Hey everyone, Web editor and Pet Central blogger Bri Pruitt here. I’m filling in on Rochelle’s last day off for her wedding/honeymoon. I thought and thought about what to write a post on. Local produce? nah, been done. Healthy substitutions? More Rainne Knight’s area of expertise.

Then, a few nights ago, I was baking cupcakes for Intern Rikki King’s 21st birthday and realized that my post was right in front of my face!

You see, though I used box funfetti cake mix and canned frosting, I still customized my recipe, just a bit.

It was when mixing together my ingredients that I realized I was short on vegetable oil. But, not to fear, I had an easy fix:

Years ago, I read, or heard, or something, that you can sometimes substitute applesauce for some of the vegetable oil in baking recipes. Now, I’ve never tried it in any kind of bread that requires yeast, rising, etc., and I’ve never substituted it for shortening. But, when making a quick bread or cake that calls for vegetable oil, I almost always cut the oil amount in half, and then use applesauce for the other half.

I do it with banana bread, my holiday pumpkin bread, and even boxed cake mixes. It works well for me any time I use this method.

The result is a cake or bread that is a little more moist, a little more flavorful, and a little (or a lot) more healthy. Everything else about the baking process is unchanged, same time, same temp, same ingredients, same order. Just cut the oil amount in half, and use applesauce for the other half of the oil.

I wouldn’t recommend completely replacing the oil with applesauce, because I do think it serves a purpose, though I don’t know what that purpose is. But half-oil, half-apple hasn’t failed me yet!

So go ahead and try my baking tip next time you’ve got your oven mitts on. I think you’ll be pleased with the results!

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