Birthday Brownies
Indulge in these delicious Birthday Brownies - a perfect combination of buttery sprinkle shortbread cookies and fudgy chocolate brownie.
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Equipment
- mixing bowls microwave safe
- hand mixer with whisk attachment or whisk
- parchment paper
- kitchen scale recommended
- rubber spatula
- offset spatula optional
- sifter
- cooling rack
Ingredients
Shortbread Cookie Crust
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened 165 g
- ½ cup sugar 100 g
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cup all purpose flour 240 g
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- ⅓ cup rainbow jimmies
Brownie Batter
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted 113 g
- ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels or dark chocolate morsels
- 1 cup all purpose flour 120 g
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder natural or black cocoa
- 1 tsp espresso powder optional but recommended
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 2 eggs room temperature
- ¾ cup sugar 150 g
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- flaky sea salt optional
Instructions
Shortbread Cookie Crust
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Add butter, sugar and vanilla in a bowl and whisk on medium until well combined - about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add flour and salt and whisk until barely combined. Dough will be crumbly.
- Add sprinkles to crumbly dough. Whisk on low until well dispersed. Dough does not need to cohere.
- Line 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper or baking spray.
- Place cookie dough into baking pan.
- Press cookie dough into baking evenly. Use an offset spatula to help evenly spread dough.
- Bake for 15 minutes. While shortbread is baking, prepare brownie batter.
Brownie Batter
- In a medium sized bowl, melt butter. Add chocolate morsels to hot butter making sure chocolate is completely covered. Allow to sit for about 2 minutes.
- While butter and chocolate sit, in a separate small bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder and salt. Whisk to evenly disperse. Set aside.
- Back to butter chocolate bowl, use a whisk or spoon to mix together until glossy. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl combine eggs, sugar and vanilla. Whisk on medium high for about 2 minutes, or if whisking by hand make sure to mix very well.
- Slowly add in chocolate butter mixture to egg sugar mixture while simultaneously whisking.
- Add dry ingredients and fold into wet ingredients using a rubber spatula. Fold by scooping along the edge towards the bottom, and then folding over towards the middle. Repeat until all the flour mixture is just combined.
- Place brownie batter on top of shortbread cookie in baking pan. Use rubber spatula to evenly distribute.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Place on cooling rack and allow to come to room temperature before slicing.
Notes
Use Kitchen Scale. The greatest advantage you can give yourself when baking is using a kitchen scale. It helps more accurately measure ingredients by weight vs. volume.
Spoon and Level Flour. If you do not have a kitchen scale, then spoon and level your flour to ensure you are not adding too much.
Room Temperature Ingredients. Make sure your butter is softened before beginning.
Have All Ingredients Ready. I like to measure out all my ingredients before I begin. This just helps ensure I am able to work more efficiently and quickly.
Hot Tip! Melting butter in the microwave can cause it to sputter because it gets hot. I like to slice my butter into cubes and microwave in increments of 15 to 20 seconds.
Hot Tip! If checking for doneness, when you insert a toothpick it will come out with batter. These brownies are meant to be fudgy! Also, make sure you allow the brownies to cool completely! If you try to cut into them while still warm then you'll have a runny brownie.
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