Chocolate Pecan Brownies

Delicious, soft and chewy homemade chocolate & pecan brownies are a simple bake for baking with kids, and one that will satisfy any chocolate craving. Crispy on top and molten and chewy inside with a great crunch from the pecan nuts. This is the best chocolate brownie recipe.

This easy chocolate pecan brownie recipe is quick and a regular bake in my kitchen. My kids love these homemade chocolate brownies, they are a simple bake so they are able to bake them without my help.

This chocolate brownie recipe does not take too long to prepare, doesn’t have any complicated steps. This is my go to recipe for easy chocolate brownies, the one I use when I need to produce baking quickly! The also go down very well at coffee mornings and bake sales.

I’ve baked these homemade chocolate brownies for years, sometimes with nuts, sometimes without. So if you prefer a nut free chocolate brownie, simply leave the pecans out.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Packed full of chocolate, if you love chocolate you’ll love these homemade chocolate brownies.
• These brownies are really quick and easy to prepare which makes them ideal for baking with children, who have a short attention span.
• The recipe is easily adapted to make Gluten Free Chocolate Brownies and there are instructions later in the post to help you do that (see FAQ section).
• Enjoy them hot or cold, they are lovely to eat cold with your favourite cuppa, but delicious when warmed up and served with some vanilla ice cream.

Recipe ingredients

• Milk Chocolate: I use a good quality milk chocolate to make these brownies.
• Cocoa Powder: is also added to add a real depth of chocolaty flavour.
• Butter: I use unsalted butter, but you could also use salted butter. Don’t be tempted to use margarine as you won’t get the same flavour or set in the brownies.
• Flour: self raising flour is used in this recipe. However, you can also use gluten free flour to bake gluten free chocolate brownies (see instructions below).
• Sugar: I recommend using light muscovado sugar as it has a great molasses flavour that really works in a chocolate brownie. A good substitution would be soft light brown sugar or a golden caster sugar.
• Eggs: use 3 large beaten eggs in this recipe. Just don’t add them when the chocolate mixture it too hot or you will scramble the eggs.
• Pecan nuts: add great crunch to these chocolate and pecan brownies.

How to make Chocolate Brownies

• Preheat the oven to 150C/140CFan/300F and line a 20cmx30cm (8×12″) baking tin with baking parchment.
• Break up the chocolate and place in a large bowl along with the butter. Place the bowl in the microwave for 2 minutes. Remove and stir the melted chocolate and butter together until well combined and set aside to cool slightly.
• In a separate bowl mix together the flour, cocoa powder and muscovado sugar. Stir through and break up any lumps in the sugar.

• Pour the flour and sugar mixture into the melted chocolate and stir to form a smooth brownie batter.
• Now add the beaten eggs to the brownie mixture and stir until well combined.

TOP TIP: Ensure the chocolate has cooled a little before adding the beaten eggs or you will scramble the eggs!

• Finally add the chopped pecan nuts stir through the batter.
• Pour the brownie mixture into the lined baking tin and place into the oven to cook for 1 hour.

• Once baked, remove the tin from the oven and set it onto a wire cooling rack to cool.
• Once the brownies have cooled completely, cut into slices and remove from the pan.
• Store in an air-tight container, placing a piece of baking parchment between each layer of brownie to stop them sticking together.

TOP TIP: It is very tempting when faced with a tray of brownies straight from the oven, to cut them up and enjoy them straight away. However, this does make them really tricky to cut into squares without them falling apart. Instead allow them to cool completely in the tray, this will give the brownie time to set. Once cool cut them up into squares and gently remove them from the tray.

Flavor variations

• I’ve used milk chocolate to make these brownies, but you can use any variety or flavour of chocolate. Try chocolate orange, mint chocolate, dark chocolate or a mixture of dark and milk chocolate if you prefer.
• You can swap the pecans for any other nut like hazelnuts, almonds, brazil nuts, peanuts, walnuts or macadamia nuts.
• If you don’t like nuts, or have a nut allergy, you can leave the nuts out of this recipe.
• Add other flavours to the mix by adding a splash of vanilla extract or orange extract to the brownie batter.
• Light muscovado sugar has a great molasses flavour, but soft light brown sugar or a golden caster sugar would be good substitutes.

Useful hints and tips

1. Line the baking tray with baking parchment as this makes removing the chocolate brownies from the tin a whole lot easier.
2. Prepare and weigh all ingredients before you start, as this is a quick recipe to make once you get going.
3. Allow the brownies to cool completely before cutting up into squares for storage.
4. Use a sharp knife to cut the brownies into squares.
5. When layering brownies into the storage container, I like to place a sheet of baking parchment between each layer of biscuit to stop the brownies from sticking to each other.
6. Make extra to freeze, double up the recipe and enjoy some now and freeze the rest for later.
7. To make gluten free brownies swap the flour for gluten free self raising flour and ensure the chocolate that you are using is gluten free, just check the labeling before you buy.
8. Allergy advice: for comprehensive and detailed allergy advice go to Allergy UK.

FAQs

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Additional recipe suggestions

For another simple child friendly recipe try our:

• No-bake Chocolate Tiffin
• Dark Chocolate & Ginger Tiffin
• No-bake Mars Bar Slices
• Custard Creams
• Melting Moments
• Chocolate & Hazelnut Cookies
• Lemon Butter Biscuits
• Orange Butter Biscuits

If you enjoyed this bake have a look at my Ultimate Guide to Baking with Kids, or my Best Cake Recipes post, both are full of great recipe suggestions for baking with children.