So, let me paint a picture for you. I was wearing a bright flower dress, wearing an apron, baking my Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Squares, looking very Stepford Wife-ish... but I was dancing like a fool around my kitchen blaring the new Michael Buble CD, because I think the magical ingredient to some of the best cooking is dance... or love, or joy, or something like that. Anyways, the big secret ingredient to my Mocha Chocolate Chip Brownies isn't dance, or love, or joy, but...
**drum roll please**
Starbucks Via Ready Brew!
Yeah, you know the stuff. Every time you've gone in a Starbucks in the past month, you've been harassed by belligerent baristas to buy it. You can't turn on the T.V. without seeing an avant garde, yet accessible commercial about it. And granted, when you tried it in the store it probably tasted like dirty hot dog water, but it is one of the most useful baking ingredients to make a plain old batch of brownies into Mocha Chocolate Chip Brownies!
Starbucks Via Ready Brew is %100 natural micro-ground coffee, so unlike other instant coffee's, you're not putting coffee flavored chemicals into your body. And while I'm a total coffee snob, and think that VIA will never taste like real coffee, (my mouth is watering at the thought of making a batch of Christmas Blend tomorrow morning for breakfast!) it tastes about a million times better than any other brand out there! The other thing I like about it is that it is so finely ground that it won't add any weird kind of texture to the batter.
Don't worry, if you don't like coffee, you cant omit it! I just like coffee with my... you know... oxygen, so it seemed like the perfect chance to mix it with my other passion: chocolate! I find that adding one pack of VIA doesn't really add TOO much of an offensive coffee flavor, but it does add a really nice depth to the chocolate in the brownies.
Mocha Chocolate Chip Brownies
Makes 16
What you'll need:
1/4 cup margarine or butter, melted
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 large egg
2 large egg whites
1 packet of Starbucks Via Ready Brew
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1. PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES- In a large bowl, mix together melted margarine or butter, and sugar until well combines. Add egg, egg whites, vanilla and coffee and stir until throughly blended and smooth.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking bowder and salt. Add to the egg mixture and stir just until combined. (Remember, JUST until combined! You don't want tough brownies!)
3. Add chocolate chips.
4. Spray an 8" x 8" pan with nonstick spray. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan, but center is slightly soft. Cool in the pan on a wire rack, and after about 10 minutes, you'll be able to treat yourself to warm, dark, chocolaty brownies!
These brownies pair well with a GIANT cup of coffee, guitars, and sweet action/adventure movies. Enjoy!
**TIP**TIP**Hey! I have two tips for you this time!** TIP** TIP**
1. If you sift your cocoa into the flour mixture, you have a better chance of hitting that nice soft, dense, chewy brownie texture we're aiming for!
2. If you toss your chocolate chips with a little bit of flour, just so their coated, and THEN mix it into the rest of your dough, they won't sink to the bottom of your brownies! This also works with loaf recipes if you want to add dried fruit or nuts to it!
Next from leah michelle: a fast, healthy breakfast idea that's guaranteed to keep you full until lunch: Mighty Morning Muesli!
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