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3 Christmas Desserts from 1 Fudgy Brownie Recipe

You may be thinking about Black Friday and Christmas decorations. Are you thinking about desserts for the holidays? Would you like to know how to make three Christmas desserts from one fudgy brownie recipe?

This delicious fudgy brownie recipe is the base for three Christmas desserts.

I say fudgy because this recipe is halfway between fudge and cake-type brownies. That’s my favorite.

Now is the time to share with you how to make three desserts from one fudgy brownie recipe.

Are you starting your Christmas shopping? Today is a good day to get started.

It’s also a good day to start gathering delicious Christmas recipes for the holidays.

With this homemade fudgy brownie, you get three Christmas desserts That’s an early Christmas present.

I found this recipe several years ago in one of my favorite little cookbooks, Sweet Chic by Rachel Schifter Thebault. She has great basic cake, cookie and other sweet treat recipes that offer variety in what you can do with them.

One Fudgy Brownie: 3 Christmas Desserts

The first thing, of course, is making the brownies. This recipe is great as is, but since I can’t just make a recipe without using it in multiple ways, I have to show you how to make 3 Christmas desserts from 1 fudgy brownie recipe.

How to Make the Fudgy Brownies

TIP:  I always line brownie and bar pans with heavy foil. This way you can easily lift the brownies out of the pan. You don’t mess up the corner pieces, and you have a clean pan. This fudgy brownie recipe can be a bit sticky, so be sure to spray with nonstick spray.

STEP 1: Fill a medium saucepan with a few inches of water and bring to a simmer. Place the chocolate and room-temperature unsalted butter in a large stainless or glass bowl that fits over the saucepan and stir to melt. The bottom of the bowl should not touch the water. Adjust heat as needed to stay at a simmer. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

STEP 2: Whisk the eggs in a large stainless bowl while the chocolate is cooling.

whisking eggs

STEP 3: Combine the sugars, vanilla and salt in a medium bowl and whisk until combined.

fudgy brownie sugars

STEP 4:  Add the dry ingredients to the eggs and thoroughly whisk until incorporated.

whisking sugar and eggs

STEP 5:  Add the chocolate mixture to the egg/sugar mixture and whisk until combined.  

STEP 6: Sift the flour over the egg/sugar mixture and fold into the batter.  Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 45 – 50 minutes.

This recipe is easily doubled.  Just increase the size of the pan and increase the bake time by about 10 minutes.

Christmas desserts

Fudgy Brownies

Rachel Schifter Thebault
A delicious brownie with a fudgy consistency and rich chocolate flavor.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 2 dozen

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 1 ¼ cups semisweet chocolate chips or 8 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate
  • 4 large eggs at room temperature
  • 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • pinch of salt
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
  • Line a 9-inch square metal baking pan with parchment paper and spray lighting with nonstick cooking spray.
  • Heat the butter and chocolate in a bowl over a double boiler. Stir constantly with a rubber spatula until the butter and chocolate are fully melted and combined. Remove the bowl from the heat and cool to room temperature.
  • Whisk the eggs in a large mixing bowl. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt. Continue until they are all combined. Add the melted chocolate slowly and whisk until incorporated, about 1 minute.
  • Once the chocolate is incorporated, sift the flour into the bowl and gently stir with a rubber spatula until the flour is combined, about 1 minute.
  • Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, rotating the pan once halfway through. Before removing the pan from the oven, gently shake it – if the middle of the brownies remains still, they are done.
  • Run a small metal spatula along the sides of the pan and allow the brownies to cool in the pan to room temperature, about 1 hour.
  • Using the parchment paper, lift the brownies from the baking pan. Using a sharp chef's knife, slice the brownies into squares the size you want. Serve immediately.

Notes

NOTE: The relative sugar content in the brownies requires both parchment paper and cooking spray so the brownies will not stick to the pan.
TIP: Place the brownies in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before removing them from the pan. First, trim the edges around all sides. Reserve the trimmings. Then score the brownies lightly with your knife to mark a grid for slicing the brownies. Drag the knife through the lines of the grids to cut the brownies. Keep a damp hot towel nearby to wipe the knife clean between slices.
 
Keyword brownies, chocolate brownies, fudgy brownies
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Now let’s make some desserts.

#1 ~ Brownie Sundae Parfaits

Fudgy Brownie Parfaits

For this dessert, you will cube the brownies and place them in your glass of choice.

cubed fudgy brownies

Place a cup of chilled heavy whipping cream in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Start at low-medium speed for about 3 minutes. Slowly pour in about 1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar. Increase the speed to high. Whip the cream until semi-stiff peaks form, then turn off the mixer.

NOTE: You can add more powdered sugar if you like a sweeter whipped cream.

Transfer the whipped cream into a pastry bag with a star tip. If not using immediately, cover the whipped cream and place in the refrigerator.

You can make the parfaits up to 30 minutes ahead and put in the refrigerator.  Then add the whipped cream just before serving and garnish.  You can use any glass from a jigger to a parfait glass to a small wine glass. I used red sprinkles as garnish.

# 2 ~ Fudge Brownie Mousse Stack

I found this recipe in Southern Living Magazine.  I thought it would be perfect for our Christmas Dinner party. Instead of the given brownie recipe, I used the Fudgy Brownie Recipe. The original recipe called to smooth the white chocolate mousse on top of the brownie, but I opted to use a star tip and not flatten it.  I thought it was prettier that way. You may have extra mousse left over. I used toasted and ground hazelnuts as garnish.

Use a 2 – 3-inch cooking cutter to cut out rounds from the brownie pan.

NOTE: Reserve the brownie scraps for Dessert #3.

Make foil strips about 2-3 inches tall.  I used a 2 1/2-inch cinnamon jar from King Arthur as my guide. It’s my favorite cinnamon.

fudgy brownie forms

Wrap the strips around the Fudgy Brownie circles and paper clip. I set them on a rimmed sheet pan.

fudgy brownie rounds

Spoon in the chocolate mousse, smooth it on top and then pipe in the white chocolate mousse.

chocolate mousse
fudgy brownie dessert

Set in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to chill. Remove the foil before serving.

#3 ~ Fudgy Brownie Balls

Necessity is the mother of invention – or creative desserts.

A few years ago, the evening after our Christmas Dinner Party, we had two open houses.  The second one was our neighborhood Christmas party and everyone brings an appetizer or dessert. Our plan was to go to the first open house, then back to our house, park the car, pick up my dessert, and walk down the street to the neighborhood party.

To be honest, I was tired and didn’t feel like finding another recipe, going to the store, and making something that I could easily take to the second party.  

Then I realized I had all those Fudgy Brownie scraps from making the Brownie Mousse Stacks the day before. Hmmm, what could I do with those?

I put on some food gloves, got out one of my ice cream scoops and my scale and started rolling those Fudgy Brownie scraps into balls.  

I weighed each one at 1/4 ounce and put them on a sheet pan. I got 18 which I thought was plenty to take to the neighborhood open house. I put them in the refrigerator to chill.

fudgy brownie balls

We went to the first open house for about 1 1/2 hours, came back home, and I removed the brownie balls from the fridge.  I sprinkled them with powdered sugar and put them in a Christmas tin to take to the second open house.

fudgy brownie balls with sugar

So they looked like a truffle.  

When we got to the party I set the tin with the other desserts. An hour later all but 2 were gone!  I grabbed one so I would know how they actually tasted – I know that sounds ballsy, but I knew the brownies were delicious, so why wouldn’t the brownie balls be good?  

Then people started asking who brought the truffles, they were the best things ever.  I was really proud of myself for being so creative.  

So, the moral of this baking story? Don’t throw away those brownie scraps.  You can also crumble them over ice cream or mix them with some whipped cream.

You can double or triple the Fudgy Brownie recipe and make 3 different Christmas desserts.  Can you come up with some other variations using the same recipe?  If you do, be sure to share in the comments.

Happy Baking and Happy Christmas. Try this other super pretty and delicious Christmas dessert – Cherry Cheesecake Tartlets.

If you want to keep these 3 Christmas desserts for your Christmas sharing, be sure to PIN it to your dessert boards.

pin for later graphic in blue
Christmas desserts
Christmas Santa signature

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3 Comments

  1. Amy, thanks so much. All the deserts were easy and I loved being able to use every last bit of those brownies, which are delicious by themselves. Have a wonderful Christmas.

  2. This is an amazing idea. You can make several different desserts and save a lot of time. Thank you for joining the Holidays Celebration Link Party this week, and merry Christmas!