My senior year of high school, my good friend Laura and I went post-holiday shopping at the Mall of America. As we sat down with our food court lunches, we had a conversation that went something like this:
Laura: I’m Laura, the girl who gets a carton of milk at Taco Bell.
Julie: Well, I’m Julie, who brings clementines with her when she goes shopping.
Laura: Good point.
I’m still that girl who eats clementines all the time. This time of year, I eat through those little crates of “cuties” at a crazy pace. If one box lasts 2 weeks in this house, it’s amazing.
I’ve never baked with clementines. Probably because I eat them too quickly for there to be any left to incorporate into recipes.
But while walking Max yesterday, I had a flash of inspiration: clementine brownies. Surely I could sacrifice a few of my precious ‘cuties’ for brownies.
It was well worth the sacrifice; these are by far the best brownies I’ve EVER made. Seriously. I don’t know how I limited myself to just one. I think I just want them to last longer.
Clementine Cutie Brownies
4 oz bittersweet chocolate
1/3 c olive oil
Zest of 2 clementines (about 1 T)
Juice of 1 clementine (about 2-3 T)
1 T triple sec (optional)
1/2 tsp orange extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c brown rice syrup
1/3 c brown sugar
1/2 c chocolate chips
Preheat your oven to 350F.
In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate with the olive oil, stirring often. When the chocolate is completely melted, pour into a large mixing bowl. Add the zest, juice, triple sec and extracts and stir.
Stir in the flour, brown rice syrup and brown sugar until completely mixed. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Pour the batter into a greased 9×9″ baking pan. Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool before cutting into squares.
i LOVE how you used clementines! i have never seen anything like these before.. oranges.. NO THANKS.. we all know clementines are better
Triple Sec in brownies — excellent idea!
I am also that girl that takes clementines everywhere, especially this time of year! They are so convenient and delicious
These look AMAZING! Adding cuties to grocery list . . .
thooooooose look amazing
I love orange and chocolate together
Two *weeks*? Confession, a box of clementines lasts barely two days in my presence. I cannot resist those little guys, plus I have major cravings for citrus in the winter (I guess it’s my body trying to ward off all those little viruses my co-workers keep trying to infect me with). Your brownies look awesome!
Woah now, olive oil? I’m going to have to give that a try. I bet that, combined with some high-quality bittersweet chocolate makes these super rich. Genius.
Whoa, those look awesome. It’s all I can do to stop myself from making them right now…alas, I’ve been eating myself FULL of chocolate this enitre week. Oh pms…what a love/hate relationship we have
Yay!! It seems like a lot of people have been using clementines in their cooking right now. These brownies look incredible. Now, i just need to find some orange extract!
I’m with you on the clementine addiction. Right now it’s satsumas everywhere which makes me a very happy girl. Even my hubby loves to snack on them.
So you’ve got me thinking. Why is it that orange and chocolate pair so well together? What about chocolate and lemon or chocolate and lime? Those combos sound odd to me (although the lime less so). What is it about the orange that works so well with chocolate. Is it the slight sweetness in this citrus, or the fact that in general we tend to use it in a different way than when we use lemons and limes (ie no orange meringue or orange pie).
Off to ponder this some more…
I think it has to do with the bright citrus flavor balancing out the rich chocolate?
I love orange and chocolate together so I’m sure these are amazing!! Very creative way to use clementines!
Sounds delicious Julie! I love cuties, too. I can eat so many in a day….helps that they are so easy to peel.
These look INCREDIBLE! I love the flavor of orange and chocolate. Thanks for sharing!
wow, julie! these look amazing! can’t wait to try them.
this is a new twist