These brownies are epic. And intense, and just what your sweet tooth is craving. Or is it mine? With swirls of coconut, walnuts, dulce de leche, and peanut butter, they're unforgettable and easy to make.
I debated whether to call them loaded or kitchen sink brownies or just over-the-top squares; maybe all apply. After a day or two, they turn almost candy-like, so they might as well go into the fudge section.
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Over-the-top brownies
I went overboard with this recipe, but it turns out I like going to extremes when it comes to brownies. They are loaded with interesting ingredients, rich and decadent. Truly.
It's an overdose of gooeyness, add-ons, and simply wonderful sweet ingredients that you might not think combine at first. But they do.
They're a mash-up of some of my favorite squares. If these fantastic coconut chocolate brownies decided to join the very popular peanut butter brownies and the delectable brownies with dulce de leche, this would be their love child.
There's a bonus because they changed its texture over the next few days. They firmed up a bit and, since they do have a lot of sugar (who are we kidding), ended up being something like candy brownie bites. Maybe that should've been the name.
And though I love a good swirled brownie and will always believe that one can never have too many brownie recipes, I thought there would be too many flavors clashing between them. And be too much. But they work if you like a sweet bar.
Testing Notes
- Use unsweetened shredded coconut. These are already very sweet bars; we don't need to add more with the coconut layer.
- Semisweet chocolate is a must to counteract the rest of the sweet ingredients.
- Make sure to line the pan with parchment paper. It'll make everything much easier when removing the brownies.
Process steps
As with most, this is a one-bowl recipe that doesn't even require an electric beater. Just a bowl and a whisk.
Melt and mix
The butter and chocolate are melted in a large bowl. I do it in the microwave for convenience, but you can also use a double boiler.
Sugar is always added at this point, before the eggs, to take down the temperature in case it's too hot. If you add the eggs to the hot butter, you might get some of it curdled before it's incorporated.
Brownie batter
It's a regular, everyday brownie mixture.
You spread it in the prepared pan and level the top a bit. It's creamy and silky. A wonderful base for all the toppings we're about to flood it with!
Add-ons
It's what sets these brownies apart.
Peanut butter, dulce de leche and shredded coconut are sprinkled and added in dollops.
Gooey additions
Peanut butter and dulce de leche are added in dollops on top of the already marbled coconut chocolate batter.
Marbling
The last step is to lightly swirl the final add-ons with the brownie batter. But don't overdo it. You want to distinguish the different toppings. Using the tip of a knife to marble is the easiest way.
Easy Loaded Brownies (so gooey)
Ingredients
- 9 ounces semisweet chocolate
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups brown sugar, light or dark
- 1 ¼ cups white sugar
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, sifted
- ⅓ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ⅔ cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
- ¾ cup smooth peanut butter
- ¾ cup regular dulce de leche
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º F (180º C).
- Grease an 8-inch (20cm) square baking pan for thicker brownies or a 9-inch pan (23 cm) for thinner brownies. Line the bottom and sides with parchment paper (see Notes below).
- Melt 9 ounces semisweet chocolate and 1 cup unsalted butter until smooth and reserve. See Notes below.
- Mix 4 eggs, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 ¼ cups brown sugar and 1 ¼ cups white sugar in a large mixing bowl and stir with a whisk until combined. Pour the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture. Stir until well mixed.
- Fold 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour into the chocolate mixture and stir just until well combined. Do not overmix.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan, smooth the top and sprinkle ⅓ cup unsweetened shredded coconut and ⅔ cup walnuts on top.
- Push them down with a spatula or wooden spoon and marble them with the brownie mixture.
- Drop ¾ cup smooth peanut butter and ¾ cup regular dulce de leche in mounds or dollops on top of the batter and swirl lightly with the tip of a knife. It is messy and irregular.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes; turn the temperature down to 160º and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes; they should be a bit jiggly in the center when you shake the pan. Don't overbake them. This depends a lot on your oven. It might take more time.
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. Remove the whole block from the pan with the help of the parchment paper, and cut into squares.
Notes
Adapted from Tea with Bea, by Bea's of Bloomsbury
Phil says
Could you bake these in an 8” square pan?
Paula Montenegro says
Yes Phil, you can.
Lee says
I have tried to make these brownies twice. I am a stickler for following directions to the letter. For some reasons, they are not coming out right. 350 degrees for 15 minutes doesn't seem like a lot of time at baking temperatures. After 20 minutes at the reduced temp of 175 degrees (my stove doesn't go below that temperature), the brownies are still very watery. I wound up overcooking the first batch because after over 1.5 ours at 175, they were still soupy. I raised the temp and wound up overcooking them. The second batch, we took them out after over 2 hours at the lower temp and still they were too moist. What are we doing wrong? They still tasted fantastic, but I want them firmer after cooling.
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Lee! From what you write I would think the thermostat in your oven is not working or something like that. From my experience, any brownie left for an hour or more would be burned and dry and hard to eat. Can it be that the oven is so low (even though it says it's at the right temperature) that it's not cooking? I would check that with an external oven thermometer first. Hope this helps.