Raise your hand if you love chocolate! If your hand just went up, then this post is for you! I happen to be a huge fan of chocolate, whether it is sweet, dark, white or any other variety. It is good for you right? At least that is what I tell myself every time I dig into a big ‘ol chocolate brownie. 😊 There just something comforting about chocolate. Not only the taste, but the smell as well. You can’t deny that little feeling of excitement when you smell something chocolatey baking in your oven.
There are many different ways to make a brownie, from scratch, from a box or even in your mug. They are delicious plain, or with add ins such as nuts and of course even more delicious topped with ice cream! If a nice warm brownie sounds good to you right now, then head to your kitchen and whip up a batch of these triple chocolate brownies!
For The Love Of Brownies
I will be the first to admit that after a stressful day, I am often raiding the cupboard for something sweet. Sometimes I will practice restraint and eat a sweet cereal, but there are times when nothing but a brownie will do. I used to go the faster route of keeping boxes of brownie mix on hand. They are convenient because you only have to add things like eggs, oil and water. You can also buy little individual mug brownie mixes, but even I wince a bit when I read the nutrition label. It seems to me that you are consuming the same amount of calories in one little mug that you would get in a whole pan of brownies! No thanks! Once I started making brownies from scratch, I noticed that the boxed mixes were overly sweet too. There is such a thing as too sweet I suppose.
If you really stop and think about it, it really isn’t that much more difficult to make your own from scratch. Sure, you have to add more ingredients. But most likely, they are ingredients you already have on hand. The only ingredient that these brownies contain that might not already be in your cupboard is espresso powder. If you don’t already have some, you should try it! It is not just for coffee! Adding the powder to your brownies will not send you into a caffeine craze, but instead will enhance the flavor of the chocolate.
Triple Chocolate Brownies
So what makes these brownies “triple chocolate” you ask? Good question! They are triple chocolate because they contain cocoa powder, chocolate chips and one of my favorites, Nutella. To make these brownies, you simply have to combine all of the ingredients (minus the chocolate chips and Nutella) in a medium sized bowl. No special equipment required! Once the batter is well combined and smooth, you can fold in the chocolate chips. The batter then goes into a prepared baking dish. Now comes the fun part! Once your batter is spread evenly in the pan, you can drop the Nutella by teaspoons evenly spaced over the batter.
Once you have dropped the Nutella onto your triple chocolate brownie batter, take a knife and gently swirl it around. I usually go up and down first, then side to side, but feel free to make any design that you want. That is what makes them unique! It is important to note that you are not stirring, so you should see swirls of Nutella when you have finished, or something like this:
I think the swirls look really pretty! They don’t have to be perfect. Mine certainly are not! You just want to make sure that when it bakes, each brownie will have some of the Nutella in it. After baking, you will still be able to see some of the pretty swirls that you made. The Nutella adds a lot of richness to the triple chocolate brownies because it retains it’s gooey texture after it bakes. Because of the Nutella and the chocolate chips, your brownies will still appear to be underdone even when they are not. They should be pulling from the sides of the pan slightly and dry on top. The inside however, will still appear a little wet. That’s ok! It is just all of the chocolate goodness doing what it is supposed to! These brownies are best served warm when the chocolate chips are still a little melted, but feel free to enjoy them any time! They won’t last long!
The Perfect Brownie Topping
There is one more thing that I must admit. I am not really a fan of eating brownies (or cookies for that matter) on their own. Nope. It’s go big or go home for me. Not that I would turn one down if it was handed to me plain, but if I had the choice, it would have ice cream on top. For me, a good brownie has to be warm and topped with ice cream. Why? I mean, why not?! Brownies are made to be smothered with melty ice cream. The two were practically made for each other! You could also top your triple chocolate brownie with hot fudge, nuts, whipped cream or all of the above!
Are you drooling yet? I am! In fact, I have a pan of these waiting for me! After all, I have earned it! So the next time you are craving something sweet, don’t grab the boxed stuff. Save that for another day. Do yourself and your family a favor and make these brownies from scratch. You will see that it is easy to do and they are much better homemade. They might even be so good that you won’t be able to go back to the boxed mixes ever again! Ok folks, it is time to get baking and treat yourself to a big old bowl of triple chocolate brownies (and ice cream!). You will be glad that you did! Happy eating!
Triple Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
- ½ c melted butter
- 1 tbsp oil vegetable or canola
- ½ c granulated sugar
- ½ c packed light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ c all purpose flour
- ½ c unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅔ c semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1 tsp espresso powder
- 9-10 tsp nutella
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°
- In a medium sized bowl, mix butter, sugars, eggs, oil and vanilla until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, lightly mix flour, salt, cocoa powder and espresso powder.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little at a time until just combined. Do not overmix!
- Gently fold in chocolate chips.
- Spread into a greased 8x8 pan.
- Evenly drop nutella by teaspoons over the batter.
- Using a butter knife, gently swirl (do not stir) the nutella into the brownie batter.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until set. **Note that if you insert a toothpick it will not come out completely clean due to all of the chocolate!
- Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
