You’d never know that these super gooey German chocolate inspired brownies have been made healthier!
These are hands down the best brownies I’ve ever made. Healthy or not. It could have something to do with the fact that I used way more sugar than usual but I’ll just try to ignore that.
You can absolutely make these as plain brownies and they’re really amazing that way. And much quicker to make! But I wanted to make these brownies pretty. So I went to Facebook and asked you guys what to do with them and tried to combine as many suggestions as possible. That’s where the caramel + coconut + pecan / walnuts combination came from.
I fully intended on making these as real German chocolate brownies and not just inspired but then I read what German chocolate filling is made of. It didn’t really appeal so much to me so I just made a simple chocolate ganache and spread this over the brownies. And then I added toasted coconut and pecans and drizzled on some caramel.
I baked the brownies and then put on the toppings but next time, I think I’ll just add some chocolate chips, caramel bits, nuts and shredded coconut right into the batter. Much easier and quicker! And that way, you can leave out the cream. Which means saved calories and that of course means you can eat more brownies. :)
If you do make these and you want to reduce the sugar, please note that they won’t be as gooey and they’ll be more cakey. These brownies really aren’t greasy, even if pictures kind of make them look that way.
I kept my brownies refrigerated but they’re fine at room temperature as well. They just seem better cold!
100% Whole Grain German Chocolate Inspired Brownies
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 24 servings
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup grapeseed oil
- 3 large eggs
- 4 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 1/3 cups (175 grams) whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cups shredded coconut
- 2/3 cups pecans or walnuts
- 2 1/2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons caramel bits (check out this recipe for dairy-free caramel)
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream (coconut milk for dairy-free)
Brownies:
Topping:
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place a sheet of parchment paper over an 8x8 inch pan and press it around the edges. This makes it easier to remove the brownies once baked. Or you can spray the pan with non-stick baking spray.
- In a large bowl with a wooden spoon, mix together the sugar and grapeseed oil. Let it sit for 5 minutes to help dissolve the sugar.
- Add in the eggs and vanilla, all at once, and stir until thoroughly combined.
- Add in the whole wheat flour, cocoa powder and salt all at once and stir *just* until combined. If you overstir, the texture might be affected.
- Bake for 17 minutes. If you stick a toothpick in the middle, it will come out wet and this is okay! They continue to cook after you remove them from the oven. Do not bake until the toothpick comes out clean!
- Let the brownies cool in the pan.
- Toast the coconut and pecans for 5 - 10 minutes at 350 degrees F or until they smell toasted. Check after 5 minutes to stir the coconut, if needed.
- Place chopped chocolate in a small mixing bowl and heat 1/4 cup heavy cream in a small pot over medium heat, just until it starts to simmer. Pour this over the chopped chocolate. Stir until smooth and set this aside.
- In the small pot you just used, over medium heat, add the caramel bits and another tablespoon of heavy cream. Stir together and continue stirring until combined.
- To assemble brownies: Spread on the chocolate layer. It will be very thin. Then add the toasted coconut and pecans and finally the caramel. You can either use a spoon to drizzle it over the brownies or pipe it.
Topping:
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78 comments on “German Chocolate Inspired Brownies (100% whole grain, dairy-free)” — Add one!
These brownies are mouthwatering! The new look is fabulous too! Nice job!
Thanks a bunch! Happy you like the brownies and thanks for stopping by to check out the new page. :)
Choc-o-licious!! Oh my, these look divine. I love grapeseed oil for stirfrys but have yet to use it in my baking. You have me inspired!
It’s really great, Erin! Nice and mild. And I promise to get to your email soon. I think you can see what I’ve been up to lately. ;) Sorry about the delay!
What brand of caramel bits did you use? All I can find are ones filled with nasty ingredients.
I used Kraft and I’m sure the ingredients aren’t so nice. You could also make homemade caramel! I’m afraid all brands probably have nasty ingredients. Sorry. :(
Wow, these look unbelievable, I can't believe there's no butter ……… and whole grain? Very cool!
Thanks, Chris! Grapeseed oil is pretty neat, huh? You have to try it out some time! I didn’t miss the butter at all in these. :)
Oh holy moly, these look SO divine. WANT WANT WANT NOOOOOOOW. Apologies for my demanding bossy comment, but I really want one! =) And yay for comments being back – I was so sad when I couldn't comment a few days ago!
Sorry about that Amy. We were in the process of switching over to WP and putting up the new design! But it’s here now. YAY! And love your enthusiastic comment. Thank you! :)
Oh wow, these look super rich and fudgy! Just the way I like them!
Same here, Jessica! I just don’t get the concept of cakey brownies. Cakey brownies = a smaller version of cake. Right?!
I love how gooey they look! Definitely worth the sugar for that! I hope you win the contest too!!! :)
Thanks, Carla! I hope so, too. :D The prize is an all expenses paid trip to BlogHer. Isn’t that like the best prize ever?!
Erin, these look amazing. So fudgy. So chocolately. So yummy!
Thank you, Jennie! Everything you said right there were basically my goals so woohoo. :)
These look yummy! I've never made a brownie that didn't call for butter, so I'm excited to see this recipe. I very very rarely have butter on hand. (and always have cravings for brownies!)
I also don’t use butter all that often. I’m definitely an oil or coconut oil type of gal. :) I stopped using butter in brownies a few years ago and seriously… I don’t miss it at all!
I love brownies that use oil instead of butter and these look totally perfect, so wonderful and rich and gooey!
Thanks! And yeah… I mean, you can’t even taste the butter in brownies made with butter. So why not use oil? :)
wowzers… these. look. incredible.
Thanks, Hannah! Happy to see that they seem to have had some kind of effect on you. :D
These look amazing! I'm always trying half wheat flour half white flour but I've been too scared to "go all the way" :) You just proved me wrong! Pinned!
Thanks for pinning! And for the nice comment, too. :) I hope you do get a chance to go all the way with these brownies. You seriously can’t taste the whole grain flour! Unless you have some ridiculously badly milled flour or something…
These look so fudgy and decadent, my kind of chocolate heaven!
Thanks, Laura! Decadent was what I was going for here so I’m happy that’s how it came across. ;)
Oooh these look so fudgy and delicious!
Thanks, Kristi! :)
Wow these look super good. Are these the ones you posted on FB not long ago and wanted to make them more fancy? because they sure look fancy to me. That coconut, walnut, caramel topping looks sinful :-) I have never used grapeseed oil before. I really like the look of these brownies and I am sure they are also super moist for the looks of it!
They’re the same ones! And you have to try to find some grapeseed oil. It’s good stuff. :) And yup… they were indeed super moist! More like goo. ;)
Oh my word, Erin, these are dangerously tempting me right now!!! I need them…!
Haha. I’m so sorry to do that to you, Ashley! I’ll post something boring next time. :D
I love your recipes! Do you think butter-flavor grapeseed oil would taste okay?
Thanks, Patricia! I imagine it would be but I’ve never tried it. I was lucky to even get my hands on plain grapeseed oil. :) But as long as it’s not ridiculously artifically flavored… I don’t see how it would turn out badly!
Awesome! I am going to try these.
Yay! I hope you like them, Ames! Let me know how they turn out. :)
Wow…these sound amazing! I love the idea of using whole wheat flour! Awesome recipe!
Thank you! I love my whole wheat, but you really can’t taste it here. A great place to start with whole wheat baking if you haven’t tried yet. :)
Oh wow, these look so super fudgy Erin! I cannot resist brownies, they are my kryptonite for sure :)
Haha. Yeah… same here. These were just dangerous with that caramel. And toasted coconut. Definitely not good to have so many test batches sitting around (although the test batches were plain, it was still bad news!)