How to Customize your Brownies
We opt for a trio of chocolate for our mix-ins, but you can flex your creative muscle and make a personalized batch of brownies by following our guide
THE METHOD: In step 4, we have you fold your three chopped chocolates into the batter as the very last step before pouring the batter into the prepared pan. Whatever mix-in you decide to use, be it nuts or dried fruit, you’ll want to add it in at this time. The only exception to the rule is jam, which you would swirl on top of the batter once the batter has been added to the prepared pan at the end of step 4.
THE MAGIC NUMBER: Our mix-ins are ½ cup each of white, milk, and dark chocolates, adding up to a total of 1½ cups of chopped chocolate going into the batter. As a rule, you can replace any (or all!) of those amounts of chocolate with an equal amount of another ingredient. Your mix-in amount should always equal 1½ cups because adding more or less of the 1½ cups called for will change the bake time of your brownies.
THE MIX-INS: The options are endless! Try nuts, like walnuts, pecans, or peanuts, to add crunchy texture. Dried fruit, such as apricots or cherries, introduces a note of concentrated sweetness. Try incorporating toffee bits or caramel pieces for a boost of butterscotch. You can even swirl in jam once the brownie batter has been added to the pan (just keep the jam at 1 cup, as liquid jam is heavier than your dry mix-ins).
Can I use only dark chocolate for the batter or it must be two different types?
Hey Cintya,
Yes, you can use just dark chocolate for the batter. The brownies will be slightly less sweet without the milk chocolate, but it will still be a gorgeous brownie. Happy baking!
Is it necessary to spray the pan before lining with parchment? I usually find that parchment alone does the trick.
Hey Colleen,
We like to spray the pan before adding our parchment paper because it helps our parchment paper adhere to the pan better, keeping it from rolling up and popping out while we add our brownie batter. However, this is only for convenience. If you’d rather just place the parchment paper in the pan without using baking spray, that will still work. We hope this helps. Happy baking!
Does anyone have a recommendation on how to make these a tiny bit less dense and a little more fluffy/cakey? They look great! I just like mine a tad more on that end.
Is it possible to reduce this recipe? The amount of brownies this recipe produces is just to much for a two person household. The other question I have: can the brownies be frozen without loss of taste?
Hey Hilla,
While we haven’t tested for reducing this recipe, we highly recommend you freeze these after baking if you have excess. Due to their fudge-like texture, they’ll keep very well in the freezer for up to one month. Simply wrap tightly in plastic wrap and seal in an airtight container or ziptop bag before freezing.
Hi, what about the Herseys coco powder? Is that a good coco or would there be a better one that can be bought?
Hey Sharon,
Hershey’s cocoa powder is a natural cocoa powder, not a Dutch Cocoa powder like the one called for in our recipe. The Dutch cocoa powder is less acidic but with an intense chocolatey base. We highly recommend you get a brand of Dutch cocoa powder to make this recipe.
Do you have the recipe for the icing/drizzle on top of the brownie?
Hey Carol,
This recipe does not have a specific icing drizzle but we did feature one of our home bakers making it with a drizzle–it’s melted white chocolate! Happy baking.
[…] provides the recipe, tips and lovely videos to help. This month, February, our assignment was triple chocolate brownies. For my brownies, I substituted almonds for white chocolate and almond flour for chickpea flour. […]
How would I adjust the recipe if I don’t want any of the mix-ins? What if I wanted to add chopped nuts, either walnuts or pecans–how much and how would it affect the baking time? Also, would I change anything else if I want to leave our the espresso powder? (I know that people say you can’t taste it, but I can and don’t like it.)
Hey Charlene,
In our module, we have a whole section about how to substitute mix-ins. It’s the last page (In pdf) or section of the webpage. As for the espresso powder, feel free to leave it out!
Made these today, and loved the flavor! Do these freeze well??
Hey Brenda,
Yes they do! Just tightly wrap them in plastic wrap, and seal in airtight container or ziptop bag. They should keep for up to one month in the freezer fine.
Oh, WOW! Fudgy chocolate lover’s dream come true. These are really wonderful!
Does this work for gluten free?
Hey Susie,
We did not test with gluten-free flour so we can’t be a hundred percent certain, but Bob’s Red Mill 1-for-1 Gluten-free baking flour blend should still turn out a pretty amazing brownie and their Chickpea flour is already gluten-free!
Almost a year later, but I finally got around to baking these.
Nice and fudgy! Thank you for the recipe.
Wonderful! Enjoy!
[…] February: The Ultimate Brownie […]
[…] February: The Ultimate Brownie […]
Can I halve this recipe and bake in 8×8 or 9×9 pan?
Hi Nina,
Absolutely! The 8×8 pan would give you a brownie with similar height. Just note that due to the smaller batch size, they will likely bake up faster, so adjust baking times as needed.