This week we celebrate my Dad's birthday. Not only is he the best dad, but he is an amazing person - smart, patient, caring, strong...there are so many adjectives I could use to describe him. He has definitely been the biggest influencer in my life. Even when I was a wayward teenage girl rolling my eyes at his lectures, his words were still getting through and shaping my mind, my personality, my work ethic. Without him, there is not doubt I would be a completely different person today.
Besides all of the amazing things listed above, my dad is also the biggest fan of my baked goods. He's always willing to "man-up" and finish off a batch of cookies, so I have an excuse to bake again. He is always willing to taste test, even if things arrive to him in crumbs (eh-em, UPS). And his only complaint is ever that I just didn't make enough of whatever I send him.
So to celebrate a wonderful man with a big sweet tooth, I made an extra special batch of brownies with extra effort and care put into decorating them. You can easily make this recipe into regular brownie bars, by topping the brownies with the white chocolate while still in the pan. Then chill and cut them once the topping has set.
Ingredients
For the brownies
- ½ Cup Dairy-Free Dark Chocolate Chips
- 3 ounces Semisweet Bakers Chocolate chopped
- ½ Cup Butter Flavored Coconut Oil
- ⅔ Cup GF All Purpose Flour I use Bob's Red Mill
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Xanthan Gum
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 3 Large Eggs
For the fudge topping
- ½ Cup Hazelnuts roasted and roughly chopped
- 1 Cup Justin's Nutbutter Chocolate Hazelnut Spread
- ¼ Cup Non-Dairy Milk
For the shell
- 16 ounces Dairy Free White Chocolate it's actually candy coating, available here
- ½ DF Dark Chocolate Chips
- ½ Cup Hazelnuts roasted and finely chopped
Instructions
For the brownies
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9x9 pan with parchment paper.
- Combine chocolate chips and bakers chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Heat for 2 minutes on 50% power. Add the coconut oil, and cook an additional 60-90 seconds on 50% power until everything is melted. Stir well. Set aside to cool a bit.
- In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and xanthum gum. Stir well and set aside.
- Pour melted chocolate into the bowl of an electric mixer. Add sugar. Beat on medium speed until well combine 1-2 minutes. Scrape down bowl. Add vanilla and 1 egg. Mix on lowest setting until egg is incorporated. Add 2 additional eggs, one at a time, mixing between each egg. Scrape down bowl. Pour in flour mixture and stir on lowest setting until incorporated.
- Spread evenly into prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan.
- When the brownies are nearly done baking, prepare the fudge topping.
For the fudge topping
- Combine nutbutter and milk in a microwave safe bowl. Heat for 1 minutes. Stir well. Add in chopped hazelnuts. Drop large dollops on top of the cooked brownies. Spread evenly using an offset spatula.
- **If you want to make truffle style bites, you will need to chill the brownies now and return to the recipe after a few hours. Then cut the brownies into bites before you top with the coating. If you prefer to just top the brownies, continue now and chill after all steps are completed.**
For the coating
- Place white chocolate coins in a microwave safe bowl. Cook on 50% power until melted, 2-3 minutes. Pour melted white chocolate over brownies.
- In a second bowl, melt the dark chocolate chips. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the white chocolate topping. Sprinkle with hazelnuts. Chill until chocolate is set. Cut and serve.