I can’t believe I am actually posting with the Crazy Ingredient Challenge today! I loved seeing the winning flavor combination of Cashews and Coffee but simply kept forgetting about actually making my dish.

I immediately though of a play on a frappuccino, because you hear coffee you think Starbucks (or at least I do since my best friend is a store manager). I really wasn’t sure how to make that happen and simply pushed it out of my mind. But then I saw a commercial for cashew milk last week and this month’s challenge came screaming back to me. To be that guy in the almond milk commercials, “I don’t know what it tastes like so I don’t want to try it.” It’s not that I don’t want to try it, it’s that I don’t want to be stuck with a half gallon of cashew milk if I don’t like it!

Back to the drawing board and I thought of brownies. I know a lot of people add instant espresso to their chocolate desserts to intensify that chocolate flavor. And I only have a measly two recipes for brownies on this site. It’s a dessert I tend to forget about, but absolutely adore when I have them. These rich, fudgy brownies are studded with salty cashews for a perfect late night craving buster.

Fudgey Cashew Brownies

Ingredients:

• 7 tbsp butter
• 8 oz semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 tsp instant espresso coffee
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 C sugar
• 1/4 C brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 C flour
• 1/2 C chopped cashews

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8×8 (or 9×9) pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
2. Place butter, chocolate, espresso powder, and salt in a large glass bowl over a double boiler. Warm over low heat until butter and chocolate are melted together. Remove from double boiler (and heat).
3. Mix in the sugars until combined. Mix in the eggs and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the flour until there aren’t any lumps. Fold in the cashews.
4. Pour batter into prepared baking pan. Bake 22-25 minutes, until the brownies are set. Place pan on a cooling rack. Let brownies cool before cutting.

*This recipe is adapted from Yvonne at http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/10/one-bowl-espresso-cashew-brownies-recipe.html*

To see the other bloggers who participated in this month’s Crazy Ingredient Challenge click on the link below.