Amazingly Delicious Whole-Grain Brownies

I was seriously craving brownies tonight, so I decided to try this recipe (with a few minor changes - denoted in GREEN) ... and OMW! They were*So* delicious!!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup applesauce (I used homemade, which was already slightly sweetened)
  
• 3/4 cup white sugar (For a healthier alternative, I used 1/3 cup honey + 1½Tbs of sugar)
  
• 2 egg whites (I used flax... 1¾ Tbs + 5 Tbs water)
  
• 1/4 cup butter, melted (this can be interchanged with oil, if you wish)
• 1/4 cup buttermilk (If you don't have buttermilk, you can always use ¼ milk + ¼ tsp vinegar or lemon juice...)
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon coffee flavored extract (I actually used coffee grounds, & it worked fine)
  
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (I omitted this, and doubled the whole wheat flour)
  
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
  
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional - I used mini chocolate chips)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional - I didn't do this!)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
   
2. Grease an 8x8 inch square pan.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together the applesauce, white sugar (honey/sugar), egg whites (flax), and butter until smooth. Mix in the buttermilk, vanilla extract and coffee.
   
4. In a separate bowl, combine the cocoa, flours, baking powder and salt;
   
5. Combine into the sugar mixture, just until incorporated.
   
6. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
7. Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the brownies look like they are pulling away from the sides.
   
8. Cool, and cut into squares.

**Note - due to the flax seed and other substitiutions - this recipe makes more of a dense, flat brownie, rather than a fluffy, cake-like brownie... **