When my wife and I were dating, one of the first meals she cooked for me was on Valentine’s Day. It was an amazing meal of meatloaf and mashed potatoes and was followed up by brownies with chocolate icing. To this day, we still talk about those brownies. So, when it was time to come up with a Valentine’s Day recipe, I was reminded of those brownies and decided to share. For these, I’m sharing my Scratch Brownies recipe from my cookbook. They are super easy and one sweet reader even messaged me to let me know that they’ll never use another brownie mix again after trying them! That’s quite the compliment. And don’t be intimidated about the ganache. It sounds complicated but it’s as easy as stirring things together… I promise! And it really puts these brownies over the top.
Now, after my brownies cooled completely, I flipped them out onto some wax paper and cut them out with the same heart-shaped cookie cutter that Heather used all those years ago, but it’s certainly not required. You can leave them in the pan and simply spread the ganache over the top if you want the standard square brownies. I was just being nostalgic with these. 🙂
Y’all enjoy!!
Recipe Card
Scratch Brownies with Chocolate Ganache
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
For the ganache:
- 8 ounces by weight semi sweet chocolate chips (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (room temperature)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°. Grease an 8 x 8-inch baking dish.
- In a large bowl combine the butter, sugar, salt, and cocoa powder. Add the vanilla and eggs, and mix well. Stir in the flour, and mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Spread the batter into the baking dish, and bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely before cutting.
For the ganache:
- Place the chocolate chips in a medium bowl.
- Pour the cream in a microwave-safe bowl and heat until steaming. Pour the cream over the chocolate chips and allow to sit for about 5 minutes or until the chocolate chips have melted. Stir well to combine. Stir in the butter until well combined.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour to allow the ganache to thicken, then spread on top of the brownies.
* If nutritional values are provided, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands used. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, I recommend grabbing your favorite brands and plugging those ingredients into an online nutritional calculator.
Carolyn Vigna
I made these today for my grandson’s birthday, they were so good!
So glad y’all enjoyed them! Happy Birthday to him!
Denise
I don’t normally keep cream around the house, but always have whole milk and/or 2% milk……would either of these work in this recipe? Greek yogurt? any other substitute?
I prefer heavy cream, but whole milk will work. Enjoy!
Denise D
Hi Stacey~ I recently bought a heart shaped muffin pan to make something special for my grandkids for Valentine’s Day. Looks like your brownies will be it! I have a question about heating the heavy cream. I have a high wattage microwave, 1200 watts, and things heat up fast. How long do you think it’ll take to heat the cream?
Thanks
My microwave at home where I developed this recipe is 1200 watt, but the one in my test kitchen is less powerful. Having made it in both, I would guess between 45 and 60 seconds. Start at the lower time. You can always add more time if it’s not quite steaming. Hope the grandkids enjoy it!!
Joy Tiggemann
I use my brownie scraps to make my own copy of DQ’s brownie blizzard.
Thanks
Joy
This. Is. Genius.
KarenB
This is EXACTLY what I was looking for! Thank you! However I have a silicone heart shaped cupcake/brownie bites pan. What temp and or timing for baking do I need to adjust if any? BTW our wedding anniversary is Valentines Day!
The cook time should be roughly the same. Hope you’ll enjoy!!
Kathleen
This brownie recipe was a real treat. I cook for large crowds at our weekly church supper and tried it out at home first. It was soooo yummy! Thank you for a great recipe! My church family will love it!!
I just love hearing that, Kathleen! So glad you enjoyed them! They certainly are a favorite at our house!
jack
i can’t save to my recipe box any longer, why/
The feature was available through a company know as ZipList and they went out of business back in December. You might want to look at Yummly.
jack
Thanks, as a southerner l love
Your recipes.
Wonderful! Thanks so much, Jack!
Susan
These brownies are great!
Thanks, Susan!
Debra Turner
All your recipes look scrumptious. What darling browie hearts!
Thanks, Debra!
Jocelyn (Grandbaby cakes)
These brownies are definitely the way to my heart. I love the story about you and your wife when you first started courting!
Thanks so much, Jocelyn! Love your blog!
Kari
I am impressed that these stayed together so well with the cookie cutter! They must be nice and cakey!
They hold up tot he cutter pretty well. 🙂
Barbara
These brownies do sound yummy are they cake or fudge like when baked?
They are actually a little bit of both – sort of cakey, but very dense.
Elizabeth
Stacy,
Really enjoy your recipes. Thanks soo much for sharing. I have a request have you heard of vinegar pie. I have been searching for the recipe but have been unable to find it. My great grandmother used to make it for breakfast along with fried eggs and ham. Yum, Yum
Elizabeth Silverdale, wa.
Thanks so much, Elizabeth! Does this recipe seem close to your grandmother’s? https://thesouthernladycooks.com/2013/05/17/vinegar-pie/
Nana
OK fess up—who ate the scraps between the hearts? They look very tempting and the little extra touches make them special . Perfect for Valentine’s Day.
~Grins shyly~ It just may have been me… with all the extra ganache piled on top! 🙂
The Better Baker
Oh how wonderful you still recall that lovely meal shared with your new girlfriend. These must be Killer brownies – Pinned and must try soon. Love cutting them into heart shapes and the ganache…TO.DIE.FOR! Thanks for sharing.
They are SO good!!!