Things are in full swing for me this spring, as I am juggling assignments, responsibilities, and overall more work than last semester! The concept of a “sweet treat” is something I have come to value at the end of each week, as it helps me transition from the work week to the weekend!
I have not had brownies in a while, as I feel like my go-to is usually chocolate chip cookies, but recently I was craving some homemade brownies. The recipes I tend to make call for chocolate chips or chopped baking chocolate instead of just cocoa powder, and I was so eager to make some… until I opened the cabinet door and realized we did not have either of those things in the pantry!
I was about to accept defeat until I stumbled upon this recipe from the lovely folks at Inspired Taste, where they use cocoa powder and sugar, with chocolate chips being optional. The result is a rich and fudgy brownie, and you aren’t able to tell that there aren’t any other chocolate-based ingredients! Once done, I personally like to let them cool, slice them, and put them in the fridge—I prefer them chilled as they have a more fudge-y flavor to it.
Not having baking chocolate isn’t the end of the world if you want brownies—in fact, there are many recipes out there that use just cocoa powder as the primary chocolate source. Using the recipe below, you can certainly make brownies with just a few ingredients. Happy baking, and thanks for reading!
Inspired Taste’s Easy One Bowl Brownies (Makes 16 brownies in an 8×8 pan)
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter
- 4 tablespoons light olive oil or canola oil
- 1 ⅓ cups (265g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (47g) lightly packed brown sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, reduce to 1/2 teaspoon if sensitive to salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup (65g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 large eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 3/4 cup (98g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips, optional
Instructions
- Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 325°F (162°C). Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch x 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides to help remove the baked brownies from the pan.
- Add the oil and butter to a medium saucepan. Place over medium-low heat until the butter melts, then turn off the heat. Inspired Taste recommends a wide, medium saucepan for making the brownie batter right in the pan. If you do not have a saucepan, melt the butter into the oil using another pan. When melted, pour the butter and oil into a mixing bowl and continue with the steps below.
- While the butter and oil are still warm, stir in the sugars, salt, and vanilla extract until blended.
- Stir in the cocoa powder, and then set aside to cool for five minutes so that the mixture is warm, not hot. The mix will be gritty.
- Add the eggs and egg yolk, and then stir vigorously to blend. The mixture turns from a gritty paste to a shiny pudding-like batter in this step.
- When the batter looks thick and well blended, add the flour and scatter over the baking powder. If you are adding chocolate chips, add them now. Stir until you no longer see streaks of flour in the batter.
- Spread the brownie batter evenly in the prepared pan.
- Bake the brownies until the edges look dry and the middle looks slightly underbaked, 35 to 45 minutes. You can test doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center. The brownies are finished baking if it comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.
- Leave the brownies in the pan to cool completely. As they cool, the middle will set. Cut into 16 squares.