October is Co-op Month, and we’re celebrating with these delicious and decadent mocha brownies.
Made with rich and full-bodied chocolate and coffee from a Worker-Owned Co-op, Equal Exchange, these brownies are perfect for crushing all your chocolatey cravings. The coffee perfectly compliments and elevates the deep flavor of the chocolate, with a creamy frosting to round it all out. Enjoy it for an afternoon treat, or as a late night snack by substituting with decaf.
Ingredients for the coffee-infused butter:
½ cup butter
2 tablespoons Equal Exchange ground coffee
Ingredients for the brownies:
3 ounces Equal Exchange Total Eclipse 92% chocolate
1 ⅓ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
⅔ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup Equal Exchange semisweet chocolate chips
Ingredients for the frosting:
3 tablespoons Equal Exchange Baking Cocoa
3 tablespoons Equal Exchange strong brewed coffee
3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 ½ cup powdered sugar
Instructions:
First, you’re going to make your coffee-infused butter.
In a small saucepan, melt your butter over medium heat.
Add your ground coffee into the saucepan and stir to saturate the coffee in the butter.
Allow it to simmer for 30 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally.
Strain coffee from the butter using a sieve. It’s ok if some sediment remains, you just want to filter out the large grounds.
If you’re not using the butter right away, pour it into an airtight container and put it in the refrigerator for later.
If you are using the butter right away, you can move onto making your brownies.
Preheat your oven to 350?F.
Grease an 8-inch by 8-inch pan with butter and set it aside.
Next, you’ll use a double boiler to melt your chocolate. If you don’t have a double boiler, you can make one using a large pot and a heat-safe bowl that fits on top of the pot without falling inside of it.
Take the large pot and fill it up halfway with water. Bring the water to a boil and place the heat-safe bowl over the pot.
In the heat-safe bowl, add your chocolate.
Once the chocolate has melted, add your butter and whisk together until everything is liquid and incorporated.
Add your sugar and vanilla extract to the chocolate mixture and whisk until the sugar is saturated with the chocolate.
Remove the bowl from the heat and allow it to cool down while you prepare your dry ingredients.
Measure out your flour and add it to a small bowl. Add your salt to the bowl and whisk lightly to combine. Set aside.
Add your eggs to your chocolate mixture, one at a time, and whisk until fully incorporated.
Pour your dry ingredients into the chocolate mixture and mix until combined.
Fold in your chocolate chips.
Pour the brownie batter into your prepared baking pan and bake for 30 minutes.
While your brownies are baking, you can make your frosting.
Cream your butter until smooth.
Beat in your cocoa powder and coffee until mostly combined.
Add in your powdered sugar ½ cup at a time until you’ve used it all. Set it aside in the refrigerator.
Let your brownies cool completely before frosting them.
Decorate to your desire and enjoy!
-Delaney Blomstrom
