These brownies just kinda happened. I was in one of those experimental moods (plus Mr. Fantabulous wanted something sweet and when asked what he wanted he said “I don’t know”). I’m sure you’ve gone to your family and said “Hey what do you want to eat?” They all say they are hungry and when you ask what for you get ever popular “I don’t know”. Well, I’m here to give you my “I don’t know” recipes for something sweet or in this case, brownies.
After my standing there, beating that dead horse until it was pretty much turned into Elmer’s glue, I got mad. I stood there, one hand on my hip, mixing spoon in the other staring at Mr. Fantabulous waiting for a response to my 5-minute-long-talking-to-myself-conversation of “honey do you want cake, do you want cookies, what about a pie, fudge, tart, muffins… something?” So yeah, when I am met with a resounding “I don’t know” I get frustrated. Now don’t get me wrong, I get in those moods where I want something but usually, I’ll end up either nibbling on something that doesn’t satisfy me (yet feels the need to test the max capacity of my yoga pants) or just go without (which I so wish I did more often… so do my yoga pants!). Well, this time I was irked. I was bound and determined to make that man something to shush him.
Wait, let me step back a few here. See 99.9% of the time I always have a baked good on hand however with us getting in that car accident back in December we haven’t both been able to work out as hard-core as we usually do. And when you cut back on working out, it’s protocol to cut back on the food intake (remember, everything in moderation). Well, I apparently forgot this part. However, my yoga pants did not as I found them hiding in the corner of my closet all curled up and sobbing begging me not to test their stretch-ability. LOL Oh so did he but the man could eat a tub of lard and still not gain weight
Now for me, carbs are what cause me to put weight on or puff up. I can forgo the cookies, cakes, and candies but you put a loaf of hot crusty bread in front of me and I’m like Pavlov’s dog! I start to salivate, my eyes gloss over and I may begin to mumble uncontrollably. LOL, I love bread. Perhaps that’s why pizza is my all-time favorite food – the crust maybe? However, I do have a deep crush love on cheese… and pepperoni… and bacon. Hell, I love the whole thing who am I kidding? But no for me breads are my downfall.
So anyway when he said “I don’t know” I figured ‘Screw it! I’m making um … um… um… flourless brownies’ and that’s exactly what I did. Now I’ve had flourless chocolate cakes and love them. However, if you’re expecting a cake-type texture, then no, you won’t get that. It’s more like a chocolate truffle-type texture (which is awesome!). So for brownies, I wasn’t quite sure how they would turn out. And since I was making these flourless I decided to make them a bit more healthier too by omitting the butter and using coconut oil. Do you use coconut oil in baking or dishes? I so love it! It does leave a mild coconut flavor but depending on the amount you use, it’s virtually undetectable.
Honestly I kind of winged the first pass of this recipe. I honestly didn’t know how much of this or that to put into it. I analyzed my flourless chocolate cake recipe and compared it to my standard brownie recipe. Thankfully I had my engineering cap on and I nailed it right off the bat. However, with any recipe that I post, it has to be tested multiple times to ensure that you get the same results every single time. Trust me, I languished over this… all those pans of brownies… my forced to try each batch. God.. my life is so hard. LOL
Now as you can see I kicked up the whole coconut aspect in this and added coconut to the batter. You don’t have to if you don’t want to. You could nuts, crushed pretzels, chocolate chunks, dried fruits (oh dried blueberries would ROCK in this!), or whatever you want. As the first batch cooled Mr. Fantabulous came out to the kitchen as the smell of these baking was amazing. You could smell the chocolate – which is seriously an awesome smell! Without saying a word, I poured us each a glass of milk and gave him a non-edge brownie (meaning he hates the ones that bake against the pan – weird, I know!) and I ate the smallest one. I ate mine in silence as honestly it was that good. Finally after his 3rd bite or so he said “Hmmm… these are different from your normal brownies. They taste almost like that chocolate ganache stuff you make me but slightly different. What’s in these?”
As I explained what was and was not in them he held up his hand and just said “No more, these are awesome.. can I have another?” LOL WIN WIN!!! So if you’re looking for a great brownie that is off the beaten path, I would recommend this one!
Double Chocolate Flourless Brownies
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Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons coconut oil or unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon Chocolate Extract
- 1/4 teaspoon Espresso Powder
- 1/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup shredded coconut (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F with the rack in the middle. Line an 8×8 metal baking pan by lining it with aluminum foil, leaving a few inches of overhang on the sides to allow for easy removal.
- Grease the foil and set aside. Add coconut oil and milk chocolate chips to a small saucepan set over low heat. Stir until the oil and chocolate have melted completely.
- Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together eggs, sugar, and chocolate extract until smooth and pale, about 2 minutes.
- With the mixer on low, add the melted chocolate mixture and mix until well combined.
- Shut off the mixer and sift in the cocoa powder, cornstarch, espresso powder, and salt, mixing until well combined and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer and add in the coconut (if adding) and semisweet chips. The batter should be thick and smooth. Pour batter into the prepared pan, spreading it out evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the center is set and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Do not overbake. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for about 15 minutes before removing and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container. I prefer to keep mine in the fridge but you can keep them at room temperature.
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