4 easy brownie recipes to inspire your weekend baking at home

2020 is going down in history for many things, but if someone were to inspect our Instagram feeds in the future, they would certainly flag it off as the year of baking. Banana bread, sourdough, garden focaccia—the lockdown made bakers of most of us. And while trying new trends is great for the ’gram, let’s not forget our old friends. Speaking of, brownies are a fail-safe in any mood or weather. With a cake-like gooey centre that instantly melts in your mouth and a crunchy top, it's the perfect treat. Pour some chocolate syrup or a scoop of vanilla ice cream to treat yourself for making it through a long work-from-home week. Vogue spoke to Rhea Bharucha, self-taught baker and founder of Baked by Ree, to share some brownie recipes for you to bake at home to satiate the sweet cravings this weekend. 

1. Recipe: Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup butter

• 1 cup chocolate

• 3 eggs

• 1 ½ cup white sugar

• ¾ cup brown sugar

• 1 tbsp vanilla essence

• 1¼ cup all purpose flour

• ⅓ cocoa powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• ½ cup chocolate chips

Method:

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 350 degrees celsius and line the baking tin with butter paper.

2. 2

   Melt the butter and chocolate together.

3. 3

   Add sugar, eggs and vanilla essence and beat them together.

4. 4

   Add all the dry ingredients and mix till well incorporated.

5. 5

   Stir in the chocolate chips.

6. 6

   Pour batter into baking tin and bake for 15-20 minutes or till a skewer comes out clean when inserted.

7. 7

   Cut into pieces and enjoy!

2. Recipe: Cookie dough brownie bars

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup butter, softened

• 150gm brown sugar

• 100gm white sugar

• 1 egg

• 1 egg yolk

• 2 tsp vanilla essence

• 280gm all purpose flour

• 1 tsp baking soda

• ¾ tsp salt

• 1½ cornstarch

• 1 cup chocolate chips

• 1 cup M&Ms

Method:

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 350 degrees celsius and line the baking tin with butter paper.

2. 2

   Beat the butter and both sugars till light and fluffy.

3. 3

   Add egg, egg yolk and vanilla essence to the mix and beat well.

4. 4

   Add in all the dry ingredients and mix till well incorporated.

5. 5

   Fold in the chocolate chips and M&Ms.

6. 6

   Bake for 12-15 minutes golden brown in colour.

7. 7

   Cut into pieces and enjoy!

3. Recipe: Keto friendly no bake peanut butter bars

Ingredients for the peanut butter layer: 

• 1 cup natural peanut butter

• ¾ cup oat flour (gluten free, if needed) or 1 cup almond flour

• ⅓ cup pure maple syrup

• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

• Pinch salt

Ingredients for chocolate layer: 

• 1 cup chocolate chips (dairy free, if needed)

• ½ cup natural peanut butter

Method: 

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 350 degrees celsius and line the baking tin with butter paper.

2. 2

   Put all the ingredients for the peanut butter layer into a bowl and mix together till well incorporated.

3. 3

   Pat the dough into a lined baking tin. Set aside.

4. 4

   Now, melt the chocolate and peanut butter together.

5. 5

   Spread the chocolate layer all over the peanut butter base and set aside to cool.

6. 6

   Place in refrigerator to set for at least two hours.

7. 7

   Cut into pieces and enjoy!

4. Recipe: Red velvet cream cheese bars

Ingredients: 

• ½ cup butter

• 50gm chocolate

• 1 cup sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1 tsp vanilla essence

• 1½ tsp red food colour

• ⅔ cup all purpose flour

• ¼ tsp salt

• 200gm cream cheese

• ⅓ cup sugar

• 1 egg

• ½ teaspoon vanilla essence

Method: 

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 350 degrees celsius and line the baking tin with butter paper.

2. 2

   Melt butter and chocolate together.

3. 3

   Add in sugar, eggs, vanilla and red food colour and beat till well incorporated

4. 4

   Add in dry ingredients and mix well. Once ready, pour batter into prepared tin.

5. 5

   In another bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla together.

6. 6

   Drop spoonful dollops of the cheese mixture into the brownie batter and swirl together with a toothpick.

7. 7

   Bake for 15-20 mins or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted.

8. 8

   Cut into pieces and enjoy!

Also read: 

4 easy ice cream recipes you can make without an ice cream maker for the ultimate summer treat

6 microwave mug cakes you can bake in 70 seconds 

2 healthy desserts that you can make in under 20 minutes at home