.  That girl is a healthy dessert culinary genius. These brownies are so ridiculously gooey that you have to eat it with a spoon.  *swoon*

Vegan Fudge Brownies

**Recipe adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie**

Yields 16 Brownies

INGREDIENTS

1/2 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1 Cup All Purpose Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1 Cup White Sugar* (see notes for a lower sugar option)

6 Tbsp Silken Firm Tofu

1/2 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce

6 Tbsp Coconut Oil

1/4 Cup Almond Milk or Milk of Choice

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8 x 8 pan or baking dish.

2.  In a food processor, add in all the ingredients.  Puree until smooth. Scrape the sides with a spatula, and puree again.

3. Pour the batter into the greased baking dish and bake for 20-24 minutes. It won't look all the way done, but that's okay!  Let the pan cool enough to put in the fridge.  Chill for at least an hour before eating.

4. Cut into 16 pieces.  Put a piece on a plate and microwave for 10 seconds or until warm and gooey. Trust me, you have to microwave it! Making it warm and fudgy elevates it to epic tasting proportions.

NOTES
* You can lower the sugar by substituting stevia for part of the white sugar. I recently used 2/3 cup of sugar and 1 tbsp of Trader Joe's powdered stevia extract. This lowers the calories to 120, and sugar to 9 grams a serving (as opposed to 136/cal and 13g/sugar.

* You can substitute canola or vegetable oil for the coconut oil.

* You can substitute the 6 tbsp of firm silken tofu with 1/5th of a block of regular tofu if you like, but it won't be quite as creamy.

* You can sub out the all-purpose flour for pastry flour or spelt flour.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serving Size: 1/16th of Brownies

Calories: 136

Carbs: 20

Fat: 6

Protein: 2