Today I give you…
Fudgey chocolate brownies.
Covered in fudgey chocolate frosting…
If you couldn’t tell, the theme of today’s post is chocolate fudge.
When I think of these brownies, I think of author Judy Blume, who wrote an entire series of books about Fudge: Double Fudge, Super Fudge, and Fudge-a-Mania. I’ll never forget my excitement when my third-grade teacher announced to the class that the next book we’d be reading was called Super Fudge.
A book all about chocolate??
Alas, it was really a book about an eleven-year-old boy. Each day I read intently, waiting to get to the part about the chocolate fudge. It never came… but at some point in the series, the little boy did eat a turtle.
Yeah, not the same thing. 😕
Unlike with the books, these brownies really are all about the fudge. What you see is what you get.
Fudge!
And no turtles.
Cosmic Fudge Brownies
Brownies:
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder (40g)
- 1 cup spelt or all-purpose flour (140g) (Arrowhead Mills gf does also work.)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp instant coffee granules (optional)
- 1 cup xylitol or sugar (or coconut sugar) (190g)
- optional: 1 cup mini chocolate chips
- 6 tbsp silken tofu (For soy-free, you can use my black bean brownies recipe instead.)
- 2/3 cup applesauce (160g)
- 2 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract (10g)
- 1/2 cup coconut or vegetable oil (80g)
- 2 tbsp milk of choice (30g)
Frosting:
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder (40g)
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup or agave (30g) (you can sub liquid stevia to taste)
- 1/2 cup liquid virgin coconut oil (75g)
Preheat oven to 325 and grease a 9×13 baking pan. In a large bowl, combine all brownie dry ingredients and stir well. In a separate bowl, combine all brownie liquid ingredients and stir well. Pour wet into dry and stir until evenly combined (but do not overmix), then transfer to prepared baking pan and cook 32-34 minutes. Allow to cool, and mix frosting ingredients together to form a sauce. Spread sauce over the brownies, then fridge or freeze 10-20 minutes and the sauce magically transforms into fudgey chocolate frosting! These brownies taste much richer the next day, after the flavors have had a chance to intensify.
Question of the Day:
Do you remember any of the books you read as a child?
I read all of Ann M. Martin’s Babysitter’s Club books, R.L. Stein’s Goosebumps books, and Beverly Cleary’s Ramona books, and was partial to series books. I hate when you start to develop a real relationship with a character only to have the book end.
P.S. Thanks to your feedback, the recipe page is now updated so that all recipes in a category appear on the same page.
Oh books…. I was all about The Babysitter’s Club, Nancy Drew, The Boxcar Children, and Little House on the Prairie books!
I used to LOVE eating these at lunchtime in high school! Thanks for re-creating a favorite!
OMG!!! Katie you have NO idea how excited I am!! Little Debbie brownies have to be my biggest guilty pleasure EVER. I haven’t had one since I went vegan, so I am literally ecstatic. Thank you!!
Also, I remember reading the Fudge and Babysitter’s Club books too! Whenever someone mentions a book that I read as a child it brings back all these nostalgic memories…alas, I don’t have as much time to read anymore, but when I do, I often need suggestions because I never can decide on what to read! :p
I read TONS of books as a kid. I read all the American Girl books, Babysitter’s Club, Sweet Valley High, Nancy Drew, most of the Beverly Cleary books, etc…
One summer the library did a book club for kids and for every so many books you read you would earn a slice of pizza from the local pizza place. I read constantly because I wanted to get FULL pizzas. I think I ended up getting 2 full ones plus an extra slice when it was all over. Good memories 🙂
Mmm… these look so good! I remember eating Little Debbie’s Cosmic Brownies all the time as a kids, and while they were tasty they’re a little scary now. I’m pretty sure they could survive a nuclear holocaust!
I was really into the Little House on the Prairie as a kid, I even own the box set of books!
Can you provide more details about the type of tofu you used (firm, soft, light, regular, etc…)? Thanks! I really want to make these as my daughter loves Cosmic brownies and I cringe at the thought reading the ingredients and nutrituion facts…
You can use silken OR you can blend mori-nu silken firm with the other liquid ingredients prior to mixing.
LOVE these brownies and Judy Blume as well! My all-time favorite books were the Babysitter’s Club 🙂
Is there a substitution for the tofu? More applesauce or something else? Thank you!!
A substitution is listed in the recipe ingredients 🙂
Hey Katie,
I used to eat Cosmic Brownies all-the-time at my grandmother’s house when I was little 🙂 But they are SO bad for you! Nice thinking to make a healthy copycat recipe!
I was wondering, would you consider these brownies more cake-y or chewy???
Thanks!
I guess somewhere in between!
Thanks, Katie!
I was so excited to see these! When you had the fudge bars guest post a couple of weeks ago I thought, “those look good, but what I really want is a homemade Little Debbie fudge brownie!” You read my mind and I can’t wait to try them. Thanks!
These look so rich! Love how they look so pretty in the photo with the sprinkles.
I think I’ll try making these with pumpkin instead of applesauce. I have about 10 cans leftover, so hopefully it will work out just fine:)
When I was a kid, I loved Jillian Jiggs and the Pig book. Forget the name now ha.