Triple Chocolate Brownies… need I say more?
You may be thinking, why would I need to make brownies myself when they come so nicely packaged in a box from the store. Well, I have to tell you, sometimes I think the same thing! But, and that’s a big but, they are not the same. When you make a brownie yourself, you are controlling exactly what goes into it, you know the quality of the ingredients and can pick your very favorite chocolates to add in! For instance in this recipe, I am using Valrhona cocoa, Nestle milk chocolate and Ghiradeli bittersweet chocolate. There is no box on the planet that allows for that combination. But, beyond all of that, it’s surprisingly easy! There actually aren’t very many ingredients. In a box, there is 1-the box, 2-eggs, and 3-water or oil and then you mix in whatever, so 3 ingredients total… Here there are 6, to me that’s not a huge difference.
For today’s brownies, I had the kid’s helping me which we all had a lot of fun with! Lucas got to be in charge of the dry ingredients bowl. Alaina took care of the sugar. And they both helped with cracking eggs, mixing and eating stray chocolate chips! All very important jobs! It’s a simple enough recipe that I wasn’t going crazy trying to organize myself while trying to keep track of the kids. And the more you get your kids involved in cooking, the more they will like to help eat their creations, so sure today is brownies, but when we want to make say Split Pea Soup, this will come in handy!
Lucas loves helping. Right now he is in charge of the dry ingredients bowl.
Alaina is loving being in charge of the sugar!
Measure out the unsweetened coco powder. This is your first chocolate and the most focused on, so be sure to use the best you can get your hands on. I ordered this Valrhona on-line.
Lucas is taking his job very seriously.
Add in salt.
Here it is all sifted. You could at this point add in baking powder, I omit it when I am looking for a more dense fudgy brownie.
Once your ingredients are ready to go, move onto the wet.
All four eggs made it into the bowl… yay! I wasn’t able to help the kids with cracking these eggs and take the pictures at the same time, but the kids each helped crack the eggs right into this bowl! If it were up to my son, this recipe would have a dozen eggs!
That’s it for wet ingredients, just eggs. Now onto the mixer. If you have a stand mixer, this recipe is super easy, if you don’t, it’s still easy, it will just take you 2 minutes longer.
We start here with some butter in the bowl of an electric mixer.
With softened butter, it doesn’t take long to beat with the paddle attachment on the mixer. The kid’s love watching the mixer go… and they love working the buttons!
Add sugar in. Beat on low for a minute.
Add in one egg at a time. Mix well after each addition.
Add in vanilla. Beat one more minutes to ensure everything is thoroughly combined before you add in the dry ingredients.
Mix until just blended and switch to mixing by hand.
Here is your second chocolate… Add in mini milk chocolate chips.
And your third chocolate… Mix in bittersweet chocolate chip these are big, you could chop them or just use as is like I did.
Prepare your pan with butter. I like taking a pad and a piece of paper towel to apply. I don’t care for cooking spray with brownies, I like the slightly salty taste of the butter.
I am using a stone pan, use whatever you like, just be sure it is well buttered.
Add in your brownie batter.
Add in your brownie batter.
Spread evenly. And bake for about 30-40 minutes at 350°F for a 9″x9″ pan… If you are using a 9″x13″ pan, you will yield thinner brownies and therefore need to reduce the baking time to about 20-25 mins.
Allow to cool for at least 1 hour.
Once cooled, cut either 16-24 pieces.
Triple Chocolate Brownies
Serving Size: 16-242 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp. baking powder (optional, omitting yields a more dense fudgy brownie)
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
4 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup mini milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
Directions:
Pre-heat oven 350°F. Prepare a baking dish with butter.
In a medium bowl wisk together flour, cocoa and salt. (If you choose to make more fluffy brownies, add in baking powder. If you choose to make more dense, fudgy brownies as pictured, omit baking powder.)
In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or just in a separate bowl with a wooden spoon) beat butter until smooth. Then add in sugar and beat another minute until combined. Add in one egg at a time until well combined (this is a bit more tricky if doing by hand, but just be sure it is thoroughly combined after each addition). Add in vanilla and beat another minute to ensure all the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
Add in the flour mixture in two additions on low speed. Once combined, stop the mixer. Do not over mix. With a wooden spoon or rubber scraper, add in chocolate chips. Mix until combined.
Spread mixture evenly. And bake for about 30-40 minutes at 350°F for a 9″x9″ pan. If you are using a 9″x13″ pan, you will yield thinner brownies and therefore need to reduce the baking time to about 20-25 mins.
Allow to cool completely, about 1 hour. Cut into either 16 or 24 pieces. Serve. Enjoy!