How to Make Brownies With Cocoa Powder

Making brownies is a pretty simple task and it has a very rewarding recipe since there isn’t a lot of room for it to go wrong — you just have to make sure you bake them for the right amount of time (see step 9). And the best part is that it’s a very versatile recipe, so you can add or skip components, like adding walnuts or extra chocolate. The 5-Minute Crafts team went for all the add-ons, but in the end, you can choose almonds instead of walnuts, depending on what you like.

What you’ll need

• A rectangular or square mold baking dish (the one we used in this recipe measures at 28 cm x 21cm x 5 cm)
• A kneading machine
• A measuring cup
• 1 bowl
• A fine sieve
• A kitchen scraper

Ingredients

• 1 cup of flour
• 1 cup of cocoa
• 2 cups of sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup of melted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla essence
• 1 cup of chopped nuts (optional)
• Chocolate chips to taste (optional)

Instructions

1. Dice the butter into small cubes and put them in a cup. Heat the butter in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Check to make sure that all the butter melted properly, and if it didn’t, heat it again for about 30 seconds and save it for later.

2. Place the sugar and an egg in a bowl and beat until smooth. Now add another egg, and beat it again. Repeat the same procedure, always adding one egg at a time and beating until everything is well mixed.

3. With the help of a strainer, sift the cocoa over the same bowl. Then slowly beat it until it’s combined thoroughly with the mixture of eggs and sugar.

4. In the same way, sift the flour over the bowl and beat it slowly to incorporate it with the other ingredients.

5. Add the baking powder, salt, vanilla essence, and melted butter. Beat it to mix everything well until it looks homogenous.

6. Chop your walnuts and add them to the mixture. Using a spatula or a kitchen scraper, mix everything again.

7. Pour the mixture into a previously floured mold, and use the kitchen scraper to spread it all over the baking dish evenly. It’s important that it’s spread evenly to avoid overcooking or undercooking some parts.

8. If you want an even more chocolatey flavor, add some pieces of your favorite chocolate on top. If you do add them, make sure the whole mixture has chocolate pieces.

9. Preheat your oven to 356°F for about 10 minutes. Then put the baking dish in and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the mixture’s surface is no longer raw.

• If you’re not sure when to take out the brownies, you can insert a toothpick right in the center of the dish. By doing that, you’ll notice if the mixture needs a few more minutes to cook or not. If the toothpick comes out dry, it means you have to take the dish out of the oven.

10. Allow it to cool for 1 hour before removing it from the mold or baking dish. Once it’s no longer too warm, cut it into pieces (you can decide how big of a piece you want).

• If it’s very difficult to take the brownies out of the dish or you think they’ll break, you can cut them directly in the mold and remove them, one by one, using a spatula.