NancyC

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Over The Top German Chocolate Brownies

When I was on vacation almost a month ago, I went to a bakery that had lots of delicious-looking cakes, cookies, pies, homemade breads, and more. It was really hard to decide what to buy. I bought a few things, but decided not to buy the German Chocolate Brownies–I would have had to buy a whole pan and if I did that, I’m sure I would have eaten them all! So I just made a note to myself to try making my own German Chocolate Brownies when I got home.

These brownies are very rich, dense, and fudgy…with lots of German chocolate. Two 4-ounce German sweet chocolate bars are melted and mixed into the batter, and an additional 4-ounce bar is chopped up and mixed in, too. So these are choc-full of German chocolate (if you don’t want to use quite so much chocolate, omit the 4-ounce bar of chopped chocolate–the brownies will still be rich, but not quite so fudgy and dense). As you can see from the picture, the brownies are also topped with a generous amount of Coconut Pecan frosting…so rich and yummy!

This makes a 9×13″ pan of brownies, and I would advise you to cut them into smaller bars–you don’t really need big pieces of these brownies to satisfy your sweet tooth. They’re a great dessert to make when you have guests over or for taking to a potluck. You can freeze some, too, if you happen to have any extra brownies left over (ha, ha!).

Over the Top German Chocolate Brownies

  • Servings: 12-16
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

OVER THE TOP GERMAN CHOCOLATE BROWNIES by NancyC

Makes a 9×13″ pan                                       over the top german choc brownies @ nancyc

  • 3 (4-ounce) bars of Baker’s® German’s® Sweet Chocolate (a total of 12 ounces; use 2 bars for melting and stirring into batter; coarsely chop the third bar to mix into the batter–or you can omit this chopped chocolate bar if you want)
  • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (regular or unbleached)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • Coconut Pecan Frosting (see recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9×13″ baking pan, or line pan and sides with parchment paper (leave a little extra parchment paper sticking out so you can grab edges to lift brownies out of pan after they’re frosted and cooled; the brownies are really easy to cut when they’re out of the pan).

Coarsely chop 1 of the 4-ounce bars of chocolate, if using, and also chop enough pecans to equal 1 cup; set these ingredients aside. Note: the chocolate bar will be easier to chop if it’s been chilled in the refrigerator.

Microwave 2 of the 4-ounce chocolate bars and butter in a large microwaveable bowl for 1 to 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Remove from microwave and stir chocolate and butter together until chocolate is completely melted.  Add sugar to chocolate-butter mixture, blending well; then add eggs and vanilla, blending well. Add flour, baking powder, and salt, mixing until blended. Then fold in the chopped chocolate, if using, and pecans from Step #2. The batter will be fairly thick.

Spread your batter evenly into the prepared 9×13″ pan and bake for 35-38 minutes, or until top middle of brownies is set and toothpick inserted in center comes out almost clean–it won’t come out completely clean because of the chopped chocolate in the batter. If you decide to omit the chopped chocolate in the batter, your baking time may be a little less, like 32-36 minutes. Cool brownies completely before adding the frosting…

COCONUT PECAN FROSTING

  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
  • 2 1/2 to 3 cups sweetened flaked coconut
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

In a medium saucepan, stir together the egg yolks, sugar, butter, vanilla,  and evaporated milk until well blended. Cook this mixture over medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring constantly, until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in the flaked coconut and chopped pecans, blending well. Let mixture cool for about 30 minutes, then give it a final stirring and spread evenly over the completely cooled brownies.

Recipe from NancyC | nancy-c.com

Slicing these brownies will be easier and less gooey if you put them in the refrigerator (while still in the pan) for 10-15 minutes, or longer if you want. If you used parchment paper, you can just lift the brownies right out of the pan and slice them on a flat surface…it’s so easy to slice brownies and cookie bars using parchment paper that way!

By the way, I learned something interesting about German Chocolate…I thought it was a type of chocolate originating from Germany, but according to Joy of Baking, it actually is a baking chocolate that was created in 1852 by Samuel German, an employee of Walter Baker & Company. He added sugar to this baking bar so it would be more convenient for bakers to use (as opposed to unsweetened chocolate baking bars). So, the correct name of this chocolate is German’s® Sweet Chocolate, and it is still sold by Baker’s®.

If you don’t happen to have German’s® Chocolate on hand for a recipe and you’re in a pinch, you can substitute 1 ounce (30 grams) of bittersweet or semisweet chocolate plus 1/2 tablespoon (7 grams) granulated white sugar for 1 ounce of German’s® Chocolate.

Brownies are one of my favorite desserts…are you a brownie fan, too?

Sharing at Silver Pennies Sundays, Weekend Potluck, Thursday Favorite Things, Full Plate Thursday, Wonderful Wednesday, Inspire Me Monday, Happiness is Homemade, Meal Plan Monday, Hearth and Soul.

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89 responses to “Over The Top German Chocolate Brownies”

  1. Wow these are good!! Steve loved them and asked me if I could get the recipe. I told him you were going to post it and he said “Good!” He wants me to make some now. Thank you!

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  2. These look amazing!! I look forward to making these… just have to find the right time when I have a lot of company over.. otherwise I would eat the whole pan 🙂

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  8. German chocolate cake is my hubs’ absolute favorite… he’s out of town for a couple weeks and this will be the perfect treat to bake for when he gets back! Thanks!!

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  13. I made these today and they turned out amazing! My grandmother use to make homemade German sweet chocolate cake… It was amazing but this is a pretty close 2nd! Recommend for sure!

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    • Thanks for letting me know you liked them, Jackie! If they rank 2nd to your grandmothers’ German chocolate cake, that’s quite a compliment! Grandmas always have the best recipes! 🙂

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  14. Going to make this for my husband and his twin brothers birthday this next weekend. My husband loves brownies and his brother loves German chocolate cake!

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    • I haven’t tried that, Linda, but it sounds like a great idea if you don’t have time to make the brownies from scratch. The brownie mix probably wont’t be as rich as the brownies in this recipe, but I’m sure they would still taste great with the Coconut Pecan Frosting on them!

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  16. I noticed you said these could be frozen and was curious about how the icing holds up after being frozen? I wanted to freeze a German Chocolate Cake a few months ago but didn’t because of the icing. Thanks. I am going to try these soon.

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    • I had some leftover brownies in the freezer for a week, but I’m sure you could freeze them at lease a few weeks. They may not look quite as nice as the fresh-baked brownies, but they still taste yummy. Another thing you could do is make just the brownies ahead of time and freeze them, then thaw and make the frosting the day you’re ready to serve them.

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  18. I made these the other day, and my family and I have eaten nearly the whole pan already!! We’ll all be fighting over the last 2 pieces tomorrow. 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing! Absolutely sinfully delicious!

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  19. This is exciting . The bakery I used to get german chocolate brownies from is now a Mexican place. And every time I bake a german chocolate cake it takes forever. I ‘m so trying these for Sunday dessert. Thank you!!!!

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  21. German Chocolate triple layer cake is my all time favorite. My grandmother made it for many of my birthdays! I WILL try these out. Thanks …

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  22. I definite have to try these – when I was growing up and our parents would give my cousin and me a quarter each (LOL I am dating myself) we would go to Kresge which was called the “ten cent store” and they had a counter and served German Chocolate Cake with the Pecan frosting and that’s where we’d head and it was sooo yummy. I like your version of making it into squares instead of a cake – I am really looking forward to trying this – it’s sure to bring back memories – thanks for doing it in squares

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    • I remember Kresge–there was one really close to our neighborhood where I grew up. We would go there often, but I didn’t realize they had German Chocolate Cake there! Enjoy the brownies! 🙂

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  23. Hi Nancy! I was just wondering if you could substitute heavy cream for the evaporated milk? It’s what I have on hand. Thanks!

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    • I’m not sure, Emily…I couldn’t find any info on substituting heavy cream for evaporated milk, and I’ve never tried doing that myself. If you decide to try it, let me know how it works out!

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  25. These are wonderful and easy to make. Have a Ladies Tea at my church in November and this is going to be one of the desserts!

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  26. Wow….I just made these, and all I can say is that they are AMAZING!!! I love german chocolate cake, but these brownies top even the cake. Thank you for this recipe.

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  27. I just made these tonight for my boss’ birthday tomorrow. I haven’t frosted them yet, but they fell in the middle. Do you think I should have done something different for high altitude?

    Thanks, Lisa

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    • Hi Lisa, I found some information at this link that may be helpful to you: http://www.ehow.com/how_7773647_adjust-highaltitude-baking.html
      Point number 2 seems to address the problem you had: “Increase the oven temperature by about 20 degrees when baking cakes and shorten the baking time by a few minutes. To keep some cakes from falling, you might have to reduce the shortening (or butter, in this case) by 1 to 2 Tablespoons per cup and add an egg.” Sorry your cake fell 😦 Maybe the frosting will hide that…you could try adding extra frosting where it’s lower in the middle.

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  31. These are EVIL!! Boyfriend approves! He was very impressed & so was my dad! It’s his Fav recipe. I will NEVER make them from A box again:)

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  32. These are the perfect thing to make as a treat for my husband, who LOVES German Chocolate Cake. He’ll be so excited to see these htis weekend!

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  34. Oh my gosh! I just made these and I had to take a bite before my husband and guests saw it because it looks so good. The frosting is to die for, seriously. This is so good! Thank you so much. The only cake/brownie thing my husband likes is German Chocolate. He is going to love this!

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  36. I made these for my dad for his birthday (he loves brownies) and they are amazing!!!!! Only thing I will do different next time is only bake them for 30mins to start instead of 35 because I like my brownies more gooey. But again they are soooo good!

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  37. “if you don’t want to use quite so much chocolate” …. who on earth would not love to have it with so much chocolate??? 😉

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  42. I have made these brownies twice now, and everyone who try’s them, absolutely loves them! My mother has made German chocolate cake every year for the holidays for as long as I can remember, however I have never once made it. I’m 43 now, and to surprise my mother I made them for the first time on this past thanksgiving, she is a tough critic because her cake is the best, but she was absolutely in love with these! She could not get over how delicious they were, so I got some rave reviews! Thank you for a recipe that is the absolute best German chocolate brownie, and coconut pecan frosting out there!

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  43. Just made these for a church dinner tonight. All I wanna know is how do you keep from snitching the frosting while it cools?! It is fantastic! Can’t wait to cut into them tonight.

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  45. I baked the brownies for a party tomorrow. Should I wait to frost them tomorrow or do they stay well covered? Also, if I wait until tomorrow to frost them, should I wait and make the frosting in the morning or will it hold until tomorrow?

    Thank you!!

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  47. I searched and searched for a German Chocolate brownie recipe that actually used German’s Chocolate. I knew as soon as I found this recipe, that it was the winner. I made them last night. O.M.G. ~ they are truly AMAZING!!! I made them for my hubbs to take to work ~ but of course I had to sample. I will definitely make these again. They are truly the best of both worlds ~ an amazing brownie topped with decadent frosting. Word of warning ~ they are NOT cheap to make ~ but worth every cent!!! Thanks for the killer recipe!!!

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  49. ​ Nancy your brownies look amazing looks like comfort food to me 😘
    Your post is being featured this week on #omhgww, & pinned as well, hope you will stop by and share again !🌷Have a great week!🌷

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  50. Congratulations!
    Your post is featured on our Top Ten this week at Full Plate Thursday! Thanks so much for sharing it with us, we have pinned it to our special features board. Hope you have a great day and come back real soon!
    Miz Helen

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