‘Brownies in a Bag’

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Why not gift your family and friends some ‘Brownies in a Bag’ this Christmas? Delicious, fudgy, intense chocolate squares with a hint of salt and chunks of milk chocolate littered throughout each square. Soft and gooey on the inside, slightly crispy on the outside – brownie love heaven.

Instead of making the brownies however, these bags contain all the ingredients, (apart from the butter and fresh eggs) weighed and prepared ready to be thrown into a bowl and whipped up into intense, fudgy chocolate squares!

These bags can be prepared well in advance and then transformed into brownies whenever needed. Need brownies over the festive period? No problem! Alternatively, the bags will last well into the new year and would still be perfect if made for a pick me up on a cold and miserable January or February day, when all the festivities are over.

How to prepare ‘Brownies in a Bag’

Collect all your ingredients together:

• 200g dark chocolate, 74% cocoa solids, broken into pieces
• 100g soft brown sugar
• 100g caster sugar
• 100g plain/all-purpose flour (or, you can use ground almonds or gluten free flower, if necessary)
• 25g unsweetened cocoa
• ½ teaspoon instant coffee powder
• ¼ teaspoon fine salt
• 100g add ins such as chopped milk chocolate, Oreo cookies, chopped pecan nuts, Aero Bar, Chocolate Caramel Bars, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

You will also need –

• plastic bags and stickers
• gift bag – I use paper bags or hessian bags
• cooking instructions

How to prepare ‘Brownies in a Bag’

1. Break up the 200g dark chocolate, transfer to a plastic bag, seal with a sticker and label number 1.
2. Place a jug onto the weighing scales and weigh in both the sugars.
3. Stir well and pour into another plastic bag.
4. Seal with a sticker and label number 2.
5. Put a sieve over the jug, zero the scales, and weigh in the flour, cocoa, coffee and salt.
6. Sieve into the jug, mix well and pour into another plastic bag.
7. Seal with a sticker and label number 3.
8. Chop up your chosen add ins – I have used chopped milk chocolate here.
9. Transfer into a final plastic bag, seal with a sticker and label number 4.
10. Place all 4 bags in your gift bag and remember to include recipe instructions. To find the instructions, go to the recipe at bottom of this post. Simply click on the ‘print icon’ under the small photograph to the right of the recipe title. Not only does it share the recipe, in case they want to make some for themselves, more importantly it explains exactly how to make up these brownies.

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How to make brownies using ‘Brownies in a Bag’

Collect all your ingredients together and line the baking tin:

In order to guarantee soft and fudgy brownies, it is important to use the correct size tin – in this case it is a 20cm/8inch square tin. If your tin is larger the depth of your cake batter will be less and the cake will cook more quickly. Equally if the tin is smaller, your cake batter will be deeper and cook more slowly.

1. Sit the tin on greaseproof paper making sure the paper is large enough to line the tin, come up the sides and have a little overhang.
2. Cut out the corners of the paper so it will fit easily into the tin
3. Fold the paper from corner to corner so the size of the centre of the paper matches the base of the tin. Slot inside the tin.

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Your ingredients:

• Brownies in a Bag
• 200g unsalted butter
• 3 eggs
• 1 x 20cm/8inch square tin
• baking parchment

How to make your brownies:

1. Chop the butter into squares and place in a microwave safe bowl with the chopped chocolate from Bag 1. Melt in a microwave or a bain marie or and mix until smooth. (See Recipe Notes for details.)
2. Break your eggs into a mixing bowl and tip in the sugar from Bag 2.
3. Whisk with an electric whisk until thick and creamy. This will take around 3 minutes.
4. Pour the chocolate and butter into the eggs and sugar and mix thoroughly with the electric whisk until smooth and glossy.
5. Tip in the contents of Bag 3 and fold until nearly mixed in.
6. Add the chopped milk chocolate/add ins from Bag 4 and fold in. Be careful not to over-mix at this stage.
7. Transfer to your baking tin and level the surface, making sure the cake batter goes all the way into the corners.
8. Cook in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes, depending on how squidgy you like the centre to be. It will carry on cooking when you take it out of the oven so bear this in mind. (I cook mine for 23 minutes.)

This gives me a slightly crispy top but a gorgeous gooey centre. The cake will be slightly risen and cracked around the edges (see the pictures below) but the centre will feel quite soft. Remember the cake will continue to cook after you have taken it out of the oven. 

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Made this recipe?

If you make this recipe, do please tag me on instagram @daffodil_kitchen. You could also leave a comment in the box directly below the recipe.

Enhance your gift

Enhance your gift and include a 20cm/8inch square baking tin to cook the brownies in!