Cranberry Brownies with Pretzels
Fudgy, Chocolatey Brownies
Jump to RecipeThis is my go-to brownie recipe. I usually change up the add-ins, and this time I used cranberries and pretzels. The brownie base uses a lot of dark chocolate, which makes them gooey, fudgy, and rich. It’s delicious on its own, but adding fruits like dried cranberries brings acidity and fruitiness that balances out the richness of the chocolate, while the pretzels add crunch and a light saltiness that enhances the chocolate flavor and balances out the sweetness.
You can also add crunch by roughly chopping up roasted nuts like hazelnuts, walnuts or almonds. Or swirl in some peanut butter and add some roasted peanuts. Peanut and chocolate is a great combination. For fruitiness, I can imagine berries like raspberries or blueberries work very well. Or pitted cherries maybe? The sourness of the fruit is a great contrast to the richness of the chocolate. Feel free to experiment with your favorite ingredients, and find your perfect brownie combination with the recipe below. They are very easy and quick to make.
Cranberry Brownies with Pretzels
Course: Dessert, Sweet, Brownies12
servings20
minutes180
CelsiusFudgy, chocolatey brownies with cranberries and pretzels for the perfect balance of rich, sweet, and salty.
Ingredients
200g dark chocolate
120g butter
130g caster sugar
50g brown sugar
1tsp vanilla extract or whatever vanilla you have available
3 eggs
120g flour
½ tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
100g dried cranberries or other berries (optional)
20g pretzels or pretzel sticks (optional)
50g dark chocolate chopped (optional)
Directions
- Melt chocolate and butter in a bowl over steaming water. Don’t let the bowl touch the water and don’t boil the water too much. Stir occasionally to speed up the process. Let it cool down slightly.
- Heat up the oven to 180C.
- Whisk together eggs, caster sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract to create a lot of air.
- Fold in the chocolate and butter mixture. Make sure the chocolate has cooled down enough so the eggs don’t cook.
- Add flour, baking powder and salt and gently fold it in. Remember, we don’t want to lose all the air (check out my baking basics for more info on this).
- Mix in cranberries, pretzels and chocolate chunks if you feel like it. But it will add some texture and balance out the richness of the chocolate with the sourness of the fruit and the saltiness of the pretzels. You can also add nuts or other berries. Cherries would also be good.
- Line a square or rectangle cake tin, oven dish or whatever you have available (about half the size of a baking tray) with baking paper and pour in the brownie batter. Bake at 180C for 20-25 minutes. It’s better to bake for less time and checking it than overbaking it. We want it to be fudgy.
- Let it cool down slightly and optionally top with powdered sugar, melted chocolate or sea salt. Or enjoy as is. It will taste even better over the next days when the flavours had some time to develop, if you can wait that long.
Notes
- You can use this recipe as a base for standard brownies and change the add ins to your liking or what is available to you. It’s also great with nuts like hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds or pecans. You could also swirl in some peanut butter and peanuts before baking. Or add some fruit like berries or cherries. Basically whatever you like to pair with chocolate.
- These will taste even better a day or two after baking if you can resist that long. Or just make more. Keep in an airtight container to not let them get dry.
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