Bready or Not: Triple-Chocolate Brownies
These Triple-Chocolate Brownies are loaded with three kinds of chocolate, cocoa, and a unique blend of flours: all-purpose along with chickpea flour.
What does the chickpea flour do for the recipe? Well, it handles moisture differently. That makes these dense, moist, in a texturally more complex way than the usual all-wheat-flour brownies.
The flavor is also more complex. Soon after baking, these brownies taste almost like they have breakfast cereal mixed in. You can tell something is different.
Like a lot of chocolate baked goods, though, these taste better after a day. In these brownies, that means the complicated flavors deepen. They taste more chocolaty, more delicious.
If you don’t want to fuss with a big bag of chickpea flour, check out your local grocery or natural goods stores that have flours in bins. In the Phoenix area, that includes Sprouts and WinCo.
Once you make these brownies, though, you may want to make them again soon, so maybe a larger amount of chickpea flour isn’t a bad thing.
Modified from February 2020 Bake from Scratch/Bob’s Red Mill lesson.
Bready or Not: Triple-Chocolate Brownies
Equipment
- 9×13 baking pan
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate divided
- 1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips divided
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks, cubed
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup chickpea flour
- 1/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder sifted
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- 4 large eggs room temperature, lightly beaten
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 325-degrees. Line a 13×9 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
- Using a double boiler on the stove top or a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave, melt together 1 cup of dark chocolate/semi-sweet chocolate chips, 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips, and butter. Heat until it can be stirred smooth. Remove from heat and stir in all of the sugar. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together both flours, cocoa powder, salt, and espresso powder. Set aside.
- Return to the chocolate bowl. Mix in the eggs and vanilla. Gradually fold in the dry ingredients, and follow up with the rest of the three kinds of chocolate chips. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.
- Bake until the center passes the toothpick test, about 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely at room temperature or speed the process in the fridge. Use the foil to lift the contents onto a cutting board. Slice into bars.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge up to a week. Like many chocolate baked goods, these brownies will actually taste better after the first day as the flavor intensifies.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: S’mores Cake Mix Bars
Cake mix is fantastic ingredient to keep in the pantry for a quick-fix dessert. It’s easy to doctor into something extraordinary, such as with these S’mores Cake Mix Bars.
This is a treat that doesn’t taste like cake mix at the end. It’s just sweet and wonderful, courtesy of the lovely combination of ingredients.
I used ready-made graham crackers crumbs here, but really, you could probably use various kind of vanilla cookies, smashed, to mix in. Vanilla wafers or even Golden Oreos would be good substitutes.
I love bar recipes like this where ingredients are swirled together at the end. There is something visually delightful about that marbled look.
Be sure that when these bars are sliced, they are stores with waxed paper between the layers. Marshmallow makes things a bit sticky! And delicious.
Bready or Not Original: S’mores Cake Mix Bars
Equipment
- 9×13 pan
- waxed paper
Ingredients
- 1 box white cake mix or yellow cake mix or French Vanilla
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 7 ounce marshmallow fluff jar
- 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 9×13 casserole pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
- In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, butter, vanilla extract, and eggs until no dry crumbs remain. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan and even out surface. Add the graham cracker crumbs in little piles scattered across the top. Use a butter knife to partially swirl the crumbs into the dough. Add dollops of marshmallow fluff across the top. Again, swirl the marshmallow into the dough, coating it with graham crackers in the process. Don’t combine everything too much–there should still be visible swirls and varied textures.
- Bake at 350-degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, until edges are golden and contents look set.
- Completely cool at room temperature or speed process in the fridge. Use foil to lift the contents onto a cutting board. Slice into bars. Store in a sealed container with waxed paper between the stacked layers.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Classic Brownies
Each year around Valentine’s Day, I like to share a chocolatey recipe. For this year, we’re going for Classic Brownies.
This straightforward recipe makes a 13×9 pan of luscious, moist brownies. They have a rich middle and a crackly top.
Yes, they might crumble a little, but they are by no means dry. Not unless they are overbaked.
These brownies are great on their own but would be out-of-this-world paired with some ice cream or fruit, or both of those at once.
Store these at room temperature for a few days at most, or freeze them for several months.
Bready or Not Original: Classic Brownies
Equipment
- 13×9 pan
Ingredients
- 8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder sifted
- 2 1/2 cups white sugar
- 1 Tablespoon espresso powder or instant coffee granules
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 6 eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 325-degrees. Line a 13×9 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
- In a medium microwave-safe bowl, microwave the chocolate and butter in very short bursts, stirring well between each pass, until it is melted and smooth. Set aside to cool.
- In a small bowl, combine the flour and cocoa.
- In a large bowl, combine the sugar, espresso powder, and cinnamon. Pour in the chocolate mixture. Beat until just combined. Add eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Gradually stir in the flour-cocoa mix. Spread the batter in the prepared pan.
- Bake for 35 to 42 minutes, until the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan and the very middle passes the toothpick test. Set on rack to completely cool.
- Use the foil to lift the brownies onto a cutting board. Cut into bars. Store in a sealed container at room temperature. Brownies can also be layered in wax paper and frozen for later enjoyment.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Chocolate Chip Shortbread with Cocoa Nibs
A classic shortbread gets deeper coffee flavors in this new take featuring cocoa nibs.
Cocoa nibs are strong stuff. You don’t need a lot to add some oomph. Here, two tablespoons is enough to do the trick.
Use whatever chocolate chips you have around for this recipe. Going dark will be a closer match for the nibs. Therefore, I prefer semisweet or milk chocolate, or a combination thereof.
The resulting shortbread is firm enough to hold up when it is cut into finger-sized pieces, but it is wonderfully soft and chewy to eat.
Eat this for a snack or dessert, or do the proper UK thing and serve it with some hot tea!
Bready or Not Original: Chocolate Chip Shortbread with Cocoa Nibs
Equipment
- 9×9 pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips
- 2 Tablespoons cocoa nibs
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 9×9 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray.
- In a big bowl, beat butter, vanilla, and salt until it is smooth and creamy. Slowly beat in the confectioners’ sugar followed by the flour. Fold in the chocolate chips and cocoa nibs.
- Dump dough into the prepared pan. Lightly flour hands and pat dough flat and smooth. Score through the dough with a floured knife to make rectangular wedges, then prick surface all over with a floured fork.
- Bake for 30 to 33 minutes, until shortbread is set and the edges are browned. Let set in pan for 20 minutes, then use the foil to lift contents onto a rack to completely cool. Move them to a cutting board and slice into pieces along original score marks.
- Store in a sealed container at room temperature.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Cocoa Nib Brownies
Cocoa nibs add chocolate flavor and a crunch to baked goods, and they are fantastic atop these Cocoa Nib Brownies!
Cocoa nibs are strongly flavored like dark chocolate. You don’t need a lot of them to add a boost to these brownies.
The original version of this recipe involved melting the chocolate and butter on the stovetop. Ain’t nobody got time for that. I ended up reworking the entire recipe.
I’m all about using the microwave whenever I can. Fast to heat up, convenient to stick the bowl in the dishwasher afterward!
Of course, you can go back to the stove top method if you want. Either way, you get a delicious, chewy brownie packed with chocolate flavor plus a crunch.
Bready or Not Original: Cocoa Nib Brownies
Equipment
- 9×13 dish
- big microwave-safe bowl
- uneven spatula
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks
- 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips
- 1 3/4 cups white sugar
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup cocoa nibs plus 1 Tb
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 9×13 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
- In a big microwave-safe bowl, in short bursts melt together the butter and 1 1/4 cups of the bittersweet chocolate chips, stirring well between each pass, until everything is melted together and smooth.
- Whisk sugar into the chocolate. It’s okay if it still looks somewhat grainy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla, following up with the flour and salt. Once no streaks of white remain, fold in the last 3/4 cups of chocolate chips.
- Pour batter into the pan and use an uneven spatula to spread it to corners. Sprinkle the cocoa nibs evenly all over the stop.
- Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean. Set out to cool completely. Use the foil to lift the contents onto a cutting board, and slice into pieces. Store in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: English Toffee
English Toffee is a classic, timeless candy for a reason: IT IS DELICIOUS. With this recipe, you’ll have a whole bunch of candy made in as fast as 15 minutes!
Make this to feed a crowd or to assemble for gifts. The recipe makes a lot, and trust me, you don’t want to be home alone with this temptation.
There is nothing healthy about this candy. It is pure indulgence. It’s also a cheap indulgence–you’d pay a lot of money at the store to get this much candy of quality!
And homemade is always better, right?
Bready or Not Original: English Toffee
Equipment
- 10x15x1-inch jelly roll pan
- candy thermometer
- uneven spatula
Ingredients
- nonstick spray
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks
- 1 1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cups almonds slivered or sliced, divided
- 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips use medium-sized chips, not gigantic gourmet ones
- Maldon sea salt or other fancy salt for top, optional
Instructions
- Apply a generous amount of nonstick spray to a 10x15x1-inch jelly roll pan. Measure out the almonds and the chocolate and set them aside in separate dishes.
- In a large saucepan on medium heat, melt the butter. Add the sugar, water, and salt, and continue to stir it as the sugar cooks and dissolves. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce temperature to simmer. Continue to stir frequently for the next 5 to 6 minutes as the mix darkens to the color of a brown paper bag; on a candy thermometer, it should be 300-degrees.
- Remove pan from heat. Stir in 1/4 cup of the almonds (meaning there is still 1/2 cup reserved for later). Pour the toffee onto the prepared pan. Use a greased uneven spatula or tilt the pan to carefully spread the candy into an even layer.
- Immediately sprinkle the chocolate chips all over the top. Let them sit for a minute or two to soften, then use an uneven spatula to spread the chocolate across the toffee. Promptly sprinkle the remaining almonds over the top. Add Maldon or other fancy flaky salt, if desired.
- Cool to room temperature, then chill for a while to completely set. Use hands to break toffee into pieces. Some nuts and chocolate will fall off, but it’s all good.
- Store between layers of waxed paper in sealed containers. Keeps for at least 2 weeks.
