Vegan Brownie Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 0.8 Teaspoon double-acting baking powder 
• 0.8 cup cocoa (I Used Hershey's)
• 2 Teaspoons flax seed powder 
• 0.3 Teaspoon salt 
• 0.8 cup apple sauce unsweetened organic (I Used Nature's Promise Applesauce)
• 2 Teaspoons vanilla extract pure (I Used Trader Joes Vanilla Flavor Alcohol Free)
• 1 cup vegan chocolate chips (But I Used The Regular Nestle Ones)
• 1 cup optional walnuts chopped (I Omitted)
• 0.5 cup water 

Equipment

• bowl
• oven
• wire rack
• blender
• baking pan
• muffin liners
• muffin tray

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F/180C for 15 minutes.Coat an 8×8 inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. If you choose to bake brownie cupcakes, line a 12 muffin tin with muffin liners or coat with nonstick cooking spray itself.In a medium size bowl, stir together sugar, applesauce and 2 tablespoons water.Either mix flax seed meal with 1/2 cup water in a small cup or blend it in a blender.
2. Add the flax seed mixture and vanilla to the applesauce mixture and combine well.In another small bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, chocolate chips and walnuts (if using).
3. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture.Stir just to combine, do not overmix.
4. Pour into prepare pan. If using a muffin tin, fill each mould 3/4ths full. The given measurement is perfect for 12 muffins, so divide the batter accordingly, which is around 3-4 tablespoons of batter in each cup.The time given in the original recipe for baking in a brownie pan is 40 minutes for chewy brownies and 45-47 minutes for cake like brownies. But since I used a muffin tin to bake brownies, mine was done exactly at 23 minutes.Once the cupcakes are out of the oven, leave it in the tin for 2 minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack for the brownie cupcakes to cool completely.