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I try to eat healthy, I really do. But sometimes, on a bitterly cold day when the road is all iced up — and oh yeah, you’re still in the middle of a pandemic — a bowl of oatmeal or a salad just aren’t going to cut it.
On those days, a baking project is in order. Namely one made of lots of chocolate and butter. One that’s a bit more complicated than just plain old brownies, but also not necessarily an all day affair.
Those days are tough, I tell ya. But luckily, I found a solution. Hear me out. Buttery, crisp shortbread, and a deep chocolate, nutty brownie. Together. A dollop of ice cream and a bit of sea salt? Yes, please.
Brownie Shortbread Bars
A deep chocolate brownie tops a buttery shortbread for a decadent treat perfect for days when nothing else will do.
Ingredients
Shortbread:
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups butter straight from the fridge, cubed
Brownie:
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate finely chopped
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup toasted almonds
- Coarse sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper.
- For the shortbread, put the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Pulse once, and then add the butter. Pulse until crumbly.
- Press this mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove.
- To make the brownies, put the butter and chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and melt in 20 second intervals, stirring each time.
- When melted, add the sugar. Let cool for 5 minutes and add the eggs one at a time. Stir in the vanilla.
- Combine the flour, cocoa, espresso, salt, and almonds and add those to the wet mixture. Stir well.
- Pour this mixture overtop the shortbread and bake until the center is no longer jiggly and the edges start to pull away from the side of the pan. Cool completely before serving, and sprinkle with salt if desired.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
