Recipes

Notes

a) To make this recipe Paerve, go ahead and replace the melted butter and milk with oil and water, both according to the boxed instructions and leave out the white chocolate pieces. As for the frosting, use the 10 tablespoons of softened margarine and omit the kosher salt.

b) Feel free to use any sort of flavoring for the frosting you wish, including alcohol free options like vanilla paste, 1-1.5 teaspoons of ground cinnamon, or 1.5 tablespoons of cocoa powder. With any of these options, add a 1/4 cup of your milk of choice in place of the liquor. If the consistency of the frosting isn’t to your liking, add more powdered sugar or liquid incrementally.

c) If you’d like to use a piping bag to make a decorative design on top, go for it! No need to use a fancy bag to do so; a sandwich size zip-top bag works perfectly! To ensure that filling your makeshift piping bag is easier, take a short drinking glass or an 8 ounce Pyrex measuring cup and line the bag with it. Then, zip up the bag, cut a hole of the desired size in one corner, and pipe away!

Ingredients

Brownies:
1 box of store bought brownie mix
1-2 eggs
1/4 – 1/2 cup melted butter (in place of oil)
1/4 – 1/2 cup milk (in place of water)
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1-5 tablespoons instant espresso, to taste
4 oz white chocolate, chopped or in chip form
6-8 oz dark chocolate, chopped or in chip form
6 oz chopped hazelnuts
Optional cocoa powder and powdered sugar to sprinkle over the top

Optional Frosting:
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1-1.5 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup Kahlua, or to taste (can use flavoring of choice; see notes below)

Method

For the brownies:
1. Preheat the oven according to box instructions.

2. Follow boxed brownie mix measurements. Substitute the required amount of oil for melted butter.

3. Add the espresso powder to the warm melted butter and stir vigorously (yet carefully so as not to splatter) to dissolve powder. If you want to make the coffee flavor more pronounced, go for it! I’d recommend not to exceed 5 tablespoons. It’s important that you use espresso powder and not instant coffee granules, as they do not dissolve the same way in the melted butter. Then, wait a couple minutes to let the butter cool slightly so as not to scramble the soon to be added eggs.

4. Add the milk in place of the water into the butter mixture, along with the vanilla, and eggs. Stir until homogenous.

5. Add the dry brownie mix and stir until combined. This is the time to add your mix ins! To keep this nut-free, go ahead and omit the hazelnuts.

6. Spread in an 8×8 pan, lined with parchment paper.

7. Bake according to box instructions and let cool completely.

For the optional frosting:
1. Beat the butter, salt and desired amount of powdered sugar together until fluffy. If you like it sweeter, add more! If you like it less sweet, go ahead and use less. This step can be done with a whisk.

2. Add in the Kahlua and whisk until fluffy yet again.

3. Frost the brownies in the manner that you like!

4. Using a small sieve, sprinkle the powdered sugar and cocoa powder on top if desired.