The Ultimate Double Chocolate M&M Brownies: Chewy, Rich, and Irresistible!
We all know that Mondays can be tough. The weekend feels like a distant memory, and the week stretches out before us. But what if I told you there was a delicious secret to making your Mondays, and indeed every day, a little brighter? Enter these glorious Double Chocolate M&M Brownies – a truly irresistible treat designed to transform your mood and tantalize your taste buds.
Beyond the Monday Blues: Finding Joy in Every Day
For many, the mention of Monday conjures a unique sense of dread that can ripple through the entire week. It’s almost a universal complaint, a shared sigh of resignation. However, I’ve always tried to view Mondays differently. Perhaps it’s because as a food blogger, my weekends are often filled with culinary experiments and recipe development, making Monday feel less like a jarring transition and more like a continuation of passion.
Instead of seeing it as the start of a long week, I embrace Monday as a fresh slate – a new opportunity to live fully and enjoy every moment. It might sound a bit cliché, but I genuinely believe in approaching each new day with enthusiasm, ready to conquer whatever comes my way. We all have those mornings when getting out of bed feels like an Olympic feat, but blaming poor Monday seems a bit unfair, don’t you think? Let’s collectively shift our perspective and see Mondays as the perfect launchpad for a week even better than the last.
Why These Double Chocolate M&M Brownies Will Become Your Favorite
Enough with the motivational speaking! Let’s talk about the real game-changer: these incredible Double Chocolate M&M Brownies. Imagine kickstarting your week with a square of these chewy, chocolatey delights. That’s a motivation I can get behind!
This isn’t just another brownie recipe; it’s an experience. The addition of colorful M&Ms introduces a fantastic new dimension to the classic brownie. They don’t just add a burst of color; they provide a unique texture, transforming these into what I like to call “loaded brownies.” Each bite delivers a satisfying crunch from the M&Ms, complementing the dense, fudgy brownie base beautifully. Plus, they pack an extra punch of chocolate flavor, which, let’s be honest, is always a good thing.
To truly live up to their “double chocolate” name, I’ve made sure to include an generous amount of chocolate chips within the batter, alongside the melted chocolate base. This ensures maximum chocolatey goodness in every single bite. The combination of rich melted chocolate, gooey chocolate chips, and crunchy M&Ms creates a symphony of textures and flavors that is absolutely divine. What’s more, the M&Ms actually contribute to an even chewier brownie – a delightful surprise that takes these treats to the next level.
So, yes please! I’m voting a resounding ‘yes’ to positive Mondays and an even bigger ‘YES!’ to indulging in these magnificent brownies. They are, without a doubt, one of my all-time favorite brownie recipes, and I’m confident they’ll become yours too.
The Secret to Perfectly Chewy Brownies
Achieving that coveted chewy texture in a brownie is an art, and this recipe masters it. Several factors contribute to the ultimate chewiness:
- Brown Sugar: Unlike granulated sugar, brown sugar contains molasses, which adds moisture and a slight chewiness to baked goods. Using a good amount of brown sugar here ensures a tender, chewy crumb.
- Oil vs. Butter: While butter adds rich flavor, oil tends to create a moister, denser, and chewier product. In this recipe, melted coconut oil provides that desirable chewiness and moisture without compromising on flavor. You can often substitute equal parts oil for butter in recipes to achieve this effect.
- Proper Mixing: Overmixing flour can develop too much gluten, leading to tough brownies. Mixing just until combined is key to keeping them tender and chewy.
- Cooling Time: This is perhaps one of the most crucial, yet often overlooked, steps. Brownies continue to set and develop their texture as they cool. Cutting into them while they’re still warm might be tempting, but it will result in a softer, more crumbly texture rather than the dense, chewy perfection we’re aiming for. Patience is a virtue when it comes to brownies!
- The M&M Factor: Beyond flavor, the M&Ms themselves contribute to the chew. Their candy shell holds up during baking, providing tiny pockets of resistance that enhance the overall chewiness and provide a delightful contrast.
Essential Baking Tips for Brownie Perfection
Even though this is an easy recipe, a few key tips can elevate your baking game and ensure consistently perfect brownies every time:
- Accurate Measurement is Key: While measuring cups are convenient, using a kitchen scale for dry ingredients like flour and sugar can make a huge difference. A cup of flour can vary significantly in weight depending on how it’s scooped, which directly impacts the texture of your brownies. Weighing ingredients ensures precision and repeatable results.
- Oven Calibration: Ovens can vary wildly in actual temperature compared to their display. If you bake frequently, investing in an oven thermometer can be incredibly helpful. An accurately calibrated oven prevents under or over-baked brownies.
- Don’t Skimp on Quality Chocolate: Since chocolate is a star ingredient here, choosing good quality chocolate chips (like Ghirardelli, as recommended in the recipe) will pay off in flavor. For the melted base, you want something that melts smoothly. For the additional chips, semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips work best to provide that rich, deep chocolate flavor. Avoid baking chocolate (unsweetened chocolate) unless specifically called for and balanced with sugar.
- Pan Size Matters: The 8×8 inch square pan specified in the recipe is crucial for the correct baking time and thickness. Using a larger pan will result in thinner brownies that bake faster and might dry out, while a smaller pan will yield very thick brownies that require a longer baking time and a different internal texture. Stick to the recommended size for optimal results.
- Parchment Paper is Your Friend: Lining your pan with parchment paper or greased foil, leaving an overhang on the sides, makes it incredibly easy to lift the entire batch of cooled brownies out of the pan. This allows for clean cuts and minimal mess.
- Cool Completely: I can’t stress this enough! As mentioned before, brownies firm up and develop their signature chewiness as they cool. Resist the urge to slice them while warm. Let them cool completely on a wire rack in the pan before cutting.
Ingredients Spotlight: Making Informed Choices
Let’s take a closer look at some of the key ingredients and how your choices can impact the final brownie:
- Chocolate Chips: For the melted chocolate base, a good quality semi-sweet chocolate works wonderfully, providing a balanced sweetness and deep cocoa flavor. For the additional, unmelted chocolate chips folded into the batter, you have some flexibility. Semi-sweet chips are a classic choice, but if you prefer a richer, less sweet brownie, opt for dark chocolate chips. If you crave extra indulgence, milk chocolate chips can add a creamy sweetness, though I typically recommend semi-sweet for the perfect balance.
- Sugar Types: The recipe calls for brown sugar, and I specifically suggest raw brown sugar, cane sugar, or coconut sugar. These unrefined sugars offer a richer, more nuanced flavor than plain granulated white sugar and contribute significantly to the chewy texture. Coconut sugar, in particular, offers a slight caramel note and is a great alternative for those looking for natural sugar options.
- Coconut Oil: Using melted coconut oil not only contributes to the moist and chewy texture but also adds a subtle hint of tropical flavor that complements the chocolate beautifully. If you’re not a fan of coconut flavor, refined coconut oil has a neutral taste, or you could use another neutral-flavored oil like vegetable or canola oil.
Serving and Storage Suggestions
These Double Chocolate M&M Brownies are fantastic on their own, but here are a few ideas to make them even more special:
- Warm with Ice Cream: A slightly warmed brownie paired with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream is a classic for a reason. The contrast of warm and cold, fudgy and creamy, is simply heavenly.
- Drizzled with Sauce: A drizzle of caramel sauce, chocolate ganache, or even a berry coulis can add an elegant touch and another layer of flavor.
- Coffee or Milk Companion: Enjoy a square (or two!) with a hot cup of coffee, a glass of cold milk, or your favorite non-dairy alternative.
To store these decadent brownies, keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-4 days. For longer storage, you can freeze individual brownies for up to 2-3 months. Simply wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Thaw at room temperature when ready to enjoy.
Now that you’re armed with all the knowledge and inspiration, it’s time to dive into the recipe and make these incredible Double Chocolate M&M Brownies. Get ready to transform your week, one delicious bite at a time!
P.S. Here are some of the items I used to make this recipe if you’d like to use them too:
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Double Chocolate M&M Brownies
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Ingredients
- 1 cup chocolate chips, melted – I recommend Ghirardelli, 188g
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour, 107g
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 large eggs, 114g in shells
- 3/4 cup brown sugar (I use raw brown sugar, cane sugar or coconut sugar), 158g
- 3/4 cup melted coconut oil, 150g
- 2 tablespoons water, 28g
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips, unmelted
- 1 cup chocolate m&ms, no peanuts minus 1 tbsp
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F/165 degrees C.
- Melt chocolate chips in microwave for a minute, stirring after to see if chips have melted. If not, microwave in increments of 30 seconds until completely melted. Alternatively, you can melt in over a small pot of boiling water (Not a lot of water in the pot) and put the chocolate chips it in a heat proof and melt proof bowl over the pot and stir until melted.
- In a medium bowl, mix the flour, salt and baking soda until combined. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, add the eggs, sugar and oil and mix until combined for about 2 minutes. Add the water and the vanilla extract. Add to the dry mixture to the wet mixture and melted chocolate chips and stir for about 3 minutes until combined.
- Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips and m&ms.
- Pour into a greased, parchment lined, or a greased foil-lined 8×8 square pan. Sprinkle the top with leftover tablespoon of m&ms. Bake for 35 minutes.
- When finished, remove from oven and allow to cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
Notes
- It’s up to you what type of chocolate chips you would want to use, but do not use baking chocolate (which is without sugar). You can use semi-sweet or dark chocolate based on the brownie you would like to achieve. I recommend semi-sweet since it’s the best of both worlds. If you’d like a mix use semi-sweet for the base, and either milk or dark for the chips in the brownies.
- Oil instead of butter in products tends to create a moister product. All you have to do is switch out equal parts of the butter for the oil.
- The pan size makes a huge difference! If you do not use an 8×8 pan for eg if you use smaller, your brownies will not be ready in the right amount of time.
- I would recommend definitely weighing out the ingredients on a kitchen scale, instead of just using measuring cups, since it can affect how much flour you add to the brownies, and ultimately how the brownies come out.
- Ensure your oven is properly calibrated, and remember your brownies will not be properly set until they are cooled down
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.