Chocolate Hazelnut Espresso Brownies

Chocolate Hazelnut Espresso Brownies - made July 9, 2021 from Olive and Mango 

I've adapted my current favorite brownie recipe to use more of a combination of unsweetened chocolate and bittersweet chocolate and I've been making that more often than not whenever I need brownies for a care package.

I've made it so often though that I thought I'd try out a new recipe just to mix things up a bit. This one has similar elements except it uses only bittersweet chocolate and adds a little espresso to punch up the chocolate flavor. You can't really taste the espresso in this one; it's only meant to bring out the chocolate flavor.

This was nicely fudgy as you can tell from the pictures and you can't go wrong with swirling Nutella in anything. It was a bit sweeter than my adapted brownie recipe and I still prefer my adapted recipe which I will have to remember to post here sometime, to document it if nothing else.

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon espresso

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 - 1/2 cup Nutella

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 x 8 pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In the top half of a double boiler set over hot water, melt the butter and chocolate; whisk until completely melted and smooth.
3. Add granulated sugar and brown sugar, whisk until combined.
4. Whisk in eggs and egg yolk until combined. Add vanilla and stir to combine.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. Add to chocolate mixture and stir until combined and mixture is glossy.
6. Pour evenly into prepared pan. Dollop Nutella in spoonfuls over the batter and swirl together with a knife. Bake 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in a non-Nutella part of the brownie comes out with a few moist crumbs. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting.