CHOCOLATE GINGERBREAD FUDGY BROWNIES

GINGERBREAD COOKIES OR BROWNIES???? That’s a decision that you don’t ever have to make again.

I dare all of my friends and yours to have just one bite. Here’s what happens when they do. Either A they demolish the rest of the brownie (like a normal human) OR B they don’t and you should absolutely judge them and reconsider their friendship (kidding, not kidding). Taste them for yourself, you’ll 100% get where I’m coming from.

RECIPE NOTES

1. Yes you can absolutely make these for Chanukah as well. Instead of a tree, make a Jewish Star. Bada bing, bada boom.

2. Follow the steps in order. It’s ideal to make the gingerbread cookie portion first so that you can quickly assemble everything once your brownie batter is ready.

3. Yes, you can divide this recipe up if you want and just make the brownies or just make the chocolate gingerbread cookies. Both are awesome on their own.

4. If you’re looking for a none-chocolate gingerbread recipe, here you go —> Gingerbread Cookies

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CHOCOLATE GINGERBREAD FUDGY BROWNIES

Yield: 9 Brownies

Author: Michelle Williams

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 1 Hour

Ingredients

FOR THE CHOCOLATE GINGERBREAD

• Unsalted Butter (1/2 stick aka 4 oz, cut into small cubes)
• Dark Brown Sugar (2 tbsp)
• Molasses (2 tbsp)
• Egg (2, room temperature)
• Pure Vanilla Extract (2 tbsp)
• All Purpose Flour (1 1/2 cups)
• 100% Cocoa Powder (1/4 cup)
• Cornstarch (1 1/2 tsp)
• Ground Ginger (1 1/2 tbsps)
• Cinnamon (1 tbsp)
• Nutmeg (1/4 tsp)
• Cloves (1/4 tsp)
• White Star Shaped Sprinkles (9. One per Christmas Tree Cut Out)

FOR THE BROWNIES

• Unsalted Butter (1 1/2 sicks aka 12 tbsp, cut into tbsps sized pieces)
• Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar (4oz, roughly chopped)
• White Sugar (2 cups)
• Eggs (3, room temperature)
• Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract (1 tbsp)
• All-Purpose Flour (1 1/4 cup)
• 100% Cocoa Powder (1 cup)
• Salt (pinch)
• Large Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (1 cup)
• Baking Spray

KITCHEN ITEMS

• Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
• Large Mixing Bowl
• Whisk
• Rolling Pin
• Parchment Paper
• Medium Mixing Bowl
• Saucepan
• Large Metal Mixing Bowl (X2. One should be big enough that sits partially in the saucepan. We're making a double boiler here. If you have one, feel free to use it instead)
• Large Rubber Spatula
• 8X8 Baking Dish

Instructions

TO MAKE YOUR CHOCOLATE GINGERBREAD

1. In your mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, cornstarch, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
2. In your stand mixer, on a low speed, cream together your butter and dark brown sugar.
3. Once fully incorporated, add in your molasses, vanilla, and egg and continue to mix. It doesn’t look very pretty and even at this point. Don’t worry, your still nailing it!
4. Slowly spoon your cocoa flour mixture into your wet mixture in your stand mixer while it’s still on a low speed.
5. Once evenly incorporated, your dough is ready. (wooohooo!!!) Use your hands to roll it into a large ball and then flatten it into a large disk.
6. Lay a long piece of parchment paper down on your counter. Place your dough on top of it. Like a sandwich, cover dough with a second long piece of parchment paper.
7. Roll dough until it is and even 1/8” thick all over.
8. Use a small Christmas tree cookie cutter or stencil to cut out 9 trees from A CORNER of your dough. (I hand drew the Christmas trees you see here on paper, cut it out and then traced it over and over again with a knife on the dough. Worked great!)
9. Take the base of your baking dish, place it on top of the rest of your gingerbread dough and use it as a stencil. Trace and cut out it’s shape with your knife. This is going to be your middle layer in your brownies. Mmmmmm, so good!
10. Set aside.

TO MAKE YOUR FUDGY BROWNIES

1. Preheat your oven to 350º.
2. In your medium mixing bowl, whisk together your flour, cocoa, and salt. Set aside for now.
3. Over moderately high heat, fill your saucepan with roughly an inch of water. Place your one of your metal mixing bowls so that it sits partially in the saucepan.
4. Use your rubber spatula to consistently move around your your butter and your chopped chocolate bar. Once it is a smooth liquid, little by little whisk in your sugar until it’s fully incorporated. Then, remove your bowl from the heat and carefully not to burn yourself, pour it into your second large mixing bowl. This keeps it from absorbing more heat and cooking the eggs in the next step.
5. Whisk in your eggs and vanilla until they are fully incorporated.
6. Use your large rubber spatula to fold your flour mixture into your chocolate butter mixture until you have one even mixture.
7. Fold in your chocolate chips.

TO ASSEMBLE AND BAKE YOUR CHOCOLATE GINGERBREAD FUDGY BROWNIES

1. Spray every inch (including the sides) of your baking dish.
2. Pour HALF of your thick and gooey brownie batter into your baking dish. Use your spatula to spread it into an even layer.
3. Take your baking dish sized chocolate gingerbread square and lay it on top of your layer of brownie batter.
4. Spread the rest of your brownie batter on top of your ginger bread layer. You’ll want this to be as flat as possible for the best impact with the cookies on top at the end.
5. Bake for 10 minutes. And then take out of the oven to add your Christmas tree decorations.
6. In three rows of three, evenly space out your chocolate gingerbread Christmas trees. You want each brownie at the end to have a tree in its center. Press them into the brownie batter.
7. Place a single white star sprinkle on top of each Christmas tree.
8. Bake for an additional 20 minutes—or until you can stick a toothpick into your brownies and get fudgy crumbs and not just wetness. You don’t want to over cook these or they won’t be as perfectly gooey. I recommend testing them at about 15 minutes and then if they aren’t ready going the full 20 minutes.
9. Let cool to room temperature before cutting them out of the pan. This will help them keep shape better.

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