Chocolate Graham Cracker Brownies

I think if I had a rewind button for life, I might've used it tonight when I decided to make these brownies...ok well maybe not now that they're done, but a few minutes ago I definitely would've pushed rewind.

I had some leftover chocolate graham crackers that I wanted to use up, hence the recipe I found on http://priscillabakes.blogspot.com Her brownies look absolutely beautiful, and tonight I knew that I wasn't in the mood to even try and make them pretty. Perhaps it's b/c I just finished reading some really boring stuff for school, who knows. 

So these brownies have no flour or butter in them...but for all of you who think you'll be saving on calories, just wait. The chocolate ganache isn't necessarily healthy...and it hates me. I've never made it before until tonight, and it turned out fine--that is until I dropped the not-yet-set ganache brownies on the floor. Thankfully only the top layer of ganache messed up and the brownies were fine. Oh yes, it went everywhere. I thought about taking a picture like I've seen people do with baking messes, but this was too depressing to capture.

The Bachelor Final Rose Part 2 comes on tonight (YAY Molly!) so I was too impatient to let the ganache set up, which of course it wouldn't do anyway b/c it really does hate me. Please ignore how horrible these pictures are, but I promise you these brownies really are great. They don't have the usual texture of brownies; it's slightly crunchy and thicker than a fudge brownie. The graham crackers crumbs really act like a great thickening agent. 

Final point: make these. The ganache was a bit rich for me, and since we're not on good terms I would say that it's not absolutely necessary to make. You could just melt some chocolate chips over this and call it a day. But for now I'm still in emotional turmoil over The Bachelor and have to see who the next Bachelorette is going to be! So sorry for the gross pictures, but just keep in mind that I'd spent 15 min. cleaning up ganache off the floor...and my pants, so I'm probably a little fussy. 

P.S. On a side note, I started taking a cake decorating class so soon you'll be seeing a plethera of hopefully pretty cakes. Just don't judge my decorating/baking skills from the aesthetics of these brownies. :)

This is about how thick the batter should look after the 3 min.

They have potential to look much better, but The Bachelor is more important for me to sit and wait around for the dumb ganache to harden. Whatever they still taste good.

Ingredients:

16 chocolate graham crackers

2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 tsp. salt

2 large eggs

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup light brown sugar

 1 tbsp. instant coffee granules

2 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cup chocolate chips or chunks

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Lightly grease an 8 x 8 inch pan. Crush the graham crackers finely. Pour into a bowl and add cocoa and salt. Mix well and set aside. In a large bowl, combine eggs and sugars; beat with an electric mixer at a high speed until thickened, about 3 min. Stir in the coffee granules and vanilla. Fold in chips/chunks and the graham crumb mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for 20-25 min. Make sure not to overbake. Let cool completely in the pan and frost with ganache. 

Ganache:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 cups chocolate chips

Microwave cream until bubbly and hot. Fold in chips and stir until thickened and smooth. Spread over brownies. Let harden and cut into squares. 

**My family LOVED the texture of these brownies by the way! Chocolate graham crackers in a brownies=awesome!