Chocolate Hazelnut Brownies

Ode to brownies

As you can imagine, my days lately have been a rollercoaster of emotions. I’m learning the rhythm of living one day at a time and learning to appreciate the purpose of that rhythm. One of those days, the rhythm conveyed on me the need of warm and simple. Cravings for brownies suddenly unfolded. I baked a batch and just stared at them for a while, thinking about all the goodness that comes with a chewy and fudgy center at the same time with it’s thinner-than-paper and crinkly chocolate top.

I realized how brownies could simply hug you, just by the thought of them. Made me think on how brownies are always there for your soul. To remind you that anything could and will turn out for the best. Brownies were there for us since our childhood. They are a staple at birthday parties, humbling besides a pretty and fully decorated birthday cake. They were probably our first baking experience by way of the brownie boxes that, even when we want to turn our face from them, we all loved at some point in our lives. We can count on those extra chewy and fudgy chocolate squares when we want to cheer a friend after a bad time, or when you just want to be hidden from the world and in front of your TV.

Ultimately, brownies will always be there to remind you that the moments in life are the simple ones, not in a cliché way but in an truly delicious way that only you can affirm when you get into that first fudgy bite. Brownies are always going to be there for you when you need to take life one day at a time. They sure are doing their best job for me at this time.

How I made these Chocolate Hazelnut Spread Brownies

Even if the boxes are good, nothing compares to the real deal where you can amp the brownies texture and flavors through so many different things. These brownies have so much chocolate flavor because I used both semi-sweet chocolate chips and unsweetened cocoa powder. I first melted the ¾ cup of chips with butter and right away added the sugar. Mix until the butter is fully emulsified with the sugar. Even if the mixture is grainy it should not look separated. Then I just waited about 20 minutes to put together the rest of the ingredients. I like to place my melted chocolate bowl in a drafty area so it cools down quickly. You can also place it in the fridge for 5 minutes to help speed up the process.

I used 3 eggs here but if you are craving extra fudgy brownies, use 2 eggs and 1 yolk. Then it’s just mixing, folding and baking. Since I wanted something simple I just added semi-sweet chocolate chips but you can add you favorite fixings as well. Pecans, walnuts, pumpkin seeds…anything goes!

It’s that simple to have in your hands the most decadent brownies in less than an hour!

Chocolate Hazelnut Brownies

Ingredients

◯ Organic butter – 1 ½ stick (12 TBSP)
◯ Raw sugar – 1 ½ cup
◯ Unsweetened cocoa powder – ¾ cup
◯ Vanilla extract – 1 Tsp
◯ Fine sea salt – ¼ Tsp
◯ Organic cage-free eggs – 3
◯ Unbleached organic all purpose flour – ¾ cup
◯ Semi-sweet chocolate chips – ¾ cup + 1 cup
◯ Chocolate hazelnut spread – ½ cup

Details

Yield:
9 square brownies

Total Time:
50 minutes

Active time:
10 minutes

Baking time:
25 minutes

Equipment:
large skillet and glass bowl, 8 inches square pan

Steps

To make the chocolate hazelnut brownies:

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease an 8 x 8-inch metal baking pan or cut a parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan and leave the sides hanging so you can pull up the brownies.

Put butter in a large glass bowl and place it on a large skillet filled with some water. Heat it over medium heat until melted. Add the sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves into the butter. You’ll end up with a paste that is smooth and just a bit grainy. Take it out of the skillet and let it cool down for about 15 to 20 minutes.

After the butter mixture has cooled down mix in the cocoa powder. Add the vanilla and salt and stir. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix well, waiting until one is incorporated before adding the next one. Add the flour and gently mix just until you see just thin streaks of flour. Fold in semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Spoon hazelnut spread on different spots across the batter and using a chopstick or fork swirl it thru. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until you insert a toothpick through the center and it has melted chocolate but the crumb seems dry.

Let them cool down before cutting.