Fudgy Cocoa Brownies from Cafe Delites

Fudgy Cocoa Brownies - made January 28, 2023 from Cafe Delites

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and hot

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 1/8 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 

1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 8 x 8" baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Whisk together hot melted butter, olive oil and granulated sugar until smooth and combined. Add eggs and vanilla extract, whisking to combine.
3. In a small bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix to combine, stirring until glossy. Add any mix-ins if desired (I added chopped up Rolos).
4. Pour into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake 20-25 minutes or until center is set and toothpick comes out with a few fudgy crumbs. Do not overbake. Remove from oven and let cool before cutting and serving.

Those weird squiggly things you see in the brownies are cut-up Rolos. I had hoped for a more flowy caramel look but alas, Rolos don't provide it at room temperature or in cold winter temps. I would probably have been better off with Caramellos but Rolos were all I had.

These look dark because I used a combination of regular unsweetened cocoa powder from Costco and black cocoa powder from King Arthur Flour. Although I went with a 3:1 ratio, it seems like even a small amount of black cocoa powder turns the brownies dark enough to look like black cocoa brownies.

I'm glad I tried a new brownie recipe but I have to admit, I still prefer my go-to recipe for brownies. Maybe it was the black cocoa or maybe I needed to bake these a tad longer but these didn't have the same chewy-dense texture I prefer in my brownies. Still good and worth trying although next time I would do a different mix-in as Rolos were a bit too chewy for this brownie’s texture.