Simple & Easy Brownies
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These easy chocolate brownies are fudgy, moist and ready in less than an hour. Plus, they store well on the counter. So, you can make them ahead of time and have a tasty, sweet treat ready for the whole week.
Table of Contents
Why you should make this recipe
Whether you struggle with including extra veggies in your or your kids’ diets, you’ll find this brownie recipe (UK version) checks all the boxes.
These brownies offer an easy way to include more veggies for picky eaters as they’re packed with nutrient-dense courgette. The best part is you won’t even taste the courgette!
This chocolate brownie recipe also freezes well, making it easy to create double or triple batches at a time.
Then, you can defrost a brownie or two whenever you have a sweet craving. This is perhaps my absolute favourite brownie recipe because of the rich consistency, flavour, and addition of veggies!
For the chocolate lovers, try these recipes : Chocolate Tiffin Recipe, Chocolate Rice Cakes with Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Baked Oats
Ingredients
Courgette
Courgettes are the secret ingredient in this easy brownie recipe. They help add moisture and nutrients to the brownies. Other vegetables that could work would be grated carrot and beetroot.
Dark or Milk Chocolate
Using dark chocolate helps boost the nutrients in this brownies recipe or you’re adding a delightful richness to these chocolate brownies by including milk chocolate. Milk chocolate chunks and chocolate chips also work well in this recipe.
Unsalted butter
As there is already salt in the chocolate, you can avoid a high sodium intake by using unsalted butter.
Eggs
Eggs help bind the ingredients together in this simple brownies recipe.
Flour
All-purpose flour is best for this chocolate brownies recipe, which you likely already have in your pantry! Alternatively, you can use gluten-free flour if you can’t eat regular flour. However, you may need to play with the ratio of flour when using this swap.
Baking Powder
Baking powder is essential for this simple brownie recipe, as it helps the brownies rise while baking.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Why do you add courgette?
Including courgette in this easy chocolate brownie recipe is great for a few reasons. For one, courgette make the brownies moist and fudgy. This way, you can avoid other calorie-dense ingredients, such as buttermilk.
Secondly, it will help you use any leftover courgettes. It also boosts the nutrients in brownies, so you can feel good about indulging in fudgy brownies. Plus, if you have picky eaters in the family who don’t enjoy eating veggies, you can sneak in some extra veg in their diets.
Is courgette the same as zucchini?
In short, yes! Courgette is the name for this vegetable in the UK and France. The word zucchini is used in the US and Australia for the same veg.
How to make these easy brownies
- Add the butter & chocolate into a microwavable bowl and pop in the microwave for 30 second (Image 1).
- Stir and continue to microwave for 15 second intervals, stirring each time and ensuring you don’t burn the chocolate! Repeat until fully melted (Image 2).
3. Pour the melted chocolate/butter into the bowl and stir to combine (Image 3).
4. In a large bowl whisk eggs, vanilla extract, honey and sugar together. Then add the grated courgette to the egg mixture (Image 4).
5. Then add the flour and baking powder, mixing until fully incorporated (Image 5).
6. Then add together with the wet mixture (eggs and courgettes) and mix until fully incorporated (Image 6).
7. Line a 20cm by 30cm baking dish with parchment paper (Image 7).
8. Pour the brownie batter into the tin. Bake for 35 minutes, then leave to cool for 10 (Image 8).
Adaptations
This brownie recipe is already vegetarian-friendly, so you won’t need to make any swaps for this adaptation.
Vegan:
Turning these brownies into a vegan version requires a few ingredient swaps. For one, you’ll want to ensure that your dark and milk chocolate is dairy-free. You’ll also need to use a vegan version of butter. You can swap the above ingredients in a 1:1 ratio.
Remove the egg and substitute with flax egg using 1 tbsp of ground flaxseed to replace each egg and 3 tbsp of water per egg (3 tbsp flaxseed and 9 tbsp water). Mix together with water and refrigerate for 10 minutes to allow it to thicken to egg-like consistency. Use maple syrup.
Tips and Tricks for best results
- Line the baking dish with some parchment paper, this will prevent it sticking.
- Don’t over bake, as you want the brownie to be moist in the centre and slightly crispy around the edges.
- Make sure you let the brownies cool before you start to cut them and dig in!
- If you want extra chocolaty flavour, you can add some chocolate chips to the batter.
Here are some easy main dish recipes to enjoy; The Best Turkey Sandwich in 10 minutes!, Creamy Gochujang Pasta and Crispy Roasted Gnocchi with Chorizo and Vegetables
FAQs
It’s always best to cut brownies once they’ve cooled. Otherwise, you’ll tear the brownies, and they won’t cut as easily. Letting these tasty treats cool first may be challenging, but the end result will be worth it!
Yes! Many veggies work well in brownies if you don’t enjoy courgettes. Instead, try adding pureed beets that are cooked. These will provide additional nutrients and help create a rich brownie consistency.
Yes, you can refrigerate this brownie recipe once the brownies have cooled. However, keeping them in the fridge can dry them out. It’s best to keep these sweet treats on the counter in an air-tight container.
If you find you’ve made too many brownies, you can freeze them without drying them out. Portion them out into air-tight containers before placing them in the freezer. This way, you can defrost 1-2 brownies at a time. You’ll find the defrosting process quicker when using this freezing method.
Other sweet recipes you might like to try; Kinder Bueno Chocolate Mug Cake and Mini Pancakes with Biscoff
If you tried this Simple & Easy Brownies recipe, it would be mean so much to me if you could leave a review & a star rating to let me know how you found it! I love hearing about your experiences – it motivates me to keep creating more and more recipes for you guys 💛 Let’s get cooking! – Mimi x
Simple & Easy Brownies
Ingredients
- 150 g unsalted butter (£1.75)
- 200 g 2 packs dark chocolate (2x£0.33)=(£0.66)
- 100 g 1 pack milk chocolate (£0.33)
- 3 large eggs (£1.15/2)=(£0.58)
- 200 g caster sugar (£1.60/2)=(£0.80)
- 250 g finely grated courgette (1½ courgettes) (£0.80)
Cupboard Essentials
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 200 g plain flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tbsp honey
Method
- Add the butter & chocolate into a microwavable bowl and pop in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and continue to microwave for 15 second intervals, stirring each time. Repeat until fully melted.
- In a large bowl whisk eggs, vanilla extract, honey and sugar together. Then add the grated courgette.
- Pour the melted chocolate/butter into the bowl and stir to combine. Then add the flour and baking powder, mixing until fully incorporated.
- Line a 20cm by 30cm baking dish with parchment paper and pour the brownie batter into the tin.
- Bake for 35 minutes, then leave to cool for 10.
Notes
- Line baking dish with parchment paper to prevent sticking
- Don't overbake for moist center and crispy edges
- Allow brownies to cool before cutting; consider adding chocolate chips for extra flavor
Nutrition
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