Any ideas for EXCELLENT additions to brownies?
I have been adding crushed (powdered) red pepper and instant coffee crystals with a dash of cinnamon....OMG :) then there's the crushed hazelnut and coconut topping...OH! and the chopped dark chocolate...what else?
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22 Comments:
I'm kind of unimaginative, but I think cherries and walnut slivers on top would be ok. :)
Cassaendra at 8:47PM on 08/04/08
Kahlua and macadamia nuts or pecans-brush the top with more booze while warm.
I like a coffee-flavored cream cheese mixture swirled in.
Dried cranberries and almonds with dark chocolate.
Dried pineapple, mango, coconut etc.
I like raisins with walnuts and chocolate chips too.
Toffee.
sadiepix at 8:52PM on 08/04/08
Ugh, I was thinking almond slivers but I really meant walnuts...
Cassaendra at 8:57PM on 08/04/08
broken up york peppermint patties :)
lethargarian at 9:02PM on 08/04/08
What would you ever think of Candied Ginger? AND/ or...How about SPICED pecans?...hmmmm
BethDuPay at 9:15PM on 08/04/08
I am most partial to coffee and/or cinnamon, but I also enjoy a touch of mint extract, with or without a few chunks of chocolate chips (dark or white).
renzata at 9:36PM on 08/04/08
toffee chips... yummo!!!
MadelynRodriguez at 10:29PM on 08/04/08
I'm a bit of a brownie purist. Walnuts are almost madatory. Chocolate chips are a good addition but not necessary. Coffee, in small doses would be good.
I could tolerate other flavored chips, like butterscotch or caramel, or toffee bits, but would prefer not to have them in there. Other nuts would be okay if I was out of walnuts. Pecans would be second choice. After that....um, maybe cashews?
Peanut butter would be okay, but then I'd omit the walnuts, and I'd probably think of it as chocolate peanut butter bars rather than brownies.
As far as toppings, more chopped walnuts would be okay, powdered sugar would be okay to pretty it up, and chocolate ganache is good, too. But plain brownies are just fine. A peanut butter topping would be okay if the brownies were nutless, but if that was the flavor combo I wanted, I'd be more likely to make a chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting instead.
What I wouldn't want to find in a brownie is pretty much everything else. No fruits, no ginger, no extra spices or flavors, no jams or jellies, and no mint.
dbcurrie at 10:51PM on 08/04/08
huh, I thought someone would have said weed by now.
wookie at 12:53AM on 08/05/08
Wookie, I couldn't agree more. I immediately thought of the episode of Swingtown with the pot brownies.
I like to put a can of cherry pie filling in mine, although I have to cut back on some of the melted butter if I do that. They come out very moist and cakey and disappear almost immediately at my house.
buffy at 1:11AM on 08/05/08
I love my brownies super chewy with big chunks of white chocolate and blueberries. It makes more sense in your mouth.
unarata at 1:21AM on 08/05/08
I am more of a chewy brownie person, with no add-ins.
But add-ins I haven't seen but would like to try:
cashew or pecan butter
strawberry jam (instead of cream cheese or peanut butter)
Dorrie Greenspan has a recipe for raisins in brownies
HeartofGlass at 5:06AM on 08/05/08
I'm with Renzata coffee and cinnamon are awersome in any chocolate! i also have a fondness for making brownies with a little cayanne (sp) pepper added. cuts a little of the cloying sweetness and lets the chocolate taste really shine! I've also started throwing in chia seeds when i bake something like cookies or brownies. not chia pets stuff, food quality, GNC carries them. they dont affect the taste but it will throw off
the texture a tiny bit, adds a little chewiness which i actually like. I've also thrown in honey roasted cashew pieces, soynuts, sunflower kernals, basically anything i happen to spot that looks interesting. I know i'm probably ruing good brownies, but
huneybumper at 7:30AM on 08/05/08
Espresso
finsbigfan at 7:32AM on 08/05/08
This is a very old suggestion from the Frugal Gourmet, but a well-drained can of pickled jalapeños... not that I've ever done it, but I've done a cup of well-drained hot salsa. They were interesting, but not something I'd repeat.
Bakerloo Line at 9:54AM on 08/05/08
Mmmmm...Brownies. LOVE 'EM. So good.
@wookie: LMAO over here...You beat me to it. :)
This is REALLY REALLY REALLY GOOD. You should melt Goetze Candy and put a layer of that in the brownie...Half brownie mixture on the bottom, Goetze Candy layer, top with other half of brownie mixture. YUMM
Other things I like to do:
~Swirl in Cream Cheese
~MINI choco chips-they are better I think (any variety is good though-try using the peanut butter or butterscotch chips, just as delish)
~Melt peppermint patties and pour on top of warm brownies-or swirl in the mixture
~Swirl in Peanut Butter (smooth only)
~Once the brownies come out of the oven, eyeball how you would cut them up. Place in the center peanut butter cups. In addition, have chopped up snickers or twix bars-sprinkle on top. You now have yummy Candy Brownies. :) :)
Enjoy!!
Butrflygirly at 10:38AM on 08/05/08
I make brownies in a muffin pan and add Snickers and Andes mints to the middle. You can add any kind of candy bar, I saw someone on tv put a layer of Twix or Kit-Kat between two layers of batter and bake as normal. They are a nice surprise!
What about pistachios? Fill them with ganache or a strawberry cream?
TaraTot at 10:58AM on 08/05/08
@ wookie, heh, it's actually kind of a pain. i used to think you could just throw the greens in the mix, but you have to melt them with the butter and everything...uh...not that i would know.
but, trader joe's makes these little house brand chocolate peanut butter cups, they are BRILLIANT. i put them in every dessert i make, which isn't often, but they taste awesome in brownies and cookies, they melt beautifully.
sarahlucy at 11:27AM on 08/05/08
How about Rollo candies? I haven't tried it, but I bet the caramel would be really good. I tend to be a brownie minimalist, especially since I like the edges best.
Editmom at 9:43PM on 08/05/08
I'm a chocolate and citrus fan... candied orange, lemon,lime peels or a cream cheese swirt with citrus extract might be good. There has to be a bitter sweet or dark chocolate flavor to the brownies for it to be right though.
smile at 10:41PM on 08/05/08
Candy can be tricky...
When I was in University my friend and I decided to make an Easter cake by making a chocolate bundt cake with 6 Cadbury easter cream eggs imbedded in the batter all the way around. We had visions of slicing into the cake and having lovely yellow and white cream filling oozing out...
What actually happened is that in the heat of the oven, the cream filling became rock hard and impossible to cut through, let alone eat! We ended up just eating the the cake aroud the hard orbs. What a waste! Six Easter cream eggs was a big investment at the time...
PeanutButter at 7:11PM on 08/06/08
Best browines: follow any favorite brownie mix (I like Duncan Hines Chewy Fudge). Pour a layer of batter in the pan, (13x9), then put in 3 Hershey's Symphony Bars. Then pour the rest of the batter on top. Yummalicious.
kanga at 10:43AM on 08/11/08