Loaded Chocolate Chip Brownies

Are you one of those people who thinks that easy, fast brownies need to come from a box? These soft, fudgy brownies are loaded with chocolate chips come together in only one bowl, and will have you swearing off boxed brownies forever.

“I think I need you to bake something sweet,” said the Beard. “Maybe a cake. Or brownies.” I’ve mentioned in a couple of posts that he doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth, so for him to actually ask me to bake something is pretty impressive. Once I got over my shock, I decided that I could definitely go for some brownies, and set about to make the best damned brownies ever produced in our kitchen.

Boxes? We don’t need no stinking boxes.

Some folks believe that in order to bake something quick and easy, it needs to involve a boxed mix. Pinterest is full of suggestions for making a boxed cake mix taste better by swapping out this for that and adding more of something else.

With this recipe, it is entirely possible to whip up an absolutely amazing batch of brownies, from scratch, in just a couple of minutes more than it would take to prepare that box you picked up on sale months ago and forgot about in the back of your pantry. Plus, you probably have most of these ingredients in your kitchen already.

Building better brownies

A great brownie usually needs three things to elevate it from just “good” to “OMG YOU NEED TO TRY THIS!” First and most important, you need a rich, deep chocolate flavor. You want that kind of flavor that lands in your mouth and makes you remember every mediocre brownie you’ve ever eaten and then question your decision to eat them. We accomplish this with dark cocoa powder and a kick of coffee.

Second, you need that perfect brownie texture. A brownie needs to be fudgy and soft, gooey like a slightly underbaked cake. It can’t be too cake-like, but it needs to be moist and hold itself together. And unlike a cake, your brownies need to have that sticky, crunchy edge.

Lastly, a perfect brownie needs more chocolate, which brings us to the “loaded” part of this recipe. These are loaded brownies, and we’ve upped the ante by adding a load of semi-sweet chocolate chips to the brownie batter. Every bite of these brownies is absolutely bursting with chocolate flavor. We used semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you could substitute milk or white chocolate, or get really funky and mix things up with more than one type of chip.

Are they done yet?

You can cook these in whatever pan you have handy. They do rise a bit, but not a huge amount. The cooking time will need to be adjusted based on pan size and the depth of your batter, so start checking the pan after 30 minutes and adjust from there. They’re done when the edges of the brownies start to pull away from the sides of the pan and the middle doesn’t jiggle when you jostle the pan. While it is possible to use the “toothpick test”, there’s so much molten chocolate in the batter that it’s an unreliable method with this recipe. Underdone brownies are better than overdone.

Have you given this recipe a try, or do you have an idea of what could be improved?  Leave us a comment below!  We’d love to hear from you!

– Tart & Beard

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Loaded Chocolate Chip Brownies

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword brownies, chocolate, chocolate chip, coffee

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 16

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2/3 cup unsalted butter melted, cooled and divided
• 1/2 cup strong hot coffee boiling is best
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/3 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.  Grease a baking dish and set aside.

2. Whisk or sift together the baking soda and cocoa in a large mixing bow, then add 1/3 cup of the melted and cooled butter and stir until combined.  Add the boiling/hot coffee and continue to stir until the mixture is fully combined and smooth.
3. Stir in the sugar, eggs, and the remaining butter, then add the vanilla and salt and combine until mixture has smoothed out again.

4. Add the flour and chocolate chips, mix until your batter is just combined.

5. Spread the batter into your prepared baking dish and bake for 35-40 minutes, depending on the size of your pan.  We’ve even used a 9″ springform pan, which took just about 35 minutes.  Take them out of the oven when the edges start to pull away from the pan and the center of your brownies is no longer “jiggly”.  You can try to use the “toothpick test”, but there’s so much melting chocolate in these that it’s not really a reliable method to determine whether the brownies are done.

6. Cool your brownies completely in their pan, or allow to cool enough to cut a square and serve warm with a scoop of ice cream on top.

The Tart

The Tart likes to eat, cook, and bake things.  She eats to work out, and she works out to be able to eat.