Applesauce Brownies

March is ending and I can feel the season turning the way you feel it in Chicago, not in the temperature, which is still unreliable, but in the light, which has been adding minutes every day since February and is now lasting long enough after work that when I pick up Owen and Nora from Patty's at 4:30 there is still daylight, and we walk the two blocks home in actual light, and that walk is currently the best part of my day.

The twins are thirteen months old. Nora has fourteen words. I know this because I counted. Owen has eight words plus approximately six sounds that consistently correspond to specific things: a particular vocalization for "dog," a sound he makes only when he wants to go outside, a sound for Ryan. He does not speak in the ways the pediatrician's chart expects; he speaks in the ways Owen expects, which is: deliberately, specifically, and only when he has something to say.

The blog is due for a pivot. The one-handed cooking era is over. The toddler-food era has begun, which means a different set of questions: what can I make in twenty minutes that a toddler will eat without turning it into a protest event, that contains actual nutrients, and that I can also eat without feeling like I have given up on myself as a person who has opinions about food. This is the central challenge. I am working on it.

Soft scrambled eggs with cheese and tiny pieces of toast have become the universal breakfast in our house. Owen eats it without complaint. Nora eats it enthusiastically and then attempts to eat the plate. We have eliminated orange foods from Owen's diet without comment and I am not going to make a thing of this. The pediatrician says as long as he is eating a variety of other vegetables it is fine. He is eating broccoli, green beans, peas, and spinach sneaked into pasta. He is fine.

The pivot to toddler food does not have to mean giving up on yourself entirely, and applesauce brownies are my current evidence for that claim. They are soft enough that Owen eats them without incident, sweet enough that Nora is extremely enthusiastic about them, and made with enough real ingredients that I can eat three without feeling like I’ve abandoned all my opinions about food. Applesauce keeps them moist and dense in exactly the way a thirteen-month-old needs, and they come together in the kind of time a Tuesday evening actually allows. This is the toddler-food era, and I am choosing to make it delicious.

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 16

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan or line it with parchment paper.
Mix wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and sugar until combined. Add the applesauce, eggs, and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth.
Add dry ingredients. Sift in the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir with a spatula until just combined — do not overmix. Fold in chocolate chips if using.
Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for 22–25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
Cool and cut. Let the brownies cool completely in the pan before cutting into 16 squares. They firm up as they cool and slice more cleanly when fully cooled.

Nutrition (per serving)

Applesauce Brownies — A treat we can both actually eat