Time to get your chocolate on
National Brownie Day: 3 Orlando outposts for a phenomenally fudgy fix
Amanda Eubanks just so happened to be making brownies when I reached out to her for this story.
Why call a doughnut shop for a story tied to National Brownie Day (Dec. 8)? Because despite being the owner of Ocoee’s DG Doughnuts, Eubanks, who owned a bakery some 20 years ago, has a brownie-related following. You might even say they’re hooked.
It’s not a reach. The term “chocoholic” has been around for a long time.
“These brownies have followed me from that bakery,” she explains, noting that the fudgy, chip-laden squares are still made from the same recipe. “When we opened DG, some of the old customers came in and were like, ‘Hey, but what about your brownies?’ And so I started making them again. They have a following. And someone back in the day loved them and made the obvious joke about their addictive properties.”
It’s amusing and flattering, she says, to own a doughnut shop and have folks who come in to get brownies and not doughnuts. And there might be more of them come this national food holiday. The original “crack” brownie ($4.26) is always in the shop, as is the cult favorite German chocolate version ($4.95), which is lacquered with gooey, coconut-pecan frosting.
Special this time of year are the holiday versions.
One’s a simple upgrade, which features the original covered chocolate ganache (“It’s fudge on fudge!” says Eubanks) topped with holiday sprinkles and a silvery blanket of Luster Dust ($4.95), but the Christmas tree offering ($6.95) is two brownies in one, featuring two tree-cut slabs glued together with buttercream and then decorated like a tree with festive ornaments.
The DG team moved to their Ocoee location about a year and a half ago and has held onto former customers while building a whole new legion of fans who’d never heard of them before they came to town.
“We even have a group of regulars who come in every morning for coffee and doughnut holes,” she says. “It’s so nice.”
So, too, would be any of the below for your chocolate fix. Because really, isn’t every day National Brownie Day?
29 W. McKey St. in Ocoee, 407-614-8609; dgdoughnuts. com
Sister Honey’s
“We prefer our brownies on the denser side,” says award-winning baker Evette Rahman, who, in case you didn’t know it, is the first and only threetime winner of World Dessert Championship. So, you might want to consider her opinion. Or at least her hefty walnut fudge brownies.
“Sink your teeth, or your whole body if you could, into this thick brownie to get through the holi-daze,” she jokes. “It is the perfect size to cut into pieces for sharing on your party charcuterie board.”
Cheese, charcuterie, wine and chocolate brownies? Sounds like a party win to me. These beauts go for $5.99 apiece.
247 E. Michigan St. in Orlando, 407-730-7315; sisterhoneys.com
Valhalla Bakery
Feast your eyes on the chocolate-covered decadence of Valhalla’s fine specimen, which goes for $6 and will satisfy the brownie-related requirements of both plant-based eaters and their carnivorous counterparts. How do I know? Because I’ve brought Valhalla’s brownie-laden dessert trays to parties and seen everyone there fall on them like chocolate-starved zombies in a Food Network Romero flick.
“Brownies are a perfect item to veganize as the density and richness can easily be done without eggs,” explains Valhalla owner Celine Beltgens. “Our rich brownies will easily satisfy your sweet tooth.”
5565 OId Cheney Highway in Orlando, 407-8685137; valhallabakery.com