Originally published on November 14, 2012
We celebrated a birthday at work last week, and I wanted to make a special dessert for a special coworker. I searched through my files looking for a recipe that would take into consideration that I’d be making it on a work night and also the fact that I was seriously sleep-deprived. I had stayed up until the wee hours watching the speeches after the election the night before, and I hadn’t gotten my mojo back yet.
After sleep-walking my way through work that day, I realized that I had to select a seriously easy recipe to make; but it had to be seriously delicious as well. Enter cappuccino brownies!
Years ago, I tinkered with a family favorite brownie recipe to introduce coffee house flavors. Even though I am not a fan of the chocolate-cinnamon combo, it works here in a wonderfully subtle fashion. It was fun to have the sensory experts with whom I work try to identify the flavors in the brownie. Juan took one bite and immediately said, “Mexican hot chocolate.” Another coworker couldn’t identify the cinnamon; but, in his defense, he taste tests mostly savory products. Mary, our technical director, thought the cinnamon flavor was really strong—but she has a very keen palate. Yet another coworker said that this brownie was the best she had ever tasted and asked if it had been posted yet.
If you want a seriously easy, seriously moist, seriously fudgy brownie with subtle hints of your favorite cup of coffee, I give you cappuccino brownies!
Cappuccino Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 4 squares unsweetened baking chocolate
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tsp. instant espresso powder
- 5/8 tsp. cinnamon
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
Directions
Grease and flour 9×13” pan.
Melt butter and baking chocolate together—you can choose to melt them on the stovetop on low or in the microwave following the directions for melting the chocolate (which is always on the back of the box). When the butter and chocolate are melted, set aside and cool to lukewarm or room temperature. Cooling is important—it helps the chocolate flavor bloom.
Beat eggs until light and frothy. Add sugar and beat until mixture light and fluffy. Add cooled chocolate mixture and beat well to combine. Mix in salt, instant espresso, cinnamon and vanilla. Add flour and mix well; batter will be thick. Stir in chocolate chips.
Spread in prepared pan and bake at 350o F for 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick test comes out with a few tender crumbs clinging. Do not overbake.
A frantastic original
