The Best Brownies (Made with our Hot Cocoa Mix!)
When it comes to desserts, I always gravitate towards rich, dark chocolatey treats. Whether that means an ooey gooey s’more, a batch of chocolate chip cookies, or a giant piece of chocolate cake. Recently, we have been playing with our Double Dark Hot Cocoa Mix, and dreaming up some unique applications that don’t necessarily involve a hot winter drink. One of my first thoughts? Brownies.
Fudgy brownies are one of my favorite childhood desserts. Barely baked, chocolate messes are a staple memory for me. Once I was in college, I realized that not all dessert-lovers enjoyed gooey brownies, and some liked (gasp!) cake brownies. Look, I don’t have anything against cake (see above) BUT why have crumbly crunchy brownies when you can have molten lava brownies? Ya know?! As time has gone by, I have come to find that Cake vs. Fudgy brownies are an incredibly divisive issue. Weighing out all of these opinions and radical dessert ideologies, the task of creating the perfect brownies out of hot cocoa mix was a bit...daunting.
Our hot cocoa mix is a decadent dark chocolate base, with some mini chocolate chips thrown in for good measure. Playing off those caramely notes, we added more chippies, a bit of butter, and a kiss of espresso powder to really bring out the best in these brownies. What has emerged is a recipe that captures both a gooey fudge center and the crisp corner edges of chocolate heaven. Aka, The Best Brownies.
The Best Brownies
Yield: 9-16 treats, depending on portion size
Ingredients:
- 8 ounces (½ Cup) Salted Butter
- 6 ounces (1 cup) Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips, divided
- ¼ cup Sugar
- 1 tsp Espresso Powder (or instant coffee)
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 2 large Eggs
- ¼ cup Flour, all purpose
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- ¾ cup XO Marshmallow Gourmet Double Dark Hot Cocoa Mix
Preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 350-degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 8x8 baking pan and line with parchment coming up and over all four sides of the pan.
- Grab a medium microwave safe bowl and add in the butter and ¾ cups of the chocolate chips. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between each session, until fully melted.
- Add sugar, vanilla, and espresso powder to the melted chocolate, and stir until smooth.
- Beat in eggs one at a time into the mixture.
- Add in the flour, baking powder, and XO Cocoa Mix, stirring until just combined. (Don't overmix batter!) Fold in the remaining ¼ c chocolate chips.
- Use a spatula to spread the batter evenly in the 8x8” baking pan.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes. Check Brownies at 20 minutes as oven times may vary. Brownies will be done when you insert a toothpick into the center and it comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Once cool, cut into squares and enjoy!
Want to see how we do it? Check out our video!
