Flourless Fudge Brownies

Right now (almost) everyone is in a panic, trying to detox their bodies from the abundance of over-indulgence after the holidays, but there is one more treat you need to try ASAP! because if you don't try them now, you will kick yourself when you finally do.

These brownies are rich, soft and oh-so-chocolatey. I am one of those people who believe that brownies should have a BROWNIE consistency, rather than a cakey, fluffy texture - these... are those brownies.

You can easily personalize this recipe with a few optional ingredients, i.e. different flavored extracts, different mixin's and/or different toppings. Below, I will feature the exact recipe I used for these incredible brownies, which also includes a recipe for a delicious (and super easy) Peppermint Buttercream Frosting... can you say 'YUM!'?:

Flourless Fudge Brownies

Yields: 12 large, 24 medium, or 32 two-bite mini brownies.

Bake time: 20-26 minutes

Ingredients:

1/3 C brown sugar
2/3 C granulated sugar
1 1/2 C cocoa powder (I use Fry's in the yellow can - you want to use good quality cocoa powder, unsweetened)
4 large eggs (or 5 medium size)
3/4 C extra virgin olive oil (vegetable oil works, too)
2 t ground coffee
2 t vanilla extract
2 C dark chocolate baking wafers - chopped roughly
Pinch of salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x9 baking pan, or use parchment paper to keep brownies from sticking.

In a large mixing bowl, combine sugars and olive oil. Mix until well incorporated. Add eggs to sugar/oil mixture and mix well. Add vanilla and coffee grounds and mix everything together.

Add cocoa powder and salt to the wet ingredients. Using a spatula (or stand mixer on the lowest setting), mix together until batter is smooth and dark. Then, fold in chopped baking wafers.

Pour batter into prepared baking pan and bake 20-26 minutes.

Baking time will vary according to the pan you use, so absolutely check your brownies after 20 minutes, if they need more time, check every 2-3 minutes until a toothpick or knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Allow to cool 5 minutes, then remove from pan and transfer to a wire cooling rack. Allow to cool completely if you want to frost the brownies, otherwise they are amazing when they are still warm.

*You could easily add chopped walnuts or pecans, fold into batter at the same time as the chocolate.
*You could also add a flavored extract like peppermint. I didn't because I knew I was going to frost these bad boys with Peppermint Buttercream:

Peppermint Buttercream Frosting

Yields: 2 C

Ingredients:

1/2 C unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 C powdered sugar
1 1/2 T heavy cream
1/2 t peppermint extract

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, whip butter until light and fluffy (6-9 minutes in a stand mixer, longer if mixing by hand).

Add in powdered sugar, cream and extract, mix until well combined and texture is light and fluffy. Optional: Once brownies/cake/cupcakes are frosted, you could sprinkle the tops with crushed peppermint candies for a cute and pretty touch.

The flavor of the extract will intensify as it sits - it is best to make the recipe the night before you use it.

*Unlike vanilla extract, peppermint has a very strong flavor. I probably used a bit more than 1/2 t (3/4 t - 1 t). However, you always want to use less when you start with mint extracts and make sure you taste your work as you go. It is much easier to add flavor to a recipe than to remove it, and it would be even worse to have to scrap an entire recipe because it came out tasting like Listerine.

*There are different types of mint extract available: Mint, Peppermint (used in this recipe), Spearmint, etc.

*If you eliminate the extract in this recipe, you have a simple, plain Buttercream frosting for any recipe. You could also swap out the peppermint flavor for something different, like almond, coffee, or orange.

Enjoy and Bon Appetit!