German Chocolate Brownies
German Chocolate Brownies are exactly what you need right now! Made with a thick and chewy chocolate brownie base, then topped with a rich and buttery (toasted) coconut pecan frosting, these brownies will have you begging for seconds.
Looking for some more German chocolate treats? You’ll love my 6-Inch German Chocolate Cake recipe, my German Chocolate Cupcakes recipe, and my 8-Inch German Chocolate Cake recipe!
It goes without saying that I’ve been a bit obsessed with all things German Chocolate Cake. I’ve been testing all sorts of chocolate recipes. The truth is, I just want to slather the buttery coconut pecan frosting on top of everything! It’s my weakness! I love it so much.
I’m sharing a chocolate mousse filled German chocolate cupcake recipe very soon. You’ll definitely want to make them! Even thinking about them sends me into a spiral of never ending chocolate cravings.
How to make German Chocolate Brownies
After you’ve made these German Chocolate brownies make Nutella Brownies. Oh gosh, they’re so good! Yay for brownies!
To make the brownie batter begin by melting the butter and chocolate together. For the chocolate you can use a bar of baking chocolate chopped into small pieces (6 oz worth) or 1 cup of chocolate chips. Hint, 1 cup of chocolate chips equals 6 oz.
Pro tip: microwave on half power and mix every 30 seconds. This will prevent the chocolate from burning.
Once the butter and chocolate are melted let the mixture sit for 5 minutes or so. However, if your butter/chocolate mixture isn’t super hot, feel free to move ahead without letting the mixture cool slightly.
Add the eggs, sugar, vanilla, water (or brewed coffee if you’re a coffee lover) and instant espresso. You don’t need to use brewed coffee or instant espresso, but you can if you want to enhance the chocolate flavor. I personally don’t drink coffee, so I use water. It tastes delicious either way!
Stir in the flour and salt. Pour the batter into an 8″x8″ square pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray or is lined with parchment paper.
Bake the German Chocolate Brownies
Bake the brownies for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
Cool the brownies before frosting them.
Toasted Coconut Pecan Frosting
I highly suggest you toast the coconut and the pecans for this frosting. It amps up the flavor and texture tremendously. If you need help, I wrote a post about how to toast coconut, so check that out if you have any questions regarding the process.
To make the frosting add the cream, sugar, egg yolks, and salt to a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often. Once the mixture comes to a low boil, turn the heat down to medium-low and continue cooking until the mixture has thickened, about 3-5 more minutes.
Remove from the heat and add the butter, vanilla, pecans, and toasted coconut. Stir until the butter has melted and everything is combined.
Let sit at room temperature until cooled, then frost the brownies.
This is a really easy German Chocolate brownie recipe! I hope you give it a try!
If you love these German Chocolate Brownies, try these recipes:
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German Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
Brownies
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 6 oz semi sweet or dark chocolate - chopped (or 1 cup of chocolate chips)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon water - or brewed coffee
- 2/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon instant espresso - optional
- 2 large eggs
Coconut Pecan Frosting
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup toasted pecans - finely chopped
- 1 cup toasted sweetened shredded coconut - i like to do a heaping cup
Instructions
Brownies
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a microwave safe bowl add the butter and chocolate . Microwave on half power until butter and chocolate are melted. Let mixture sit for 5 minutes or until slightly warm but no longer piping hot.
- Add the eggs, sugar, vanilla, water (or coffee), and instant espresso (if using) and whisk to combine.
- Stir in the flour and salt, don’t overmix.
- Pour the batter into an 8x8 pan that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray or been lined with parchment paper.
- Bake at 350°F for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs but no batter. Every oven differs so yours might take a little longer.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
- Once cool top with coconut pecan frosting.
Coconut Pecan Frosting
- In sauce pan combine heavy cream, sugar, egg yolks and salt. Cook over medium low until comes to a low boil. Stir constantly. Once it comes to a small boil and has thickened, remove from heat and add the butter, vanilla, pecans and coconut. Stir until butter has melted and everything is combined.
- Let sit at room temperature until cooled.
Notes
11 Comments on “German Chocolate Brownies”
These brownies are so yummy!! I used cocoanut cream in the frosting instead of heavy whipping cream and it came out wonderful. Will definitely be making these for family and friends often!😋
I made these tonight, and while they were delicious, they took way longer to bake than written. At 22 minutes they were still completely gooey and took about 20 more minutes to set. Also, the recipe ingredients call for cream and then in the instructions it says “milk.” Oh, and there’s a typo that says bitter instead of butter. 😉
I fixed the typos, thanks for the heads up. As for them not being fully baked around the 22 minute mark, it could be because your oven temperature is a tad off? I use an oven thermometer to make sure my oven is at the right temp. (My oven runs 10°F cooler than what’s noted on the dial, so for my oven to preheat to 350°F I have to set my dial to 360°F… make sense?) Unfortunately, every oven is different. But I’m glad you were competent enough to keep the brownies in longer though so that they could fully bake!
I appreciate you taking the time to comment! Thanks again for making the brownies Susan 💛
Had the same cook time issue oven temp checked at 350
Sorry! Hopefully you were able to adjust the cook time appropriately.
Hi Whitney.
Do you know if it’s possible to change out the all purpose flour for Almond flour or a mix of Almond and Coconut flour?
I haven’t tried it yet, but I imagine it would taste delicious if you do so! I’m not as familiar with coconut flour, but you should be able to sub the almond flour for all purpose with a 1:1 ratio. The brownies will have a different texture because almond flour lacks gluten. Good luck and let me know if you make the brownies!
Looks great! Are the eggs missing in brownie dough ingredients list? Thanks!
sorry about that! You need 2 eggs for the brownie batter. I updated the recipe card 🙂
German chocolate BROWNIES? YES PLEASE! Definitely putting these on my list to make!
They’re the best!