Brownies in a box, be gone! Fudgy brownies with a beautiful, crackly crust and a tasty surprise—mashed banana—that gives them a subtle flavor boost. These brownies, which are simple to make, took third place at the Minnesota State Fair in 2009!
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 40 mins |
| Additional Time: | 2 hrs |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs 55 mins |
| Servings: | 16 |
| Yield: | 16 brownies |
Ingredients
- cooking spray
- ¾ cup sifted all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 pinch salt
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 5 ounces semisweet chocolate
- 1 ounce bittersweet chocolate
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- ½ large banana, mashed
- ½ cup chopped toasted walnuts
- ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Spray the bottom of an 8×8-inch metal baking pan with cooking spray.
- Mix flour, cocoa, and 1/4 teaspoon plus a pinch of salt together in a bowl and set aside.
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add semisweet and bittersweet chocolate to melted butter and stir until smooth. Remove from heat; set aside for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix brown sugar, eggs, and banana by hand until combined, about 1 minute. Add melted chocolate mixture to banana mixture and stir well, about 1 minute more. Mix flour mixture slowly into chocolate, stirring just enough to combine. Fold in walnuts and chocolate chips. Spread batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 2 hours before cutting.
- You can substitute 3/4 cup semisweet chips and 1/4 cup bittersweet chips for the chocolate, if desired.
- You can substitute pecans for walnuts and bittersweet chocolate chips for semisweet, if desired.
- If you use all bittersweet chocolate, or more bitter than semi, you won’t get the shiny crackly crust. The secret to a shiny crust is to have a higher sugar to fat ratio. Bitter and unsweetened chocolate have more fat.
- Cut with a plastic knife when cool. Brownies don’t stick to plastic for some reason. Edges might be harder, so start with a regular knife.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 228 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 29 g |
| Cholesterol | 32 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 3 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Sodium | 89 mg |
| Sugars | 22 g |
| Fat | 12 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Deep chocolate flavor with a nice hint of banana. Shiny crust. I used non-stick foil to line my pan. They took 60 minutes to bake. I also added a 1/4 teaspoon of instant coffee crystals and crushed them even more before adding to dry ingredients. Everyone loved them.
If you like a very dense and fudge like brownie this is it. Personally, I am more of a cake brownie person. However, I know most love this type. I was surprised, but there is a hint of banana taste. Don’t make this if craving brownies quickly either.I had to let it set up for 2 hours, as suggested, before cutting. I even put it in the fridge overnight. I doubled the recipe and baked it in a 13×9 pan. It took 1 hour to bake at this size.