Over-the-top brownies
Indulge yourself with these maximalist bars
In the vast and varied world of brownie recipes, there are the minimalist versions: pure expressions without nuts, chips or icing.
Then there are the maximalist takes, stuffed to their fudgy edges with all manner of sugary excess.
My pandemic-weary soul cries out for indulgence: Make mine as gooey, chewy and opulently embellished as they can be.
So, I developed these brownie recipes to satisfy the depths of my chocolaty desire in two distinct ways: salted and candy bar inspired.
The salted pretzel brownies are the most restrained of the two, with the pretzels adding crunch and a toasty character alongside a saline zing. Try to find small pretzels for the topping, which look particularly adorable all lined up like twisted hearts across the crackled brownie surface.
I’ve also tucked a graham cracker and crushed pretzel crust beneath the brownie batter, giving the bars cookielike appeal run through with salted caramel notes.
Makes: 16 brownies
For the brownies:
½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick), plus more for greasing the pan
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped or broken up
1 ¼ cups sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ cup mini or regular chocolate chips (optional)
For the coconut mounds:
2 cups sweetened shredded coconut ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
1 egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of fine sea salt
Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon
The inspiration for the next brownie variation began with the coconut heart of a Mounds bar. But as I experimented, I realized that the difference between a homemade Mounds bar filling and a classic coconut macaroon is 1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter an 8-inch square metal baking pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving about 2 inches of excess on each side to help you lift the cooked brownies out of the pan. 2. Make the brownies: Put butter and chocolate into a medium pot and place it over low heat. Melt the mixture, taking care not to let the chocolate burn and stirring constantly with a rubber spatula until smooth. Scrape chocolate mixture into a large bowl and mix in the sugar. Let mixture cool until it’s just warm to the touch, about 5 minutes.
3. Whisk eggs into cooled chocolate mixture. Whisk in flour, cocoa powder, vanilla and salt. Mix in chocolate chips, if using. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth it into an even layer. Set aside.
4. Make the coconut mounds: In a medium bowl, combine shredded coconut, condensed milk, egg white, vanilla and fine sea salt. Using a rubber spatula, mix until well combined. Using a small ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop 16 evenly spaced mounds of the coconut mixture, in 4 by 4 rows, onto the brownie batter.
5. Sprinkle top lightly with flaky sea salt. Bake until coconut mounds are golden brown and the brownie top is set and firm to touch, especially in the center, 25 to 35 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely before cutting into 16 squares. mostly in the ratio of sweetened condensed milk to coconut flakes. For these brownies, I added just enough of the syrupy milk to bind the coconut, then plopped scoops of them in “mounds” on top of the batter.
Part cookie, part candy, they are over the top in the very best way.
Subtlety, after all, is not the point of any of these confections, which are as exuberantly joyful as brownies can be.