Best Ever Brownies & a Giveaway

Disclosure: I received a copy of “Comfort Food Made Easy” and a container of LouAna coconut oil at no cost to me, for review. All opinions are 100% my own.

Goodness. Brownies are a weakness of mine. Warm, slightly under-done brownies…I have no willpower. None. And sadly, brownies are a baked good that whips up super quickly. No need for a mixer…just a large bowl and a whisk. It’s too easy.

Southern Living recently came out with “Comfort Food Made Easy”, which simplifies your favorite comforting dishes. It makes comfort food, which usually takes a good time to cook, easily accessible to cooks with little time to spare in the kitchen. While there were quite a few heavy dishes in there (like macaroni and cheese), there were also quite a few lightened comfort recipes in there for the summer! It’s a really versatile book.

I immediately skimmed through my copy, and my eyes were just drawn to this recipe for the “Best Ever Brownies”. I mean…that’s a big claim, so I had to try it out!

These brownies whipped together rather quickly, and they were just a great recipe. Super fudgy, rich and so tasty. I brought a pan of these to work, and they were gone by 10am. Brownies for breakfast, anyone?

Along with the cookbook, I was sent some coconut oil by LouAna to try. I slightly adapted this recipe by using some coconut oil instead of butter, and oh my gosh…why don’t I use this more often? I’m hooked! I’m definitely going to try this in cooking/baking more often.

Best Ever Brownies
Source: adapted from Southern Living’s “Comfort Food Made Easy”

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. unsweetened chocolate baking squares, chopped
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 cup coconut oil
• 4 cups sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 6 large eggs
• 1 tbsp. + 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13 inch pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, with a few extra inches on the side to allow for easy lifting. Lightly spray the inside of the pan with baking spray.
2. Place the chocolate, butter and coconut oil in a large bowl, and microwave it in 30 second increments, stirring/whisking well after each microwave cycle, until it has melted into a chocolate sauce. Cool the chocolate mixture for about 10 minutes before making the brownie batter.
3. To make the batter, stir in the sugar until well incorporated. Add in the flour, eggs, salt and vanilla extract, mixing until just mixed. Pour the batter into the brownie pan, and spread the batter evenly in the pan with a spatula.
4. Bake the brownies for 45-55 minutes (this is a much longer time than the book designates, but I didn’t want the brownies to be too gooey), until set and a knife inserted in them middle comes out with a few crumbs. Allow the brownies to fully cool in the pan. Enjoy!

The generous folks at Southern Living/YC Media are offering a lucky reader of The Nifty Foodie a copy of “Comfort Food Made Easy”.

To enter the giveaway, just use the Rafflecopter widget below!

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 Note: This giveaway is supplied by YC Media and is open to readers in the continental US only. Entries will be accepted until May 9th at 11:59pm (central standard time). Winner will be emailed (make sure you leave an email address in the form), and will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.