2 Minute Microwave Brownie in a Mug

Beware. I am about to introduce you to the simplest brownie you could possibly make, using only ingredients that you surely have in your house at any time. This means that any time you crave chocolate at midnight, you now have the power to make yourself a single-serving brownie before your better judgement has time to kick in. So I apologize to any of you resolving to diet this new year.

But this is actually a pretty healthy little brownie – only 227 calories and 5 grams of fat. I’ve eliminated the oil, and also the eggs. By substituting applesauce for oil, I shaved off 120 calories and more than 16 grams of fat! By the way, I used http://caloriecount.about.com to make these calculations. Here’s the full nutrition label:

I’m not kidding when I say these take two minutes – that includes a minute to microwave it. You can make this thing during a commercial break and be eating it before your show comes back on!

Here are the ingredients you’ll need. If you don’t have half & half, I’m assuming milk would work just fine. Some recipes even call for water, but I love half & half.

2 TBSP All Purpose Flour
2 TBSP Sugar
2 TBSP Cocoa Powder
2 TBSP Half & Half
1 TBSP Applesauce
Pinch of salt
Dash of vanilla

First, add in the first 3 ingredients and stir really well to blend. I’ve found that a fork works best for doing all of this mixing.

Spoon in the applesauce.

Pour in the half & half.

Add a good squirt or splash of vanilla.

Finally, add a pinch of salt. Or you could do that with the dry ingredients. I don’t know why I always do it last!

Stir it really, really well. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the cup, as flour tends to stick there. Attempt to get rid of all the lumps. That’s why I prefer a fork, as it’s better for a quick wisk/blending job.