Hello again! My goodness, has this been one of the busiest times in my life! My family just had an opportunity to move closer to my husband’s work (yay for a commute that is half as long!) and we took it. We purchased a new house, moved, and sold our previous house… all in the past two months. Add the moving craziness to trying to maintain normalcy for two little ones, and you have one super intense, yet exciting, situation.
We are now all settled in and enjoying our new area and home. The kiddos are happy about their new spaces too, especially my toddler daughter, D. She is more than ready to show others around the house, particularly to those family members who get to see it through Skype. My favorite room in the house (the kitchen) is all set up and I find myself with a few moments here and there create again too. So, I am back at it!
I realized that moving had a way of making chocolate cravings become front and center for me and my family, which is why many of my recent recipes involve that lately. The one I am sharing today uses that delightful ingredient in the form of loaded brownies – decadent, chocolatey goodness topped with anything of your choice. Delicious!
The recipe starts out with a brownie base. The brownies are soft on the inside and slightly crunchy/chewy on the outside, but without the cloying sweetness that often accompanies brownies. This is so the brownie balances out the toppings added on at the end, which makes these brownies “loaded.” I chose white chocolate, milk chocolate, and pecans for mine. But, you can add chopped up candy bars, different flavors of baking chips, nuts, marshmallows… the combinations are endless! Feel free to share your combinations in the comments below – I’d love to hear from you!
Loaded Brownies
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp cocoa powder, unsweetened
- 1½ tbsp vegetable oil
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup flour
- Toppings for the brownies (I used ¼ cup each of white chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, and coarsely chopped pecans)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° and spray a 9-inch round baking pan with nonstick spray. Set the pan aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the cocoa powder, vegetable oil, and melted butter. Stir with a wooden spoon until mixed completely.
- Add the sugar, vanilla, salt, baking soda, and eggs. Stir well.
- Add the flour and stir just until combined – do not overmix.
- Pour the brownie mixture into the prepared pan.
- Sprinkle the top of the brownies with the toppings of your choice.
- Bake the brownies for 30 to 35 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow the brownies to cool before turning the pan upsidedown to release them from the pan.
- Cut the brownies into 8 slices and serve.
It was delicious!
I am so glad you liked it!