If you do a google search for Gingerbread Brownies, they’ve been done before (hasn’t everything, at this point?) but what you find are not what I’d consider brownies. Maybe blondies at best, but the pale brunette bars seem to be far too light in color and seemingly cakey in texture to be considered true brownies in my mind.
No, what I wanted was a rich, fudgy brownie (the only kind of brownie in my mind), deeply chocolate but laced with molasses and gingerbread spices.
At first glance you think you’re just eating a nice fudgy brownie. But close your eyes and let your mind (and mouth) be blown. It’s a brownie, but it’s also gingerbread. It’s both. At the same time. Like woah.
I topped the brownies with a thick layer of chocolate ganache (because if a little chocolate is good, more is better) and a flurry of snowflake sprinkles to add to the seasonal cheer.
It may be the closest we’re going to get to a white Christmas this year, but I’m totally cool with that.
I was worried when I first took these out of the oven that they were a failure, because the top looked like a weirdly dense chocolate spongecake, not the typical shiny crackly top that classic brownies have. And I think that’s due to the extra sugar and moisture content in the molasses (at least, that’s my best guess). However not wanting to give up and waste a full pan of brownies, I went ahead with the glaze and let them chill for a few hours before slicing them… and, surprise surprise, would you look at those perfectly fudge brownies?
See, folks, there’s always a lesson to be learned in the kitchen. This time, it’s to never judge a brownie by it’s crackly top (or lack-thereof). Because you just might miss out on the amazingly fudgy goodness underneath.
Gingerbread Brownies
Rich, dark chocolate brownies with a hint of molasses and gingerbread spices and dark chocolate ganache glaze.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup dark or Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 5 ounces dark or bittersweet chocolate (70-75%), chopped
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup unsulpured light/mild molasses
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
For Glaze:
- 4 ounces dark or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon butter, cut into cubes
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with parchment paper; lightly butter parchment.
- Whisk or sift together flour, cocoa powder, spices, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Combine butter and chopped chocolate in a saucepan. Stir over low heat until chocolate is almost melted. Remove from heat and continue to gently stir until smooth; the residual heat from the pan should be enough to melt the last few bits of chocolate.
- Whisk in granulated sugar until incorporated; batter will be slightly grainy and paste-like.
- Whisk in molasses, followed by eggs, one at a time, whisking completely after each one, until batter is smooth and shiny. Whisk in vanilla.
- Sprinkle dry ingredients over top of melted chocolate mixture and stir until just incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips. Spread into prepared pan, using an offsest spatula to smooth batter into corners.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out mostly clean. Let cool on a wire rack.
- For glaze, place chopped chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl. Warm cream in a small saucepan over low heat until it just starts to bubble around the edges, swirling occasionally to keep a skin from forming (do not let it boil). Pour over chopped chocolate and let sit for 30 seconds, then slowly start whisking in concentric circles starting in the center and moving outwards until the chocolate is completely melted. Whisk in butter, one cube at a time, until melted and smooth.
- Pour glaze over cooled brownies, spreading into a smooth even layer on top. Refrigerate until glaze is set, at least 1 to 2 hours, before slicing into squares. Brownies will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Did you make this recipe?
Let us know what you think!
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I made these brownies for my Christmas cookie platter this year (cut into about 30 tiny pieces) and they came out perfect. The ganache on top had a beautiful shine to it and I even had the white snowflake sprinkles to make it extra festive. Beautiful bite, not too fudgy, love the spices. 5 stars from me.
AMAZING brownies with a holiday twist. They were rich and dark and turned out perfectly. I made them for the first time last year and am making them again this year. Probably my go-to holiday dessert recipe!
Made this brownies for a family gathering last night because I like to live dangerously with new recipes. I followed the recipe, with the exceptions of melting chocolate in microwave rather than stovetop. Family all enjoyed. Definitely very fudgy and yummy!
These brownies are outstanding! I made them last week as part of my baked treats for Christmas gifts. They were a big hit and I’ll be making them again soon. I often tweak a recipe after first making it as written, but I don’t think any tweaking is necessary. I’m a dark chocolate lover so I used all bittersweet chocolate in the brownies, which had great flavor, and the chocolate ganache top layer is the perfect addition. Excellent recipe!
So glad you loved them! Thanks for sharing! :)
I made these last night. WoW!!! Amazingly rich and mega fabulous!!!! Too bad I couldn’t attach a picture. A+ presentation!
So glad you enjoyed them!! Thanks for sharing! :)
Yum! Looks so good!
These brownies look amazing! And score, I already have all the ingredients in my house!
Paige
I’m imagining these taste similar to lebkuchen, which I adore. I’m in charge of the dessert buffet (isn’t that a magical thing?) for family NYE dinner, and these are officially on the list!
Yes a cracky top is a little hard to achieve! I’m happy you challenged the typical gingerbread brownie. These are truly decadent and exactly how I would want to indulge this holiday season. And chocolate and gingerbread were just meant to go together!
I like your lesson Lindsay! There’s been a few times when I just wanted to give up.. but have pressed through to find so much goodness on the other side! Hooray for kitchen lessons! I absolutely adore your take on gingerbread brownies and I’ve got to give these a go. They are too luscious to resist! Thank you for this my dear… happiest of holidays to you, Taylor and your furbabies!
Oh!!! These brownies look so fudgy and decadent! I love the ginger-chocolate combo, my favourite cookies are ginger chocolate chip :)
I know that exact weirdly sponge-cake-ish texture that baking when baking with molasses sometimes. It happened to me about a month ago and while I wasn’t trying to make brownies, it happened but for me, sniff, I did end up with a cakey texture I didn’t want.
Anyhooo…these brownies looks AMAZING! So deep, dark, fudgy, and I love gingerbread and molasses anything, and of course love ganache!
I thought I was done with my baking, but these NEED to happen!
Whoa these gingerbread brownies look amazing. I’m imagining chocolate with lots of warmth and bags of flavour. Am going to have to make these over Christmas. Thank you for sharing the recipe. Merry Christmas from Sammie.
Heck yea I’m with you! I actually have made a gingerbread brownie before that wasn’t blondie-ish but regardless it wasn’t quite fudgy enough for my preferences. I need these!
Yum!
These look gorgeous, really gooey and perfect for Christmas, thank you for the idea I’ll have to bake them one day! x