I was extremely temped not to say anything in today’s post and just bombard you with picture…
… after picture…
… of deliciously fudgy chocolate gingerbread brownies instead, but as soon as I started editing said picture after picture, I came up with a list of things I wanted to tell you about them… even if it meant I had to go back and eat a handful just so my descriptions could be as accurate as possible. The sacrifices I make for blogging…
So let’s talk about these brownies. I’d offer you one to munch on while you listened to me go on and on about how much I love them, but for how far it’s come, technology still lacks the capacity to let me teleport an object in time and/or space, so I apologize for that — try and use your imagination instead…
These brownies are freaking delicious. There’s really nothing more to say…
I kid, I kid. I mean, they are freaking delicious, but you want more solid deets, right? The nitty gritty. The up close and personal…
You want to hear about how these brownies have a slightly crackly outer shell that gives way to a soft yet dense interior.
You want to hear about how that soft yet dense interior is bursting with rich chocolatey flavour thanks to the addition of melted chocolate in the batter.
You want to hear about how the warming spices and molasses co-mingle with that chocolate to create a tantalizingly complex flavour profile that’s an absolute delight for the taste buds.
You want to hear about how, despite being rich and chocolatey, these brownies are actually [relatively] healthy not-too-bad for you. The recipe doesn’t call for as much butter or sugar as most traditional ones do, yet you’d be hard-pressed to tell for how flavourful and moist they are.
You want… me to stop talking and just give you the recipe? I can do that 
I’d love to know if you make this (or any!) recipe! Tag @runwithspoons on Instagram and Twitter, and be sure to subscribe to our mailing list to receive more healthy and delicious recipes straight to your inbox!
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Lightened Up Chocolate Gingerbread Brownies
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 9 brownies 1x
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 1/4 cup regular molasses
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tbsp. plain Greek yogurt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease an 8×8 baking pan.
- In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine butter, molasses, brown sugar, and chocolate. Stir until butter and chocolate have melted and everything becomes fully incorporated. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and spices. Stir until fully combined. Add the cooled chocolate molasses mixture and being stirring. When batter begins to moisten, add egg and yogurt, mixing well until everything is fully combined.
- Pour batter into prepared baking pan, using a spatula to ensure that it is evenly distributed. Bake for 20 minutes and allow to cool in pan before slicing into squares.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
I try not to play favourites, but I have to admit that I’m definitely crushing on these at the moment. I’ve made two batches in less than 48 hours, and I’d gladly make a third if I didn’t have so many other holiday recipes that I wanted to try out. As it stands, I’ll have to shelf this recipe for a little while, but it’s definitely going to be made again (brownies and milk for Santa, perhaps?). Moist and tender, sweet and spicy, rich and complex… flavour and texture perfection all around.
Okay those brownies look seriously delicious!!! I must make these soon….I’m going to try making them w/ gluten free flour and see how they turn out!!! yum!
These are what chicks should eat after a break up…. After a great day… To sooth PMS… On a Tuesday… You know!
I never would have thought to put gingerbread flavors in brownies. I’m intrigued! Your pictures make them look delicious!
Printing this! I made your pumpkin pie bars and vegan chocolate chip pumpkin cookies (although I’m not vegan, they were still good) last month and my husband and I both enjoyed them. It’s so easy, too!
Thanks for letting me know, Kim! I’m glad you both liked them.
And here I thought I would have nothing to do this afternoon when I was done showering (still haven’t made it in there after a run this morning…woops), lunching, and writing tomorrow’s post…sooo glad you proved me wrong. Joseph sends his thanks for coming home to this, too
Woo! I hope you like them
Love the idea of gingerbread brownies! And am on a huge ginger kick at the moment so this sounds perfect. Though I hope you can forgive me if I steal the general theme and apply it to regular full-fat brownies, I really like to make them with lots of butter for that wonderful fudgey texture….
mmmm those look amaaaaazzzing! I want some right now! What a perfect combination of flavors. Can you mail me some please? I am studying for my GRE (if I fail they will not let me graduate with my MBA-yes that is in the wrong order hehe). There is my sob story….so now can you please send me some of that goodness? YUM!
You are a baking queen these days! I love all the recipes you’ve been coming up with.
These look so dang amazing!
Pretty sure chocolate is just amazing with anything….mmm.
And obviously cookies and milk for Santa is still a must
My worst nightmare. I just got to the office already hungry, about to crack open my zip lock of apple slices, and I see this gorgeous decadent brownie pop on my screen. I am dying. The worst part, I have to be silent and somewhat subtle about how my reaction to those brownies so my co-worker doesn’t snoop and think I am cray.
They look incredible. I am pretending these apple slices are satisfying my craving for those chocolate beauties. And thank you for magazine ready photos of the perfect brownie.
You. are. fabulous.
Stay warm today!
-Ashley
If it’s any consolation, there are times where I crave apples over brownies. It doesn’t happen often, but, hey… apples are still pretty fabulous
Gingerbread and chocolate, what a great idea! I love brownies of all kinds. Great pics, too!
These. look. amazing. Your beautiful photos and detailed descriptions have me drooling! I just need to go get some molasses and then these would be baked (and devoured) in no time.
Thanks for sharing!
Okkkkk these look delicious!! And totally doable for this newbie at baking. And yeah I try not to play favorites either but hey, it happens.
It is currently 8:30am and I’m seriously debating baking these right NOW
Yyup, these pretty much look and sound like heaven! I am SUPER obsessed with gingerbread right now (who isn’t?), so you instantly won me over with this one. I didn’t even NEED the pictures…though they certainly didn’t hurt ;).
Obsessed with Justin’s maple AB AND gingerbread? A girl after my own heart
Haha, we have the BEST taste buds, don’t we?
I.AM.MAKING.THOSE!!!! Thanks again for sharing a great looking recipe!
Ack! Your comment somehow ended up in spam… and another one too!
Sorry girl!
These pictures are gorgeous! Love how festive they are. I can’t wait to try out this recipe
I’m a big believer of pictures speaking a thousand words, BUTTTTT your descriptions we ALMOST better than the photos…ALMOST! These look amazing, I would eat an entire plate!
I am glad you went back in and added the descriptions, because brownies with the crackly outer shell and the soft center are my favorite kind! These sound delectable. There are so many sweet treats that I want to try I don’t know how I will have time for them all.
yessssssss!!! Now that’s what I’m talking about. I’m still crushin on the idea of a gingerbread chocolate donut but these will have to do
Virtually eating these!
Okay, so I have this thing about brownies, and the tops MUST be crackly. If they don’t turn out that way, I will literally throw them away and start over. It can be hard when you’re making them lighter, but these look absolutely PERFECT, and I was just dreaming about gingerbread brownies. Seriously. In love, and making very soon!
Let me start by saying that the pictures are amazing. Not just in terms of the deliciousness shown in them – though that obviously, too – but when it comes to composition, too. The Christmas tree [assuming that’s what the green is] and lights are a great seasonal background that immediately bring up the holiday cheer. Lovely.
Now about those brownies … Gingerbread AND brownies combined? The best. I actually posted a Gingerbread Mug Cake recipe a while ago that is pretty much brownie-like. However, these would be much better for sharing than my mug cake – and it’s all about sharing during Christmas time, right? And should be all year around in my opinion.
It’s sad to say but we don’t put out milk and cookies for Santa over here. He comes visiting on the evening of 24th so we usually had to say a poem, sing a song or something of the likes before receiving our presents when we were younger. Younger and still a little scared of Santa …
Aww, thanks girl! Super sweet of ya to say
We’ve always celebrate the 24th as well, so Santa was never a really big thing for me growing up… When I got a little older, my parents started hanging a stocking that “Santa” would fill with small things that I could open on Christmas morning, so I left him cookies a couple of times
yup, I’d definitely eat these ;_) This is just getting me exciting for the baking day I have planned next week! It’s been a while since I’ve baked anything, so I’m looking forward to an entire afternoon of it.
And I remember leaving out cookies for Santa, but I didn’t like milk as a kid so I refused to leave him milk…I’m pretty sure Santa got orange juice or Sprite instead
I really like the ingredients list in this recipe, as well as the pictures. I have a feeling I will try these out real soon…Even though I don’t celebrate Christmas, when I was little my parents let me leave cookies out for Santa just because I kept seeing it on TV and it looked really neat. My parents even crumbled them a bit for me so that it would look like Santa came and eat some.
Brownies are my favorite! I’m also a fan of the lightened up version of desserts, so I’m excited to try them out!
Yup, my brother and I always used to leave cookies and milk out for Santa. It was always so exciting to wake-up Christmas morning and see if they were still there…they never were!!!
YUM! These look amazing and perfect for the holidays!
What I’d like is for you to ship me a batch so I can drool while I’m eating them myself =)
You seriously know the way to my heart! I need to make these this weekend!
So, I had plans to make date-sweetened brownies this week, and now I’m thinking I need to turn them into gingerbread brownies.
I BAKED LAST NIGHT!!!
Are you proud of me? I finally found buckwheat flour, and I made pecan/chocolate chip cookies with a hint of ‘holiday’ flavours… like molasses, nutmeg, cinnamon. Aaaand, that was my breakfast this morning.
Baking is a good way to pass the time (and warm up) when you’re dealing with Albertan winters. And how did you like the buckwheat flour!? The only one I tried was from Bob’s Red Mill and I was -not- a fan.
I think I would be happy with a scratch and taste monitor right about now!
Terrifically tantalizing pictures and cinnamon/nutmeg and cocoa are magical together! I have been adding all three to my baked oats and yum! And yes- I will be your holiday taste tester!
As a child I used to put out milk and cookies…but when I found out where they really went, ooh , I felt so unjustified! I mean some people had more cookies than I did! How unfair!
This picture bomb was unexpected – my tummy is a bottomless pit today anyway and now I also start craving soft, dense, chocolaty brownies. Damn. Reminds me of things not to do when you try to get some thesis writing done: go on bloglovin. But this recipe is bookmarked to make my family happy in the Christmas holidays. Thanks, girl!
To answer your questions = yes and yes
AMAZING chocolate-gingerbread treat!
Hey Tim’s birthday is in a week and I’ve been debating what to get him. I think these would actually be perfect.
You can never go wrong with gifting chocolate… I’d love to know what you guys thought of them [if you do end up making ’em].
Ok, I have a Christmas party next week and I am SO bringing these. If I don’t eat them all first. I would eat these all for breakfast if technology would allow it!
Your sacrifices are appreciated!
We always put out cookies for Santa and carrots for his reindeer. But, I never failed to notice that the cookies we had put out (carefully chosen by me) were back in the tupperware the next morning. I guess my parents, er, Santa, was too full by the time he reached our house and didn’t want the cookies to go to waste. I’m not sure if the carrots were returned to the vegetable crisper… perhaps Santa would have preferred your brownies.
Yuuuuhumhumhum!! I’m all about gingerbread this year and gingerbread WITH chocolate?! Heck yes! I always put out cookies for Santa… and carrots for the reindeer
Really nice food pics!!! And the description is great, too.
But to be sure, you’d have to mail me some….
I would’ve never thought to put chocolate and gingerbread together, but considering how much I’ve liked your other recipes, I’m willing to give it a shot
Necessity is the mother of all invention — I just needed a way to conveniently combine two of my latest obsessions… chocolate and molasses
Brownies!! Oh my goodness, I want some now, they look amazing – your photography is seriously killer lady!
You have me drooling over here!
Thanks Ari! <3
They look beautiful and I bet they taste heavenly! I love the addition of greek yogurt. I lately make all my pancakes with gree yogurt or quark and I figured that it gives then an even more fudgey and creamy consistence.
I bet the pictures don’t even do it justice!