While I love almost all desserts, to me the BEST desserts fall into the “a la mode” category. They are warm and topped with ice cream, and that combo takes almost any dessert to a whole other level. I LOVE A La Mode.
For a while I’ve been trying to come up with a quick and easy way to make an individual serving of brownie a la mode at home, and the results aren’t always the best. Some have turned out like this…
We’ll call those Brownie A La Garbage Disposal. Bleh. I tried using mixes, thinking that would be a nice way to keep it easy, but I was never happy with the results. Today I decided to work on one based on my favorite brownie recipe and see what I could create, and I think we have a winner.
Yeah, this recipe is a keeper. Hot, gooey, dark chocolatey brownies in a few short minutes using the microwave and simple ingredients??? We’ll call them Brownies A La Anytime.
Here is what you need…
At the very last moment I decided that I wanted to add baking powder, so this guy didn’t make it into the photo, but he made it into the brownies. The ingredients are as follows. This will make one generous serving. It could be shared, if you are feeling generous, but I won’t judge you if you keep it all to yourself.
Brownies A La Anytime
4 Tablespoons Flour
3 Tablespoons Sugar
Pinch Of Salt
1/8 teaspoon Baking Powder
2 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder (I prefer Hershey’s Dark Cocoa Powder)
1 Tablespoon Melted Butter
1-2 Tablespoons Oil (such as vegetable, canola or coconut)
1 Tablespoon Water
1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla
You can top with a few chocolate chips or nuts if you like.
Melt your butter in a microwave safe bowl or cup (took me about 12 seconds). Add the oil to your melted butter and mix well. If you want a moister brownie, go for the full two tablespoons. I prefer a really solid, dense brownie (which I top with ice cream adding a lot of moisture) so I use one tablespoon of oil. Add in your vanilla and water, stir well to combine. In a separate bowl or cup, combine all dry ingredients.
As I said, I used only one tablespoon of oil, so my mix is a bit on the drier/firm side. I pressed it into my ramekin. You could also use a mug, microwaving things in a mug seems to be the popular thing, but being a non-coffee drinker (hello, Diet Coke!), I have more ramekins than I do mugs.
I added a few chocolate chips to the top.
I started with 45 seconds in the microwave and ended up cooking mine for about one minute and ten seconds. That’s 70 seconds people – until hot, gooey, delicious, dark, sweet chocolate goodness. SEVENTY SECONDS! That’s like magic!
Instant. Gratification. Which is both a very good, and possibly very bad, thing. These may be too easy to whip up!
In my opinion, anything “a la mode” needs ice cream. End of story.
These are best enjoyed within a few minutes of heating them up. I have a few yummy variations coming up, but I have to pace myself, eating four of these in a day is probably not recommended. Though it would be damn delicious. ENJOY!
If you are looking for some other delish brownie recipes, maybe I recommend…
My all time favorite brownie recipe, my EASY BROWNIES
More Fudge Less Pudge Brownies
Candy Cane Cookie Crunch Brownies
Ellie says
Just wanted to let you know that I am a huge fan of this recipe! It’s perfect for satisfying my chocolate craving with nothing less than absolute decadence! ? I usually top it with my beloved almond milk ice cream, but today I opted for drizzling the whole shebang with full fat coconut milk and I loved that, too. Thanks for sharing this too-easy-for-my-own-good recipe!
P.S. Because I am a total weirdo, I tried halving this recipe when I felt like a less guilty dessert. It totally worked!
Christi says
Ellie, I’m so happy to hear you like the recipe! Sometimes you just have to take care of that chocolate craving! Enjoy and Happy New Year!
LucyNY says
Was stuck in the house today, and decided to try this recipe. It was delicious! I will definitely make it again when I need a quick chocolate fix.
Malaz Nour says
So I’m about to figure out if it’s okay to use powdered vanilla instead of liquid wish me luck!
Ikhlas says
Just made these! Unfortunately, they turned out quite dry for me 🙁 I only put 1 tbsp of oil and microwaved them for 70 seconds. 25 seconds before it finished, I heard a sizzling sound and I immediately took it out to discover that it had overcooked. It was more like a dry mug cake than brownie for me, but I think it was because of the high heat of my microwave.
Will definitely try this again with less time!
Amanda says
I love this recipe! So easy to make. This it’s great so I don’t eat the whole pan!
Kim says
Well, that hit the spot! Turned out perfectly for me. I think I might do as someone suggested above and dissolve the sugar in the wet ingredients as it was a big grainy but other than that, it was great. I cooked mine in a standard size coffee mug, for 45 seconds, then an additional 15. Then I topped it with caramel ice cream topping. Delicious! I can’t say it’s EXACTLY like a brownie, but I am tempted to run upstairs and make another one…! Thanks for the recipe.
Alyssa says
I just tried these to surprise my brother who just got out of the hospital, and we both loved them! They were the perfect size, and wonderfully nostalgic to share together. A+++
Christi says
So glad you liked them Alyssa, I hope your brother is doing better!
Leslie says
Made this last night and it was DELICIOUS! Easy to be addicting. Has anyone tried substituting some of the sugar? That’s my only concern is that 3TBSP of sugar is a lot…let me know if you have suggestions!
Christi says
Leslie, I think you could absolutely try cutting back the sugar, that’s really going to come down to personal taste. Let me know if you try and how it goes, but I would think 2 TBSP could absolutely work (and possibly less) or using something like Truvia.
Emily Easterling says
just pulled this out of the microwave- we loved it! really good brownie flavor. we added white chocolate chips.. yum!!
Angie says
Looks dangerous! But in a totally delicious way. 😀 What size ramekin did you use? I’ve been wanting to try several single-serve microwave desserts, but I’m never sure if my standard coffee mugs are big enough. As far as ramekins, I only have 4 oz size, and then I have some 5 oz glass jars Would these be big enough for this recipe?
Christi says
Angie, I think those would be fine. My ramekins are probably about the width of a coffee cup. 🙂