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Double Chocolate Raspberry Brownie Bites

February is a good month for chocolate. I mean, every month is a good month for chocolate, but February and chocolate go particularly well together… probably because of Valentine’s Day. I’m not entirely sure how chocolate got associated with Valentine’s in the first place, but you definitely won’t find me complaining. I adore the stuff and it gives me an excuse to incorporate it into 99.9% of the baking I do this month…

It also means that I need to get a little more creative when it comes to figuring out ways to sneak in some healthier treats. I mean, I’m all for treating my loved ones with decadent indulgences every now and again, but I also like to balance those out with some healthier-but-still-delicious options.

And that’s where the creativity comes in. I’ll fully admit that healthifying treats is not an easy task, and it often takes a fair bit of patience and experimentation. Heck, I’ve had my fair share of healthy baking fails (hockey puck brownies and soggy, lumpy muffins come to mind), but every now and then I get lucky with a healthy baking success, and this was one of those occasions…

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to my Double Chocolate Raspberry Brownie Bites. They’re healthy-er, but you’d never be able to tell by looking at them. Or tasting them! In fact, not a single one of my taste testers had any idea that what they were eating wasn’t the rich and decadent traditional brownie [bite] they were used to… because that’s exactly what these taste and feel like! Sweet, rich, fudgy, moist, and loaded with chocolate goodness.

And the sneaky healthy ingredient? Applesauce. It replaces some of the oil in these brownie bites, which saves on fat and calories while allowing them to remain wonderfully moist and fudgy. And don’t worry — you can’t taste it at all. I also added some naturally sweetened raspberry jam, both for a fun flavour twist and some added sweetness. This helped with the fudginess even more, and also allowed me to decrease some of the added sugar.

Oh, and I made them bite-sized! Two [delicious] bites, to be exact. This was mostly to up the cuteness factor, but also because it means you get to eat more of them… which you can happily do seeing as they’re healthy-er.

Baking healthy-but-delicious treats for my family and friends is probably one of my favourite ways to show them that I care. It’s a pretty awesome feeling to see someone’s face light up when they take their first bite of something that you made for them… which is probably why I [subtly-but-not-so-subtly] watch them like a hawk to try and catch their uncensored reaction.

Is that creepy? I feel like that’s creepy. But I can’t help it! And it’s especially bad when I’m giving them something that I know is healthier — because I’m nervous that they’ll catch on. I even had one friend call me out with these bites! Her not-exact-but-close-enough words were: “Why are you looking at me like that? Did you do something to these? There’s no way you did something to these”  — which is exactly the kind of reaction I was going for. But don’t take my word for it! Give these bites a try and see for yourself!

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