My favorite brownie recipe is improved by adding a layer of gingerbread fudge to the center. The gingerbread fudge brownie is my new favorite holiday brownie!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, Hanukkah, and start to Kwanzaa! Hopefully you all got to enjoy some time off and spent it relaxing, watching movies and eating all of the desserts (like me!).
If you’re still looking for something new to try, hear me out. I took my favorite brownie recipe and made it even better. How? By adding FUDGE to it, of course!
I was testing out a gingerbread fudge recipe that was an utter fail. I didn’t add enough chocolate chips to the base so it was runny. Rather than throw it out, I decided to take advantage of the texture and added it to my favorite brownies. And then voila – gingerbread fudge brownies!
The runny fudge bakes up like an oozy caramel. It’s sticky, gooey and absolutely perfect. Can you see it just melting from the photos?
So it turns out that this fudge faux pas was probably the best thing ever because I turned it into cookies and now these brownies. And the gingerbread flavor was a wonderful complement to a classic brownie because it added ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves to every bite. It’s like a mashup between a gingerbread cookie and brownies with a caramel layer in the middle.
Who wants one?
Gingerbread fudge brownies
Ingredients
Brownies
- 1 and 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
- 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate finely chopped
- 1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
Gingerbread fudge (full recipe is listed below; you will only need 1/2 a recipe)
- 2 cups white chocolate chips
- 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Instructions
- First, make the fudge. In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the white chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk and molasses. Mix well until the chocolate chips have completely melted. Add the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves and mix until everything is well incorporated. Pour into a greased or lined 8"x8" pan and chill for at least 2 hours and up to overnight. The fudge will not completely set (this is expected).
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Generously grease or line an 8x8 inch or 9x9 inch square baking pan. As an alternative, you can line the pan with aluminum foil and generously butter or grease the foil.
- In a large saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and unsweetened chocolate. Stir occasionally until the mixture is uniform. Turn off the stove and remove the saucepan from the heat. Whisk in the cocoa until it is fully incorporated. Do the same with the sugar, eggs, vanilla and flour. Be sure to add in each ingredient individually and fully mix them in before adding the next one.
- Transfer half of the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the surface with a spatula. Add half of the fudge on top (remember, the fudge will be sticky and slightly runny, and that is what we're looking for). Top with the remaining brownie batter and cover as much of the fudge as you can.
- Bake the brownies in the center rack of your oven for about 35-40 minutes, or until the edges are done but the center is still slightly gooey. If you insert a toothpick into the center, it should come up with a little bit of the brownie batter and fudge.
- Turn off the oven, and remove the brownies. Set them aside and allow them to cool for at least 1 hour. Transfer the brownies to the refrigerator and cool for an additional (1) hour and up to overnight. After the brownies have been chilled, cut them into 16 squares and serve at room temperature.