Posted on Monday, 26th July 2010 by Grace
I am so happy that I finally tried (with hesitation) this recipe for White Chocolate Brownies with Dark Chocolate Chips. These gourmet brownies were an unexpected flavourful surprise. I should have known you could never go wrong with any homemade brownie, be it white chocolate or dark chocolate.
The countdown is on, less than two weeks to go to my niece’s wedding. V and her fiance were in town for the weekend and they popped by for a long, overdue visit. It was great to see them both. I have yet to meet a couple that were as calm as these two are so close to their wedding day. Wish the same could be said about my brother. He’s in a mad rush getting the house prepared for wedding day pictures, I’m thinking he should have started a little sooner.
I am so excited and wish the day would just get here. We have a huge family and quite a few are coming in from out of town, it’s going to be fantastic to see everyone.
I’ve started my baking already. I want to have some treats tucked away so I have more time for visiting. Bars or squares are perfect, they are easy to make and they freeze beautifully and they are enjoyed by all.
I am sure you have all noticed I am a huge chocolate lover but rarely use white chocolate bars. Technically, white chocolate really isn’t chocolate because it doesn’t contain cocoa solids. I have tried it in two recipes in the past (White Chocolate Pots de Creme and White Chocolate Mousse) and was pleasantly surprised with the taste of the desserts, both quickly became family favourites.
I thought I would venture out again and tackle the much loved brownie. I was a little hesitant, wasn’t really sure how it was going to taste, would it be too sweet? Yet again I was pleasantly surprised.
The one thing I missed about preparing the regular dark Fudgy Chocolate Brownies was the ease of melting the chocolate. You must be very careful when melting white chocolate, take care not to get even a speck of water in the bowl and pay careful mind to the temperature of the water. If you’re not careful the white chocolate will split and you’ll have an oily, separated mess. If this happens, take it off the heat and add a little butter or a little more chocolate and whisk to re-emulsify and hopefully you’ll be able to save the mixture.
Starting with a good-quality white chocolate (making sure cocoa butter is one of the first listed ingredients), will help ensure success. I started by melting my butter first over barely simmering water, when it was halfway melted I added in half of the chocolate, using a spatula I constantly stirred the chocolate mixture and when it was almost completely melted I pulled it off the heat and added in the rest of the chocolate and continued to stir until it was smooth.
White chocolate is intensely sweet, the recipe called for 1 cup of sugar, too much for my liking so I reduced it by half. I may even try going to 1/4 cup next time. I couldn’t go without adding a little rich, dark chocolate so I folded in some bitter-sweet chocolate chips.
Wow, end result, a delicious, fudgy brownie!
White Chocolate Brownies
(adapted from Anna Olsen, Sugar, Food Network Canada)
Makes 12 squares
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, cut in pieces
- 8 ounces white chocolate, chopped
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- heaping 1/2 cup bitter-sweet chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Butter and line a 9-inch baking pan with butter and parchment.
- Place butter in a medium-sized, heat-proof bowl. Place bowl over a pot of barely simmering water, melt butter halfway. Add 4 ounces of the white chocolate and stir until chocolate has melted. Remove from heat and add in the remaining 4 ounces of chocolate. Stir until chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth.
- Place sugar and eggs in a large bowl. Using a hand-held electric mixer on high speed beat sugar and eggs until pale and thick, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium and add vanilla and chocolate mixture, beat just to combine.
- In a separate bowl, using a fine-mesh sieve, sift flour, baking powder and salt. Add to egg mixture and beat until smooth.
- Add chocolate chips, using a spatula, stir to just combine (do not over stir).
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into centre comes out clean. Place on wire rack to cool completely. Remove from pan and cut into squares.
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Tags: bars, brownies, dessert, squares, white chocolate
Posted in Baking & Pastry, Baking Mise en Place, Custards, Creams & Mousses, Eggs, Pastry Doughs & Batter, Recipes
Comments (24)
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July 26th, 2010 at 2:35 pm
That’s the thing about us guys, we leave organizing stuff to the last minute but I’m sure your brother will manage. These white brownies sound complicated but look so delicious. Good luck with the wedding Grace.
July 26th, 2010 at 2:41 pm
Just beautiful! Love these pics and the recipe. It’s almost impossible to find white chocolate that’s vegan, but I’m going to keep trying!
July 26th, 2010 at 4:38 pm
Wow! These looks amazing since I’m not a white chocolate lover… but my other half is.. So I must make these for her! Thank you for sharing these brownies!
Happy Baking!
July 26th, 2010 at 5:03 pm
Wow, everything you make looks so good! I bet these would amazing with oreos mixed in!
July 26th, 2010 at 5:13 pm
Thank you Ryan you’re probably right but he is scrambling right now, I think it’s hilarious, you’d think this was his 1st getting married and it’s his 3rd.
July 26th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
Thanks Marly, Liana almost never touches any of the sweets, but she gave these a thumbs up!
July 26th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
Thank you Lee
July 26th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
Sarah, why didn’t I think of that, Matt would go nuts, he loves his oreos.
July 27th, 2010 at 7:32 pm
These look fantastic!
August 7th, 2010 at 1:36 am
I simply love the contrast of white chocolate brownies with dark chocolate chips! I have never seen or tried white chocolate brownies so this is so intriguing and now I have to make it soon!
August 7th, 2010 at 2:22 am
yummmy!! those look amazing!
August 7th, 2010 at 2:37 am
Thank you Lynne, the taste was a nice surprise, so delicious.
August 7th, 2010 at 2:37 am
Pam I think you will enjoy them, my daughter rarely eats sweets but she just loved these.
November 14th, 2010 at 12:17 pm
Hi Grace I am hoping to make this recipe in a day or two.. could you be kind enough to tell me how many pieces you were able to get out of this recipe? 15 or 20?
November 14th, 2010 at 5:44 pm
Hello and so sorry I’ve been a little under the weather today and just checking my comments. It cuts into 12 squares but they are fairly large so I think you could probably get 15 out of the pan. Enjoy!
December 9th, 2010 at 10:38 pm
These are stunning!
February 14th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
YUM! I love everything with white chocolate in it…and the dark chocolate chips will entice the rest of the family!
February 14th, 2011 at 3:11 pm
These look delicious, I love the contrast of the white and dark chocolate. So pretty too!
February 14th, 2011 at 4:39 pm
I love brownies and yours look irresistible!
March 8th, 2011 at 8:59 pm
[...] Not only were these brownies amazing they were sinfully delicious!Another family favourite is my White Chocolate Brownies with Dark Chocolate Chips.Robert’s Absolute Best Brownies(from David Lebovitz, Ready for Dessert)6 tablespoons (3 [...]
May 30th, 2011 at 7:54 am
Thank you for this recipe. I wanted to make brownies but only had white chocolate. I added half a cup of coconut (because I love coconut) and they’re absolutely delicious.
January 8th, 2012 at 1:36 pm
[...] White Chocolate Brownies with Dark Chocolate Chips – Recipes | La Mia Vita Dolce
March 1st, 2012 at 3:17 pm
The pictures for this recipe made my water. These brownies looked so good I had to try them. They came out great and I will be making them again…and again….and again!
Thank you
April 26th, 2012 at 8:00 pm
I just made these and they are every bit good as they look!