Rich Chewy Brownies with a Graham Cracker Crust

Rich Chewy Brownies topped with chocolate chips//Graham Cracker Crust

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I'm going to begin with a note, here, for those of you who are already familiar with my Rich Gooey Brownies with a Graham Cracker Crust. That note is: this is the same recipe. However, it has been baked for longer. Believe it or not, I have some friends who don't like half-baked desserts. Crazy, right? I certainly think so. However! I suppose it's important to respect that people have different tastes and preferences...in theory anyway. This brownie recipe is fantastic not half-baked, and this is how I make it for such people. When baked for 7 minutes longer, the brownies become chewy, as opposed to gooey, which is pretty darn delicious too! So, I decided to do another shoot, and another post, to be able to show the texture of the brownies when they are more fully baked—and so here we are. And it definitely had nothing to do with the fact that I couldn't decide if I loved the pink or purple lilacs more for the shoot. Not at all.

Now back to the recipe commentary.

Brownies come in so many different styles…chewy, gooey, fudgy, cakelike, dense, light, rich, delicate, you name it. And whilst I like some of these versions better than others, I love many of them equally, and effectively don’t believe in crowning one brownie recipe as the best. Instead, I like to have one recipe for each of my favourite categories that is just insane tasting. I don’t know if I can describe to you how heavenly these brownies are. I'll try my best though. They contain a healthy combination of dark chocolate as well as cocoa powder, creating the dreamiest rich and gooey brownies that ever there were. When fully refrigerated, they become more like a hardened ganache, but with a good chew still, and this is actually my favourite way to enjoy them. I find that a high percentage of brownie recipes out there contain only cocoa powder, and no chocolate, and quite frankly I think that they always taste sad. Bland, not rich…no thank you. I don’t want to doubt the prowess of some talented pastry chefs, and so I will leave myself open to their being able to pull that challenge off. But, in my experience, I prefer a combination of both for best results. The other important aspect to brownies that I would like to highlight is that I think that they always need another element to add some intrigue and fun. In this case, I pair it with a thick and wonderfully sweet and salty graham cracker crust, along with a generous smattering of bittersweet chocolate chips on top. You can get creative and play with these added elements, to your heart’s delight. It could be a frosting, roasted fruit, caramel, nuts… But this is just a perfectly executed classic brownie to warm your heart and just make everything better in the world. And a little tip: if you hear that a friend is having a hard day, and want to do something for them to make them feel loved, there’s nothing better suited for cheering them up than a freshly baked tray of these little chocolatey delights.

Recipe:

Makes 1 (8x8x2) tray

Notes

• I specify the type of salt used, as different salts are more or less salty than others. If you don’t have the same kind of salt used, be mindful of this and adjust accordingly. Generally speaking, pink Himalayan salt is less salty than most others.

• I recommend using pink Himalayan salt for the graham cracker crust, as the larger granules are desirable. The tiny “pockets” of salt yield a pleasant sweet and salty contrast. I should note that I am referring to pre-ground Pink Himalayan salt—not from a salt grinder, as this will be finer. A finer salt will fully blend into the mixture, which I don’t recommend.

• If you love to lean heavily into the sweet-and-salty vibe, feel free to add a sprinkle of flaky sea salt overtop of the baked brownies.

• For the dark chocolate, I like to use Valrhona or Green & Black’s. Those are my favourites! Use whatever brand you prefer, however, ensuring that it is 70%-85% cocoa, and doesn’t contain any artificial ingredients. Ditto for the bittersweet dark chocolate chips—for best results, all natural or Organic ingredients only please!

• The eggs called for are cold from the fridge, as opposed to room-temperature, as eggs normally should be for baking. This is because we are not cooling the chocolate-butter mixture down before mixing with the other components of the brownie batter. The cold eggs will be warmed up by the heat. To be clear, it doesn’t matter if the eggs are room-temperature. But I am highlighting that you don’t need to take the extra step of bringing the eggs to room temperature, as you normally would.

• These brownies are very sweet for me. I normally don’t like my baked goods to be very sweet. But, I make these quite sweet, as I think that it’s appropriate for the texture, and somehow is the exception to my usual taste. This said, that should also tell you that if you are somebody who usually does like your baked goods to be super sweet, feel free to use up to 180 g of white sugar. Don’t change the quantity of brown sugar. Conversely, if you really can’t handle fairly sugary things, feel free to take out 25 g of white sugar (making it 100 g). But for your first time, I would recommend trying the sugar level as is. I personally like to make my brownies strong, as regards the richness of the chocolate and sweetness, and eat very small squares at a time. In reality, I will cut myself a piece anywhere from a quarter to a half of the size of the squares pictured.

• I don’t use vanilla or espresso in my brownie batter. This is a purposeful decision. I find that the vanilla competes with the chocolate flavour, in a negative way. Many chocolates contain vanilla anyway, and I certainly wouldn’t suggest adding to that. The addition of espresso will also take away from the chocolate’s ability to be fully tasted in all of its nuance. I think that adding espresso is fine, however, if you’re not making a purely classic brownie, and maybe want to also top it with a coffee icing.

• I haven’t yet tried it, but I imagine that using brown butter (in its melted state of course) for the graham cracker crust could be a good time.

• As I will reiterate in the recipe, I recommend allowing the brownies to cool down and then fully chill in the fridge before enjoying. When cold, they will resemble a hardened ganache consistency, which I adore. And then, if you leave them out of the fridge for a little, they will become more gooey, which is also so delectable. Try them both ways! I simply want to detail that they should fully set in the fridge before they are ready to be eaten. I’m not sure why exactly; something just magical happens with the textures of the brownies and graham cracker crust when they get to meld together and set in the fridge.
  

Graham Cracker Crust

Ingredients

• 360 g graham crackers/graham cracker crumbs

• 225 g unsalted butter

• 1/2 + 1/8 tsp salt (pink Himalayan)
  

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and ensure that oven rack is positioned in the middle.

2. Butter a 8x8x2 inch tin. Cut out a square of parchment paper for the bottom of the pan. I like to place my tray overtop of a sheet of parchment paper, and trace it with a pencil to help me to cut the right size. Place this square in your baking tin. You don’t need to use parchment paper for the sides of your baking tin. This is just to ensure that the graham cracker crust will cut and come out neatly—it’s not for the brownies.

3. Melt butter in a small saucepan on low to medium heat (it really doesn’t matter which).

4. While the butter is melting, place the graham crackers in a food processor if you didn’t buy them in crumb-form. Blend until finely ground.

5. In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and salt with a spatula. Add in the melted butter (no need to let it cool down first), and combine.

6. Pour the contents into the baking tray. Roughly disperse the mixture with your hands first, then use the bottom of a measuring cup or a flat-bottomed glass to help you to press it down neatly and firmly.

7. Bake for 11 minutes. If your oven is particularly weak, bake for 13 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden. Remove from oven and set aside while you finish making your brownie batter.

Brownies

Ingredients

• 170 g unsalted butter

• 113 g dark chocolate *see notes

• 60 g unsweetened cocoa powder

• 95 g all-purpose flour

• 1/4 + 1/8 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 + 1/8 tsp salt (pink Himalayan)

• 3 eggs, cold from the fridge

• 125 g sugar

• 80 g brown sugar

• 113 g bittersweet dark chocolate chips
  

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit again if you turned it off after making the graham cracker crust. If not, it’s ready to go!

2. Melt butter and chocolate (not the chocolate chips) in a Bain Marie over medium-low heat, stirring often with a whisk once it begins to melt. If you’re not familiar with this term—fill a medium saucepan with 1-2 inches of water, and place a tightly-fitting medium bowl into the saucepan. The water should not touch the bottom of the bowl, and this is how you judge whether to fill the saucepan with 1 or 2 inches of water. The butter and chocolate are placed in this bowl. Alternatively, you can melt the butter in a saucepan, and pour it over the chocolate in a medium bowl. You would let this sit for 3-5 minutes, then stir until smooth. Both methods will achieve the same result.

3. Once fully melted, turn off the heat, and sift in the cocoa powder. Whisk in immediately.

4. Sift flour into a medium bowl. Add in baking powder and salt, and whisk together.

5. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and both kinds of sugar.

6. Pour the chocolate-butter mixture into the egg mixture, in a stream, whisking quickly and continuously as you pour.

7. Add in the flour mixture, and mix until just combined, achieving a homogenous batter. I like to start with a whisk, then switch to a spatula if it becomes difficult to whisk, then quickly finish off with the whisk again once the mixture looks homogenous, just to check that the spatula didn’t miss any pockets of flour. Do not overmix.

8. Pour batter into baking tray, and use the back of a spoon to even out the top.

9. Evenly disperse chocolate chips on top. Using the palm of your hand, lightly press them down into the batter so that they are not sticking up too much.

10. Bake for 27 minutes. {If you like them gooey, as opposed to chewy, bake them for 20 minutes. Link to photos of the gooey version here: https://www.ellafika.com/post/rich-gooey-brownies-with-a-graham-cracker-crust}

11. Let the brownies cool down at room temperature, and once the tin is cool enough to handle, place it in the fridge for at least 2 hours to set. If you skip this last step, the graham cracker crust may be crumbly, and not hold together perfectly. And, the centre won’t be properly set.

12. To make them easier to cut, you can remove the brownies from their tray. Run a butterknife along the sides, place a plate overtop, and flip the tray to allow the brownies to fall onto the plate. You may need to give it a few vertical shakes to coax them out. Then, flip them onto a serving platter.

13. Devour immediately for a hardened ganache consistency (the result of being fully refrigerated), or leave the brownies out of the fridge for about 30 minutes-1 hour for a softer, chewier consistency (the result of not being very cold). For reference, the pictured brownies had been fully set in the fridge, and were taken out about 20 minutes before shooting. I love them both ways, and recommend trying them both to see what you prefer.

14. Enjoy!

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