Fudgey Hazelnut Brownies

A few weeks ago Jeff went on a cruise. During this cruise I made a lot of recipes which I then didn't post....
Well, that's not true. I made the gnocci, and I posted it. But after that I got distracted and worked a few days and then he came back (and left again, on a trip to France, for he won a contest at Mofilm. His is the AT&T spot, which they might actually use!), and then he went to Vegas. And to pass the time and ease my silly loneliness I played a lot of Sims 3 and hung out with friends.

I still baked and cooked though.
I just didn't post.

I'm sorry, my readers, I'm sorry. But during his cruise I got this massive craving for brownies. I mean, if you kind of miss your SO and you're playing a lot of video games and feeling a bit lonely, there's nothing better than like brownies and ice cream, right?

So I made the brownies!

Chocolate hazelnut is one of my favourite flavor combinations. When Christmas comes around I like to make a lot of this kind of stuff-- and frangelico also happens to be one of my favourite liqueurs. So I figured this would be a good chance to use some of the huge bottle I have sitting on top of my fridge (should that go in my fridge, I wonder?).

I originally meant to make half this recipe, but three quarters of the way through I added the "full amount" of an ingredient, so had to go back and double the rest of the ingredients to match it. I think I added too much flour-- and that would've been quite a bready brownie.

Now, I don't know about you, but I don't really like cakey brownies. I like fudgey brownies. My brownies should be like fudge with a little bit of floury-ness. Cakeyness. I like them best when they have a crackly top, but these didn't as much (I think they may have been too rich in oils). But I love it when the insides are warm and rich and gooey.

These turned out pretty fudgey, and were really good fresh. I even burnt the corners of 3 of them and they were still delicious. I gave a lot of them away (many of them to my friend Brian), and froze a few of them to give to Jeff when he returned. And they stood up well to the freezer test. That's two recent desserts I've tried that with and they've stood up well! I may have to freeze things more often, I often forget to use my freezer.

But yeah, these brownies really hit the spot. Dreamy sigh. I may have to make another batch soon.


Fudgey Hazelnut Brownies
Inspired in large part by the recipe on the back of the Hershey's Chocolate box. ;)

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 tablespoons hazelnut oil
2 tablespoons Frangelico
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Oven at 350 Degrees Fahrenheit.

Grease a 9" baking pan. Melt together the butter, hazelnut oil, and unsweetened chocolate. Mix in the sugar, vanilla, and Frangelico. Add eggs, and beat well. Stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Mix gradually into the egg mixture. Stir in chocolate chips, and spread batter evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until the brownies begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. Cool completely before serving (if you can manage to. ;) )