Epic Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies Recipe - Tammilee Tips (2024)

FAQs

What can you add to your brownie mix to pump up the chocolate flavor? ›

Instant espresso powder is a brownie baker's secret weapon. Just a pinch amplifies chocolate flavor considerably, making it more intense and complex. In addition to brownies, we also use it as a background ingredient in chocolate cakes and cookies.

Add a teaspoon of instant coffee or espresso powder. Throw in a handful of nuts—pecans, walnuts, macadamia, whatever you have on hand. Scoop in a palmful of dried or frozen fruit. Add an extra splash of the top-shelf vanilla extract, or a dab of vanilla paste, or a dash of vanilla powder, to the batter.

When you whisk the eggs in a separate bowl before adding them to the batter, you are essentially adding air to the eggs. That air is what makes the top of your brownies crinkle, creating a crispy texture, with cracks of gooey, moist chocolate peeking through.

If you opt to add more eggs, say double the amount, something interesting happens. Even though you are adding more moisture, the air bubbles that you catch in the extra eggs add volume, which decreases the density of your final product. This makes your brownies rise and gives them a much more cake-like texture.

Flavor-wise, the ones baked from refrigerated batter did taste a little more intense — richer, more chocolate-y.

The butter and chocolate are melted and then the eggs, sugar and vanilla are added. The eggs and sugar should be beaten just enough to break up the eggs and slightly dissolve the sugar.

For great brownie texture, avoid overmixing your batter.

Overmixing your batter can cause you to incorporate too much air into the brownies, leading to a change in texture. According to Food52, you want to mix any batter until it forms a uniform dough, no more and no less.

Middle. The default position. It's ideal for most foods since it situates the item in the middle of the oven, allowing the hot air to circulate evenly around the food, resulting in even cooking. Use this for a single tray of cookies, sheet-pan dinners, fish, brownies, banana bread, and so on.

Replacing Oil with Butter

It couldn't be easier to substitute butter for oil using a 1:1 ratio. This should work with olive, canola, vegetable, and coconut oils. Simply melt and cool the butter to room temperature, then continue with your recipe. (If the recipe calls for ½ cup oil, use ½ cup melted and cooled butter.)

What makes brownies fudgy vs cakey? ›

Fudgy brownies have a higher fat-to-flour ratio than cakey ones. So add more fat—in this case, butter and chocolate. A cakey batch has more flour and relies on baking powder for leavening. The amount of sugar and eggs does not change whether you're going fudgy or cakey.

The first and easiest upgrade you can give to your boxed brownie mix is to add a tablespoon of instant coffee to the batter. Adding coffee to your brownies boosts their flavor because its bitter quality balances out sweetness, making it less overpowering. It allows that delicious chocolate flavor to really shine.

Adding more eggs to your brownies brings extra moisture.

Add Espresso Powder or Instant Coffee

The simplest way to accentuate the chocolate flavor in your baked goods is to add a teaspoon or so of espresso powder or instant coffee granules. Espresso powder tends to be more concentrated, so you definitely only need a teaspoon to do the trick.

All the mix-ins

Experiment with pretzels, candy, or even potato chips (trust me, the salty crunch really is so good here) to add an extra boost of flavor and a crunchy texture. For a really fun addition that adds a ton of color, stir some strawberries or blueberries into the batter.

Brownie recipes traditionally call for water as it serves as a neutral liquid that hydrates the dry ingredients. However, using milk instead of water can impart a creamier texture and richer flavor to your brownies. The milk's fat content adds a smoothness that water cannot provide, resulting in a more indulgent treat.