Fall has arrived, though officially summer still has more than a week left to dazzle us with its sunshine. This is my favorite time of year — the summer sun still holds enough warmth to add some bronze to your skin, while the chill in the air invites you to grab that sweater on your way out the door, just in case. The leaves are beginning to change, the days are getting shorter, and the cooler nights offer a taste of winter to come.

This time of year my taste buds turn from the fresh, light flavors of summer and begin to crave the warmly spiced flavors of fall: cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, and, of course, ginger.

My taste for chocolate never wanes, regardless of the season. But in the fall I like to add to it some of those musky fall flavors. Amaretto Dream Cookies have been a fall favorite of mine for years, with flavors of amaretto, almond, coconut, Mexican vanilla, and anise turning a chocolate chip cookie into something decidedly fall-ish. But these Double Ginger Brownies might be my new go-to chocolatey fall treat.

Double Ginger Brownies

These rich, deeply chocolatey brownies are a riff on the base brownie recipe I used for two of the recipes in my Chocolate Cookies and Bars eBook — the Cheesecake Marble Brownies and the Coffee & Cream Brownies. I love how densely fudgy they are, and their bittersweet chocolate flavor is the perfect backdrop for the bright spiciness of ginger.

As the name implies, I used two kinds of ginger in this recipe — powdered and crystallized. The powdered ginger is mixed in with the flour, cocoa powder, and leavener, adding a subtle warmth to the brownie base. Then pieces of crystallized ginger are stirred in for pops of sweet spice throughout. The result is a sweet, spicy dream of a treat in every mouthful. If you’re a fan of chocolate-covered crystallized ginger pieces, you’ll love these brownies.

Chocolate Heaven

I could have called this recipe “triple chocolate double ginger brownies”, since in addition to the two types of ginger, I used three kinds of chocolate in them. Unsweetened baking chocolate supplies the base chocolate flavor, with a little bit of cocoa powder to enhance the fudginess.

Then chunks of chocolate are both folded in and sprinkled on top. I used bittersweet chocolate to really push the dark chocolate flavor over the top here. Milk chocolate would be equally tasty, albeit much more sweet and less intense.

When it comes to chocolate my motto is typically “the darker the better”. But if you’d pick milk chocolate over dark chocolate when buying yourself truffles or other chocolates, you’ll want to go that route here as well.

A Few Tips

You don’t need a mixer for this recipe — a sturdy whisk will do the trick.
You will, however, need a double boiler. If you don’t have one, you can create your own with a heat-safe bowl (metal or tempered glass, ideally) placed over a pot of boiling water. Just make sure the water isn’t high enough to touch the bottom of the bowl.
This recipe calls for a fair amount of unsweetened chocolate. And no, you can’t substitute semisweet here — it’ll be way too sweet. Pro tip: watch for sales on unsweetened baking chocolate and stock up. It’ll keep well in a cool, dark place for months.
I typically find crystallized ginger in the bulk section of my grocery store. You can also find it online. It looks like sugar-coated soft jelly candy, sort of like those old-school orange slices (which I’m now craving). If you need another recipe to use up any leftovers, try my Apricot Ginger Granola!

If you make these brownies, leave me a message in the comments below — I’d love to know what you think! And don’t forget to tag me in your photos on Instagram or Facebook.

Happy Baking!

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