The ~Baked~ Brownie

I like my brownies fudgy.

I like them dark, chewy and gooey,

I don’t think I’m the only one either.

If you agree – this recipe is for you. The Baked Bakery really got it down pat here, because this brownie is everything I listed above and more. The fact that it’s super simple to make is just the cherry on top.

I don’t want to say this brownie will get you a boyfriend/girlfriend or anything… But I made these with my boyfriend on our third date and we’ve been dating awhile now… So make your own assumptions. They’re THAT good.

If you want to put a little twist on these, I would sprinkle the top with a bit of flaked sea salt halfway through baking. These brownies are super rich and salt would definitely cut the richness in the best way.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
11oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped (you can also use high quality chocolate chips!)
1 cup salted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
5 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Steps

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper (trust me, these would be sticky otherwise!).

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, sea salt and cocoa until combined.

Set a large, heatproof bowl over a pot of gently simmering water. Place butter and chocolate in the bowl and stir occasionally until completely melted and smooth. Turn off heat and add sugars to chocolate mixture, whisking until completely combined. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Add 3 eggs to chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the remaining eggs and stir until incorporated. Add vanilla and stir until just incorporated, careful to not overmix (will otherwise be cakey texture).

Sprinkle flour mixture over the batter and fold flour into the batter using a spatula until there are very slight streaks of flour remaining. Again, the key is to ~just~ mix so you keep a fudge texture in the end.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 30 minutes (turn the pan 180 degrees halfway through baking).

Let the brownies cool completely in the pan, then lift them out with the parchment as a handle to cut.

Adapted from Baked

Salted Caramel Brownies

You all know I can somehow incorporate salted caramel into anything I bake, whether it be cookies, pie or squares. But then today I realized I had yet to add it to brownies! Lucky for me, I had a jar of caramel sauce in my fridge (Bonne Maman makes a fabulous one if you’re too lazy to make your own) that I was able to put to work. These definitely cured my chocolate craving.

The amount of caramel you pour on top is totally up to you, I used about 1/4 of a cup and it created a chewy glaze, but you could definitely use more to up the gooey factor.

I also cannot stress the importance of buttering your pan and potentially lining with foil or parchment, brownies stick y’all!

Ingredients

1/2 cup salted butter
4 oz semi sweet chocolate
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp sea salt, plus more for sprinkling
2/3 cup flour
1 tbsp cocoa powder
Caramel sauce

Steps

Preheat oven to 350F and line an 8×8 pan with parchment or foil, greasing the bottom and sides with butter.

Fill a small pot with 1-2 inches of water and bring to a simmer. Place butter and chocolate in a medium metal bowl and place over the pot like a double boiler, stirring constantly until melted. Whisk in sugar until incorporated. Add eggs one at a time, whisking well between each addition, stir in salt and vanilla.

Stir in flour and cocoa with a spatula until there are no streaks of flour (don’t overmix!). Pour batter into prepared pan.

Pour caramel all over the top of the batter (if it’s thick from the fridge, pop it in the microwave for 10 seconds so its pourable) and swirl around with a butter knife.

Bake for 30 minutes until the edges are set and puffed and a toothpick in the middle comes out with no batter (crumbs are fine). Sprinkle with sea salt and allow to cool slightly before cutting.

Halloween Candy Brownies

Happy Halloween!

I don’t know about y’all but I LOVE Halloween, anything that lets me dress up in a fun costume and eat a worrisome amount of candy is a great time in my book.

I had a bunch of leftover Halloween candy from a party I had and thought I may as well use them for baking, and out came these brownies! You can use any Halloween candy you like, I chopped up Coffee Crisp, Caramilk and then sprinkled the top with Smarties (basically Canadian M&Ms, not the gross chalky things).

These have a great crunch and gooey caramel and multiple forms of chocolate, what more could you want?

Ingredients

1/2 cup salted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/3 cup flour
~10 mini Halloween sized chocolate bars, sliced in half/quarters
1/4-1/3 cup Smarties or M&Ms, for sprinkling

Steps

Preheat oven to 325F and line an 8×8 pan with foil with a few inches overhang. Grease foil with butter or cooking spray and set aside.

Melt butter in a small saucepan and set aside to cool slightly. Whisk together white and brown sugars, cocoa and sea salt. Pour in melted butter, whisking constantly until combined.

Whisk in vanilla and then whisk in each egg, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Stir in flour until it is just incorporated and ensure you don’t overmix.

Pour half the batter into prepared pan and arrange the chopped up chocolate bars in a layer on top, pouring the remaining batter on top and smoothing it with a knife. Sprinkle on Smarties.

Bake at 325F for 30 minutes, until the top starts to crack and a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs on it, not batter. Allow to cool completely, then lift out of the pan by the foil and enjoy!

Mint Chocolate Brownies

The week after Valentine’s Day should otherwise be known as the “Eat a couple of pounds of chocolate in an absurdly short span” week. Solid holiday right?

For those of you who have been to Stratford, you’re likely familiar with Rheo Thompson chocolates, particularly their mint smoothies. If not, they’re a delicious chocolate with a smooth minty chocolate filling and harder chocolate shell, shown below.

While “sampling” a box over the week, I started daydreaming about how these would work as brownies. Mint and chocolate are one of my favourite combinations, throw that in the form of a brownie and I’m in.

Now, if you aren’t down for the 2+ hour drive to Stratford, you can also use dark chocolate and add peppermint extract (see recipe note) for a classic take. I found that using the smooth milk chocolates resulted in a more intense mint flavour which was a nice twist.

This recipe uses an 8×8 pan.

Ingredients

5 oz mint flavoured milk chocolates (or regular dark chocolate)
6 tbsp salted butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 whole eggs plus a yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4-1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup flour
Optional: 1/2 tsp peppermint extract if using dark chocolate

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F and line your pan with foil or parchment paper. You can also REALLY butter the pan.
Over a double boiler (or metal bowl over a pot filled with an inch of boiling water), melt chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth.
Remove from heat and immediately stir in both sugars until uniform and slightly dissolved.
Whisk in eggs, vanilla and peppermint extract (if using) until JUST combined.
In a separate bowl, mix cocoa powder, sea salt and flour and gently fold the dry mix into the wet ingredients until just combined. (“Folding” is using a spatula or wooden spoon to gently stir around and under the batter to combine wet and dry until combined. The action is literally as if you’re folding the wet ingredients around the dry). Do not overmix.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes (30 if you have a hot oven), or until an inserted toothpick comes out with a few crumbs. Let cool for 15 minutes in pan then remove and cool on a rack.