Chocolate Fudge Brownies

My new favorite brownies...

On Mother's Day I was looking for something simple to make with ingredients I already had in the house. I decided to make brownies, but I haven't found a brownie recipe I've been crazy about so I consulted my good friend Google. After looking at a few recipes I stumbled across this one on Recipe Girl and decided to give it a try. These are simple, quick and delicious. They're topped with a chocolate 'glaze' that turns more into a fudge after they sit awhile. Needless to say I've found my new favorite brownies. 

*Excuse the bad picture, they didn't last long enough for a better one & clearly I'm not a photographer!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped (I used a Lindt 70% chocolate bar)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used mini chocolate chips)

GLAZE:
2/3 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I used 4 squares of a Lindt dark chocolate bar and 0.5 oz semisweet Baker's chocolate)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 to 5 teaspoons hot water (or more, as needed)

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 8" baking dish with nonstick spray. Line with parchment paper (leave edges hanging over) and spray that also. 

In one bowl mix flour, baking powder & salt. In another bowl melt butter & chocolate in microwave. I do this 30 secs at a time. Usually takes 60-90 seconds. Stir together until smooth and then add in both sugars followed by eggs, the extra yolk & vanilla. Mix in flour mixture and then add chocolate chips.

Pour batter into pan and bake for 25-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean (there may be some chocolate from the chocolate chips).

Once brownies are cooled completely make the glaze. If you're using chocolate from a chocolate bar like I did you'll need to melt it first. Mix powdered sugar, chocolate, vanilla & hot water. Continue adding water 1 tsp at a time until glaze is just thin enough to pour over brownies. Let sit before serving. You can put them in the fridge to sit if you're in a hurry.

As always, eat & enjoy! 

I love Chocolate...

Have some leftover chocolate?

Over the weekend I made some delicious chocolate brownies with chocolate chips topped with a chocolate 'glaze' that turned into something resembling fudge overnight. Needless to say they were amazing and I'll share the recipe later this week. In the meantime I'll share something quick & easy that I did with my 'leftover' chocolate. 

I went a little crazy while picking out chocolate bars to use for the brownies. They are all so pretty and look so good! So, I picked up a few bars of the Lindt 70%. I also picked up a bakers semi-sweet bar. I had 4 squares left of a Lindt bar and decided I shouldn't let it go to waste. I also had some chopped pecans & almonds laying around so naturally, I decided to combine them.  And then this happened:

Delicious, fudgy, nutty clusters of goodness

Ingredients:

-Chocolate (I used 4 squares of 70% Lindt chocolate and 0.5 oz Baker's semi-sweet)

-2 Tbs butter

-2/3 C powdered sugar

-several tsp hot water 

-Nuts (I used chopped pecans & almonds)

-1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper and lay out small clusters of nuts. Melt chocolate and butter - I do this in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time. Takes 60-75 seconds usually. Stir chocolate mixture until smooth and then pour over powdered sugar. Add vanilla and hot water and beat all ingredients until smooth. Add more water if desired - mixture should be thick, but smooth enough to pour over nuts. Almost the consistency of brownie batter.  Use a spoon and pour a spoonful over each cluster of nuts. I made ~12, but in all honesty I scraped the rest of the bowl with some remaining nuts and ate it myself, so you could probably get a couple more out of this. Cover lightly and let set. I let mine set overnight.

Eat & enjoy!