More Chocolate Is The Only Ingredient You Need For Better Brownies

There's little to improve upon the brownie formula. With five ingredients or less — we're not knocking a good brownie box mix — you can create luxe baked good that offers all the chocolate comfort you could want. But there's still one surefire way to make your brownies as decadent as possible: stir in some quality chopped chocolate. 

While this seems a ridiculously simple concept on its face, it can be easily forgotten when a baker is assembling their tray of brownies. After all, why would you need more chocolate in a baked good that has plenty of cocoa powder and/or melted chocolate stirred into the batter? Much of the answer lies in the significant texture that chopped chocolate can bring to the mix. Shards of chocolate will melt into perfect little pockets while the brownie bakes, then add some textural contrast when it solidifies back up during the cooling process. Plus, if you use the good stuff, these chocolate chunks will bring even more bittersweet nuance to your baked brownies. So, what are the basic rules to follow when adding a bit of chopped chocolate to your brownies?

Let's start with the type of chocolate you should choose. For this chocolate hack, quality is key, and you should select a bar from a trusted brand that notes what the cocoa percentage is. A cocoa percentage will help you categorize the richness and sweetness of the chocolate. If you'd like a nuanced, bittersweet chocolate flavor, shoot for purchasing bars with 60% to 75% cocoa, which is a nice bittersweet and dark chocolate range. For something sweeter, 35% to 50% will bring more milk and semisweet chocolate vibes. Keep in mind that you should be using baking chocolate or chocolate bars, not chocolate chips, which have preservatives that help the chip keep its rigid shape during baking. 

Next, consider how you'd like to chop your chocolate. If you want decadent pools of chocolate, go for a large, rough chop. If you desire a more uniform size, go for a slightly finer chop. Once you've hacked up your chocolate, you'll fold it into your waiting brownie batter just before baking. Once you've baked, cooled, and sliced your brownies, you'll notice immediately the pockets of chocolate hiding like buried treasure within the brownie base. It'll change the way you bake your brownies forever.