White Chocolate Chunk & Pretzel Fudge Brownies

  • White Chocolate Pretzel Brownies

    You’re the type of person who either loves the whole sweet & salty combo, or who couldn’t care less. Let me tell you- this post is for my fellow friends who love a good dash of salt to balance the massive quantities of sweet.   As I’ve said before- how can you know what’s sweet unless you have something salty to compare it to?  (I think someone famous or smart actually said that before me, but you get my point.)

    So here’s the situation in these kick-ass sweet & salty brownies:  you basically take the World’s Greatest Fudge Brownie (yes, you can purchase an apron or tea towel with the W.G.F. Brownie recipe on it, I’m so glad you asked!), and then stuff the crap out of it with premium white chocolate chunks or chips, and a gratuitous amount of pretzel pieces.  You then cover the finished brownie with a bit of ganache, and press pretzels into the top.  With every bite of crunchy, salty pretzel, you get a rich, smooth piece of white chocolate to bring you back to the reason you wanted a brownie to begin with… sweet, glorious sugar.  (Oh, and the chocolate.  Sweet, glorious chocolate.)

    Adapted from my World’s Greatest Fudge Brownie recipe…

    4 ounces chopped unsweetened chocolate

    (the better the chocolate, the better the brownie)

    3/4 cup unsalted butter

    2 cups sugar

    2 1/2 teaspoons real vanilla (use the real stuff)

    3 lightly beaten eggs

    1 cup flour

    1 1/2 teaspoons salt

    1 tablespoon instant espresso powder (optional)

    3/4 cup white chocolate chunks or chips

    3/4 cup pretzel pieces (plus a few pieces left for top of brownies as garnish)

    GANACHE TOPPING:

    1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon semi-sweet chocolate chips

    1/2 cup whipping cream

    1. Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 9 x 9″ foil-lined pan, or a 9″ cake pan.
    2. Melt chocolate & butter in microwave for 2:15 minutes and stir.
    3. Stir in sugar, then vanilla, then eggs, then salt, espresso powder (optional) & flour.
    4. Stir in chocolate chunks and pretzel pieces.
    5. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 33 – 36 minutes (until center is just set).  Allow to cool.
    6. GANACHE:  Place chocolate in a medium bowl.  Heat cream in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until it just begins to boil; remove from heat immediately and pour over chocolate.  Wait 5 minutes then whisk/stir ganache into a smooth mixture.  Pour/spread evenly over cooled brownie base and stick pretzel pieces into wet frosting, before it sets.  Allow to set for at least an hour before slicing and serve at room temperature.

    Tips:

    • Try to find premium white chocolate if you can… I buy a block of Callebaut brand and chop chunks with a serrated bread knife.  I have found premium white chips at Whole Foods, which makes life way easier.  You know what?  Who cares if you can’t find the good stuff.  As long as you like the taste of the white chocolate when you’re snacking on it, it’ll be great in the recipe.  (White chocolate can sometimes taste cloying, you know?  Synthetic, or something.  Like I said- if you can eat seven handfuls of it and still go back for more, it’s good to go.)
    • The ganache frosting is so optional, but also so so so good.  If you don’t make it this time around, just promise me you will at some point soon.  Like tomorrow.  (Ganache rocks the house, really.  And it’s so easy.  Check it out in the Chocolate Ganache Tart with Pecan Crust… or the Mint Chocolate Ganache Covered Fudge Brownies.  Ganache even morphs into Truffles– check ’em out.)
    • Ganache bonus: since you’re only using 1/2 cup of whipping cream in the recipe, you’ll have more left over from your little carton to whip up and use on any other dessert that screams for a garnish- like the Haute Chocolate or Pumpkin Pie with Spiced Whipped Cream.  Or you could just eat the whipped cream on it’s own, as long as you whip it with a bit of confectioners’ sugar.  Yum.
    • Square pan or round cake pan?  These are the hardest questions in life.  I wanted to bring even more excitement to this recipe so I used a cake pan and sliced the brownies like cake… but it’s up to you.
    • Slicing through the pretzels on the top of the brownies will cause some to crumble.  Just so you know.  I don’t think it matters.  No one will refuse a piece because of a broken pretzel.  And if they do, they don’t deserve to eat your baking anyway.
    • Consult the original Brownie post for tips & tricks…
    • Enjoy!
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    April 27th, 2013 | More Sweets Please | 3 Comments | Tags: ,

3 Responses and Counting...

  • Regina @ SpecialtyCakeCreations 04.27.2013

    Oh how I love sweet and salty! At least now I do (until about a year ago I just didn’t get it). Now that I am back in North America and have an oven again I just have to give your fudge brownies a try. And maybe I’ll just stuff them too ;)

  • More Sweets Please

    Welcome back to North America- looking forward to some travel-inspired recipes from you!

  • Regina @ SpecialtyCakeCreations

    So I finally got around to making these brownies. Instead of chocolate chips and pretzels I used chocolate dipped pretzels ;)
    Love the sweet + saltiness! And those brownies…oh my goodness! They are amazing. I don’t think I’ll ever need another recipe

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