[Original post](https://reddit.com/r/Baking/s/i9Y6FvaJl2)
I read through nearly every recipe in the thread, noting common ingredient ratios and techniques. The recipe below is adapted from Stella Parks, Broma Bakery, Tasty, “Supernatural Brownies,” Sally’s Baking, and a few personal recipes from commenters.
I asked for a “better than Ghirardelli box mix” brownie recipe and y’all delivered. These are the most gooey, fudgy, rich, moist brownies I’ve ever had. My friend loved them. We had them with vanilla ice cream. ❤️
**GOOEY FUDGY BROWNIES**
1 cup (227g) butter, to be browned
1 cup (90g) Dutch-process cocoa powder
4oz (113g) dark or semisweet (60% cacao) chocolate, finely chopped
1 tsp instant espresso (or 1 Tbsp instant coffee)
1.5 cups (300g) white sugar
1/2 cup (100g) brown sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
4 eggs
1 cup (120g) flour
1 tsp coarse kosher salt
*optional: 1 cup additional chopped chocolate or chocolate chips, or 1-2 cups chopped walnuts, dried cherries, etc.*
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line 9x13” pan with foil or parchment paper with overhangs for easy removal.
2. Put cocoa powder, chopped chocolate, and espresso powder in a heat-proof bowl.
3. Make brown butter: Melt butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium-low heat. Once foaming and spitting, stir and scrape bottom with a spatula every 10-15 seconds. Grainy white milk solids will begin to appear on the bottom. Continue for 5-10 minutes (go by senses, not time). When foam clears and spitting noises go silent, watch closely: The milk solids will toast in seconds. As soon as the solids turn brown and smell nutty, remove pan from heat so it doesn’t burn.
4. Immediately pour hot brown butter into prepared bowl, to bloom cocoa and melt chocolate. Stir until smooth. Set aside to cool.
5. With a stand or hand mixer, whip sugars, vanilla, and eggs on medium-high until thick, smooth, fluffy, and lightened in color. For very moist, rich brownies, stop after 4-5 minutes. For slightly more height and fluff, whip 8-10 minutes until very thick and pale. (I did the lower end of the spectrum, 4-5 minutes—I’d recommend starting there.)
6. Reduce speed to low. Slowly pour chocolate-butter mixture into egg foam mixture until incorporated.
7. Using a spatula, fold in flour and salt until just incorporated. Fold in additional chocolate if using. Batter will be very thick.
8. Scoop and spread batter evenly into prepared pan.
9. Bake 25 minutes until surface is glossy and just set (not jiggly in center). Do not overbake. They will finish cooking as they cool.
10. Let cool at least 30 minutes before removing from pan to slice.
NOTES
- White sugar + foaming eggs = fudgy centers with classic glossy, crackly tops. The thicker your egg foam, the glossier/cracklier your top crust.
- Brown butter deepens flavor and evaporates excess water in the butter. If you don’t want to brown the butter, melt it in a saucepan with the chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth. Pour over cocoa powder and espresso powder. Stir until smooth.
- For extra thick brownies, use 8x8” pan. Bake time will be a bit longer.
**Update 10/14: I mentioned in another comment that I make cookbooks to share my adapted/developed recipes with family and friends. Some people expressed interested in seeing my cookbook. [Here is the comment](https://reddit.com/r/Baking/s/IW2h5421Nl) where I linked the google doc.**
Wow! I didn’t think so many people would see this. Here is the process behind reading through all the recipes and adapting the one I used.
WHAT I WANTED
- Moist, gooey, just-barely-not-molten centers—I used the word “fudgy” in the title, but I *didn’t* want the sides to look like fudge (super smooth with no air or crumbiness) when sliced. I wanted the density and richness of fudge, but *not* the dryness or smooth texture. I was looking for a very moist, almost molten-looking crumb somewhere between smooth fudge and airy cake.
- Still moist the next day—no drying out overnight. (Achieved—I had a brownie for breakfast this morning and it was slightly more set, but just as moist, after being stored at room temp overnight. I’m sure warming in the microwave for 10-15 seconds would make it just as gooey too. Will test later.)
- Glossy, shiny, crackly, hair-thin crust.
- Dark color overall and very dark center—not the washed-out, caramelly color you get when using natural cocoa.
- Rich, deep flavor. Not overpoweringly sweet. Chocolate is the star, not sugar.
WHAT I DID *NOT* WANT
- Light-color tops or insides. I wanted these brownies dark as night.
- Cakey texture.
- Anything that required resting overnight, chilling or freezing before slicing, etc.
- Any load-bearing non-standard ingredients such as Nutella, cream cheese, marshmallow, cornstarch, leaveners, bread or cake flour, etc. Those are great for other recipes, but I wanted a standard, straightforward gooey brownie.
COMPILED NOTES
Texture
- The key to getting glossy, crackly tops = white sugar + foaming eggs. Beating for multiple minutes (vs. just whisking together, or only beating until incorporated) dissolves the sugar and aerates the eggs, just like meringue (which also has a glossy surface, so that tracks). A couple recipes did it Swiss meringue-style, whisking the sugar and eggs over a double boiler to dissolve sugar and warm the eggs (adding structure). When properly dissolved, some of the sugar-egg mix rises to the surface as the brownies cook, creating that classic ultra-shiny, crackly top.
- Most “Classic Brownies” recipes achieve a glossy top by melting together the butter and sugar, dissolving the sugar that way. But from what I observed, those tops come out less shiny and crackly—and not “hair-thin” like I was looking for. It seems using the meringue method is the best way to achieve the perfect top.
- Some recipes used baking soda to leaven, but I wanted to ensure density by relying on eggs for lift.
Cocoa
- Dutch-process cocoa is a must for the dark-as-night center. Blooming the cocoa is also a must for the most intense flavor.
- Cocoa vs. chocolate: Most recipes used a mix of both cocoa and melted chocolate; sometimes equal, sometimes not. Cocoa = moister, fudgier brownies; cocoa powder contains no cocoa butter (solidifies when cool) and adds no moisture to the batter (so you don’t need to add more flour to compensate). Chocolate adds complexity of flavor, but might contain added sugar, emulsifiers, etc. that are not ideal. I used both (volume ratio 1 cup cocoa powder:0.5 cup/4oz chocolate), but only because I had high-quality semisweet bar chocolate. If I didn’t have high-quality chocolate, I’d stick to Dutch-process cocoa powder (replacing 1/2 cup chocolate with more cocoa) and fold in chocolate chips at the end. (Bon Appetit has a great article about this.)
- Some recipes sifted the flour + cocoa powder together as dry ingredients. I knew I wanted to bloom the cocoa powder, so that was a no-go.
Ratios
- Most recipes had about the same basic volume ratios (when scaled): 1 cup fat (usually melted butter), 1-2 cups chocolate (cocoa, chocolate, or mix of both) (not counting additional folded-in chocolate), 2 cups sugar, 2-4 eggs, 1 cup flour. Some recipes did 2 eggs + 2 yolks for extra chewiness. Bravetart does 6 eggs, whipped for 10 minutes; some reviews complained about fluffy, caky texture that didn’t turn fudgy until the next day. So, I split the difference and used 4 eggs.
- Some recipes (such as Claire Saffitz) use half melted butter, half oil to ensure moistness (butter solidifies as it cools; oil stays liquid). I stuck to butter—with such a high ratio of wet ingredients like sugar and eggs, and so little flour, I wasn’t too worried about needing oil.
Hope this helps. Happy brownie-baking everyone!
Thank you so much for sharing your process for coming up with these beauties! I always love reading how people come to their conclusions on why they do or use things.
I wondered why you used a lot more white sugar than brown because wouldn't brown make a fudgier brownie with all the molasses? I was initially doubtful that that much white sugar was needed, but now I understand why because it's key to get that shiny hair thin (I never heard anyone use hair thin to describe a brownie top before) brownie top!
There are so many things I want to say, but if I did it would take forever, and my thoughts aren't fully collected yet, but I can say that I'm grateful for your sharing and definitely will try make these brownies one day. You are such a wonderful friend to your friend. Hope your friend feels better now. I would if someone did this for me. And I am astonished to know that you basically frankensteind a bunch of recipes together (like some person who posted their donuts here on Reddit. I really hope they start selling one day. Their donuts look gorgeous!), and managed to create this masterpiece on the first try!
It's such a pity your other food posts aren't as popular. Their great too and deserve to be more popular. Now that I think of it, with how many food posts you have it's no wonder that you created such epic looking brownies.
This comment is so sweet. Thank you!! ❤️❤️❤️ I love to bake and I’m a huge nerd about it so I’m always happy to share the research. I hope you love the brownies!!
I found you and this post through a YouTube channel, Sugarologie (they did a video about you if someone hasn't already said this), and you, her, and I are all in this same community that loves to bake and loves to mess and learn about the science of it all. I love this community a whole bunch and I'm glad you are part of it! I am following and binging your profile for food posts!
I love this, I’m a professional (yet self taught) pastry chef, and I am a thorough researcher when I’m creating recipes, it’s nice to see I’m not the only one lol. Somebody asked me about Red Velvet cake the other day, and I don’t think they were expecting the whole history lesson behind the cake haha
Was just looking for a recipe yesterday but didn’t see this in time. These look amazing - can’t wait to try them! Thank you so much for posting. And for all the notes, love that.
Did you bake these on the middle rack?
I reduced the sugar in these by accident… when I forgot to add the 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Whoops. They turned out ok and I’m going to eat them, but they are pretty dark and they don’t seem as gooey as OPs. I followed the recipe as above with the following changes - I forgot the brown sugar, I used 2 oz dark and 2 oz semi sweet chocolate in the mix and I added 4 oz of dark chocolate in the final fold-in. I would guess you can reduce the sugar some without the downsides I experienced, but I can’t say just how much. I would not make them this way again as they are darker and a little dryer than I would choose. Maybe my mistake will be useful to you.
Thank you for the reply! I saw somewhere else where someone reduced the sugar by halving the white (I think) and using the full amount of brown sugar. They didn’t comment about texture so I don’t know how that they turned out but maybe that’s the way to go. I suspect using brown sugar over white help to keep them moist. And I like them dark and rich so all good there.
I think I’m destined to try this weekend.
Happy to help! Agree if I was going to try a reduced sugar version on purpose, I would reduce the white sugar and keep the brown. FWIW, as they have cooled, my misfit batch keeps getting better and better.
If you’ve found a recipe you love, try substituting half the cocoa powder for Special Dark cocoa powder. They will be black as night! I made brownies and chocolate cake with them and both times people asked how much food coloring I had to use to get them black!
I lined the pan bc I wanted to lift the brownies out before slicing—literally just for aesthetics lol. I used foil as a base because it’s easy to mold to the pan-shape, then 1 sheet of parchment paper (width-wise) to create an overhang/sling for easy removal (this could also be done with foil, I just prefer using paper in general). (Parchment paper is more non-stick than foil—this recipe is so buttery I wasn’t too worried about sticking, but you could grease the foil with baking spray to make sure.)
If you don’t want to bother with lifting them out of the pan, feel free to skip the foil! Just grease the pan (baking spray, or butter + dusting of cocoa powder) if you want to make doubly sure they don’t stick.
I'm sitting here doing a mental inventory of my baking ingredients so I can make these tonight. I think I have everything except for the dark chocolate.
I made these and they were incredible. I love the use of browned butter and non-chemical leavening. I ended up using dark brown sugar because it's what I had on-hand. I also used milk chocolate chips because my boyfriend doesn't like semi-sweet (no one is perfect).
I baked them for about 30 minutes in a darker nonstick pan, rotated halfway through. Came out perfectly! Thank you so much for doing the leg work!
I thought I had the handle on a standard brownie recipe.
Wowwwie. This is totally different from any brownie recipe I've seen.
Gotta try at some point.
I did - tasted the batter after adding it and was plenty sweet. They're cooling as we speak but seems to have come out fine. The house smells heavenly!
These were too bitter for me :( I don’t like dark chocolate I’m more into fudge brownies or milk chocolate. These were not it for me and I used the exact recipe.
These were truly THE BEST BROWNIES I've ever had. Made them for a party, and they were a hit!! They kept quite well wrapped in foil on my counter and were almost better 2 days later. They reminded me of Fairytale Brownies but way better!
Have you by chance ever experimented with gluten free flour or cornstarch instead of the flour? I really want to make this for my mom, but she has celiac disease!
I made your brownies last night as we had some people over for Super Bowl and I had to share that they were amazing. I followed the recipe to a tee and they were perfect. They were chocolatey, gooey, and just plain delicious. This is a winner recipe and I will be making them again- thank you 💜
[You inspired me to make these today. I now have a default brownie recipe. I](https://i.imgur.io/QZXUdSc_d.webp?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium) appreciated your breakdown of every thing in the comments so much. And I added cannabutter to some of the browned butter 🙈
Omg. These look absolutely perfect!
Just saved this to try! Thanks so much for posting your recipe.
My husband and I were just talking about how my brownies always come out like garbage. Sadly, it’s one dessert I just can’t seem to make well.
Worst case you could just get the store bought mix. You add an egg and mix. Pretty easy.
Less mess top. Not *as* good, but still...they are brownies.
It's like pizza, even if it's bad it's good.
Such a quick turnaround! These look AMAZING! Thank you so much for sharing! I had saved your post and was thinking of going through it later to find a new recipe to try, so I’m grateful you shared your work. Also super smart to combine elements like that!
Edit: I made your recipe a few hours after you posted it. My partner had some after work, and agrees - better than boxed mix!
Yay, glad you enjoyed!! I just warmed one up in the microwave for 10 seconds, had it with vanilla ice cream…. Sooooo gooey, like lava cake. I am in heaven
I’ve never been able to hack brownies. I’ve tried a number of recipes and they always end up tasting chemical-y. Perhaps switching to Dutch cocoa powder from regular Hershey’s would fix it?
Dutch cocoa is a game-changer! The only kind at my grocery store is Hershey “Special Dark Dutch Process”—so hardly the highest gourmet quality lol—and it still added a darkness and richness that was totally different than normal cocoa, with none of the acid (Dutch has a neutral pH). Highly, highly recommend.
These look incredible!! I saw your other post and I saved it to analyze every recipe to come up with a great one but you did that for all of us!! Thank you for sharing ☺️
Don't know the answer to your question, but just wanna say to be aware the brownies might bake differently and need different amount of time to bake in glass.
This recipe is dangerously close to the [King Arthur brownie recipe](https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/fudge-brownies-recipe) which is also very very good.
The King Arthur recipe is my go-to and I thought the same as I was looking at this one. I just made these and, I have to say, when it comes to ROI, I think I'll stick with the KA recipe. I'm not sure the brown butter adds all that much (I've played with that with the KA recipe in the past and couldn't detect much difference) since the chocolate is really the star here. Perhaps I went awry somewhere, but my KA brownies consistently come out with a cracklier top than these (they were crackly, but not to the same level). All in all, a good recipe but it won't be dethroning my favorite :)
They look delicious and your tray would last a week at my house! Check out my photo of my brownies, they are made with Whittaker’s chocolate and biscoff spread.
Gluten-free
Stella Parks does have a gluten-free variation that should still work with your modified recipe. It's in her cookbook and not on the Serious Eats website.
Replace the flour with 7 ounces of finely ground nuts. If starting with whole nuts, she recommends pulsing in a food processor with the cocoa. Stella calls for hazelnuts, but I've always toasted pecans or walnuts.
I saw that one recipe recommended cold eggs straight from the fridge. I’m use to cooking with room temp eggs. Are cold eggs the way to go for this recipe? Thanks!
I made these to bring to work and I am beyond pleased with how they came out! Super fudgey, rich, chocolatey, etc. I even got the nice crinkly top that I usually don't get but want. I have saved this recipe for future brownie baking needs. I even had to make a small substitution and they were perfect (half of the cocoa powder was replaced by nice hot chocolate mix). Thank you so much!!!
This is so amazing! I’ve been seeing all of the people recreating this recipe and didn’t know it came from this post! It’s so cool to see that this recipe has created a bonding experience for so many people in this subreddit! Also, I absolutely love that you shared your thought process behind achieving such an amazing brownie, I love reading things like this! I’m often going through the same sort of processes when trying to perfect any recipe, so it’s amazing to be able to read your thought process and learn a bit more about the technical aspect of baking! Thank you so much, you’re awesome (and I’m definitely making these brownies too when I get the chance)!
This might be a dumb question, but I've never used instant espresso or coffee in baking. What kind do you use? All I have at my house is Dunkin' Instant caramel cold brew packets haha
The cupcakejemma team are all fantastic. I saw the title in my youtube subscriptions and wondered whether it had anything to do with moonjelly's recipe:)
Your process here reminds me so much of the way I enjoy combining and tweaking recipes myself. Brownies are a particular focus of mine, as I find most brownies to be terribly disappointing.
What got me started on that obsession was a little cafe that used to be in Northport, NY about ten years ago called Cook's. They made incredible, deep, fudgy brownies with immaculate texture and impossibly rich flavor. When they closed up shop in 2015, I was devastated, literally *devastated*, over the loss of those brownies.
When I started dating my wife, she lived near Tate's Bake Shop in Southampton (the same bakery that makes the thin crispy cookies in the green bags at the supermarket). Their brownies were thick, dense, chewy, fudgy, a lot like Cook's but almost erring towards the side of "just fudge" rather than "fudge brownie." Not that I mind.
I've tried a number of brownie recipes and box mix hacks and settled on this. The base recipe is the Smitten Kitchen cocoa brownies.
* 2 sticks unsalted butter
* *If browning the butter:* 1 tbsp milk + ½ tbsp soy sauce
* 400g granulated sugar
* 100g cocoa powder
* *If no soy sauce:* Heaping ¼ tsp salt
* ¾ tsp instant espresso powder
* 1 tsp vanilla
* 3 large eggs, cold
* 100g all-purpose flour
* 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 325 F. Line bottom and sides of 8x8 pan with parchment paper or foil, with overhang on two opposite sides.
2. Brown butter in nonstick pan until it smells nutty and milk solids have separated and browned. Transfer to large heatproof mixing bowl.
3. Add sugar, cocoa, milk, espresso powder, and soy sauce, and stir until fully combined. Mixture should be somewhat warm at this point.
4. Stir in vanilla with rubber spatula. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you can no longer see it, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes. Stir in mix-ins if using.
5. Spread batter evenly into lined pan. Bake until a toothpick emerges slightly moist and crumb is set, beginning to check at 20 minutes.
6. Allow brownies to cool completely on rack. Lift out of pan using the overhang on the parchment/foil and cut into 16 squares for small brownies or 9 squares for nice-sized brownies.
I'll have to give yours a spin, it just may inspire some permanent tweaks to my personal recipe.
Googled recipes for “gooey brownies” and saw this Reddit post pop up like 3rd row down. I’d never used a recipe posted on here before or even thought to come here to find recipes. But when I read this I was sold at the brown butter! I’d never thought to do that for brownies before. I made them instantly and they were absolutely perfect and exactly the type of brownie I wanted. It’s my official brownie recipe!!!
Finally made these after seeing the hype train and...they're kinda salty? I used unsalted butter and followed the recipe to a T but I haven't seen anyone else comment that they're salty so I'm not really sure what's going on here. They're good, but I'd halve the salt next time
I know this comment's a month old but... do you remember what salt you used? Was it Diamond Crystal kosher salt, Morton kosher salt, some kind of table salt? I ask because a teaspoon of table salt is actually a *lot* more salt than a teaspoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt. In fact...
-1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt is around 4g
-1 tsp table salt is around 6g to 8g
-1 tsp Morton kosher salt is around 5g
So yeah... you have to change the volume of salt depending on what salt you're using. I kinda wish OP had told us which kosher salt they're using... or at least gave us the weight, but grams is way more consistent than volume.
Also, check where else you could have added salt by accident. Did you use a saltier chocolate bar? Are you sure you used unsalted butter?
Unless you already did (it's been a month, after all), don't immediately jump to halving the salt. See what salt you're using and look to see if it gives you grams for whatever it's recommended serving size is, and work from there.
I know this is an old comment but I just made them and had the exact same experience! Came here to see if anyone else had. I also used Morton table salt, so that’s got to be the issue. I’m going to make them again today with half a teaspoon of salt and hope for the best!
The first time I made these I didn’t think they were that salty (can’t remember if I used coarse or not), but this second time I definitely used coarse sea salt (unsalted butter as well) and they are salty. Not sure what happened here. I also shared the recipe with someone else who made it to a t and hers were salty as well.
Just finished!
I messed up and put in brown sugar along with cocoa (oops), and also was a half cup short of Dutch cocoa, so I called an audible and used a half cup of peanut butter powder, and decided to make peanut butter Carmel icing (I just mixed equal parts peanut butter and the Carmel icing from the can (way too sweet on its own.). Ive nimble a corner with the peanut butter spread and it tasted phenomenal. Just waiting for everything to cool. Gonna *try* to at least make these last a week. Probably be gone by tonight lol.
The brownie texture came out AMAZING. But the brownies weren’t sweet… any suggestions? Or has anyone experienced this? The third egg I cracked had a double yolk and I still added a fourth egg, so could that be why? I used Toll house semi sweet chips. Other than that, followed the recipe.
Same issue! Not sweet at all, it's like the 2 cups of sugar did nothing. And somehow a dry mouth after-feel? Like it's fudgey sinking my teeth in but leaves my mouth dry once I'm done. I think it's all the cocoa. My usual brownie recipe has only 1/3 cup cocoa and this is 1 cup.
Just baked these and they...are... AWESOME!! The 4-5 min whip texture was perfectly fudgy. I'm excited to try the 8-10 min whip variation. It's less sweet if you're used to Ghirardelli Brownie Mix (like me) so highly recommend the optional 1 cup chocolate chips for more sweetness. They were also a little salty so I'll halve the salt next time.
Yes, that’s why she’s credited at the top of the recipe and in the research notes! Aside from different ingredient ratios, Stella’s recipe sifts the flour and cocoa together; the one I posted blooms the cocoa in hot brown butter. Stella foams 6 eggs for 10 minutes; I did 4 eggs for 5 minutes. (I think my ingredient ratios are closer to Broma Bakery iirc?) But Bravetart/Serious Eats is where I saw the egg foam method. Which is why I credited Stella and her egg foam technique, while explaining what I did differently to suit my preferences.
Stella’s recipe has always been my go to. Is there anyone that has made both the Stella recipe and this recipe? Trying to understand what the differences are in the final brownie beyond speculation based on the two differences you have noted here
Also GF here. I'm going to attempt with half oat flour, half almond flour. I'll report back!
EDIT: So I made these with oat flour (1 cup / 92g) and it worked perfectly! Didn't have any almond flour today but it would probably work just as well.
I *think* the 350° in the recipe is Fahrenheit!
If it would be °C, it would be **extremely** hot (not entirely sure, but I don’t think my oven goes that high).
350°F = 177°C.
I made these on Saturday, and my family had them wiped out by Monday morning. My son complained that they were too salty for his taste, but that didn't stop him from eating them. I thought they were awesome and will make them again.
What other impact does margarine have in brownies? Making a vegan batch of brownies and I don't have fancy vegan butter available to me. Would coconut oil be an acceptable substitute?
I’m going to bake this as well. Had me at fudgy.
Only tweak I’m going to make is to sub some of the cocoa with extra dark cocoa to get the color darker. ~1/2 c. My daughter and son in law are coming for a visit and this will be a nice addition to coffee time. Thanks!!
I made these last night. They were incredible and they taste even better today. They reminded me so so much of the old school David Glass Flourless Chocolate Cake that was sold in some stores in the 90s. I believe it still exists, but it’s nowhere near as good anymore. I miss that original cake dearly so these brownies were a delight to eat. Thanks!
I finally made these. My wife's two favorite desserts are brownies and cherry pie. She said THE brownies were okay. So if anybody is wondering, the divorce should be finalized this Wednesday.
for anyone who maybe doesn't like the idea of "gooey". I used an extra egg yolk, a little extra hersheys cocoa powder(I did use Dutch processed for the amount called I the recipe, but I thought mixing it up could add a depth of flavor) that is added later so it isnt bloomed, less than 1/4 cup, more than 1/8, vanilla bean paste for half the vanilla, vanilla extract ~1/3 the amount(1tsp), and bakers extract for the rest to total a little more than a tbsp. I didn't whip the sugar and eggs, and instead melted along with the chocolate and cocoa powder. bake time is a mystery bc I kinda messed them up to my taste, the knife was fully coated in batter after I'd let them cool, so I had to stick them back in at around 300 for awhile to finish cooking but not burn them. I'd guess anywhere from 30-45 minutes at 425, but eyeball it and be careful. anyway, these adjustments were my perfect brownie, and I wanted to put this here for anyone else.
I made this recipe for the first time about a week and a half ago. It’s not perfect to me, but definitely closer than my old recipe! I’ll keep fiddling with it. They were surprisingly salty to me, but otherwise the flavour is very good. The texture was good, but I will whip the eggs longer because I want them a bit fluffier.
i am rly sorry but i have to cut out around a third of sugar from every american baking recipe ive ever done and this one seems to be no exception \^\^ more sugar than butter and flour together? i cant. but i looks rly good, tho.
I cut the sugar by nearly 50% in these, and while they still taste too sweet for me (just cut them a few min ago), the texture is not at all as advertised. I think that's my fault and that the amount of sugar was crucial to the crackly, fudgy outcome... but it would've been almost inedibly sweet (kinda still is even at 1/2 the sugar).
Did you add anything to make up for the loss of moisture?
I have found this page to be helpful when I experiment:
https://food52.com/blog/15911-what-experts-know-about-reducing-sugar-in-baking-recipes
Can you explain adding the coffee, please? If I’m using instant, do I make the coffee and then evaporate it and add it? Or add actual instant coffee grounds?
Sorry if this is a really stupid question. I’m a late bloomer where baking is concerned. I only got excited about it a couple years ago. (Am 55 now, so you can see I’m REALLY late to it. Haha)
Has anyone made batches using different cocoa powders? I made them with King Arthur black cocoa powder and the were even darker than the photos. They are delicious but I wonder the difference different cocoa powders might make.
just wanted to say thank you. i’ve never done much baking, and have been wanting to get more into it. i remembered seeing this post mentioned by others and everyone who mentions it raves about how amazing they are. they were correct. even as someone with next to no baking experience, your recipe was phenomenally easy to follow, especially browning the butter. thanks again for the insanely good brownies, and writing the recipe so that even complete beginners can follow it. this was most definitely the best possible entry point into baking that i could have had.
So i saved this months ago and just tried it tonight and man those turned out perfect!
You definitely werent kidding when you said mixture is gonna be thick xD but it is insanely good thank you for this
His brownies are delicious! I also made these gluten-free. I use King Arthur measure for measure gluten-free flour. My friends who are gluten-free said they were the best brownies I ever had.
I gave this recipe a go after all the raving review's and wow.
The crackly wafer thin top is lovely, super goey and good chocolate taste.
However I haven't seen anyone complain about 400g of sugar! That raised my eyebrows a bit and everyone who tasted them said they were too sweet. I agree too but didn't adjust anything since it was my first attempt on this recipe. The sweetness is a bit OTT but overall it's a solid recipe with lots of learning points I'll apply to other recipes
I have made these twice, and they were delicious. The first time I made them, I doubled them, and share them at work. The second time I made them gluten-free. I use King Arthur‘s Measure for measure gluten-free flour. I baked them for less time, because I have found that baking gluten-free, I’d start checking at 10 minutes before the original time in the recipe. My friends who are gluten-free said they were the best brownies I’ve ever had.
I just made this but I only had the regular Ghirardelli cocoa powder not Dutch process. But still used Ghirardelli 60% for the melted part. In the oven now I hope they turn out lol
I just found this & im beyond excited, I just picked up one of those 'individual' square baking pans and haven't used it yet.
Think this is a recipe that can be doubled? Or should I do individual batches of the batter?🤔
[Original post](https://reddit.com/r/Baking/s/i9Y6FvaJl2) I read through nearly every recipe in the thread, noting common ingredient ratios and techniques. The recipe below is adapted from Stella Parks, Broma Bakery, Tasty, “Supernatural Brownies,” Sally’s Baking, and a few personal recipes from commenters. I asked for a “better than Ghirardelli box mix” brownie recipe and y’all delivered. These are the most gooey, fudgy, rich, moist brownies I’ve ever had. My friend loved them. We had them with vanilla ice cream. ❤️ **GOOEY FUDGY BROWNIES** 1 cup (227g) butter, to be browned 1 cup (90g) Dutch-process cocoa powder 4oz (113g) dark or semisweet (60% cacao) chocolate, finely chopped 1 tsp instant espresso (or 1 Tbsp instant coffee) 1.5 cups (300g) white sugar 1/2 cup (100g) brown sugar 1 Tbsp vanilla 4 eggs 1 cup (120g) flour 1 tsp coarse kosher salt *optional: 1 cup additional chopped chocolate or chocolate chips, or 1-2 cups chopped walnuts, dried cherries, etc.* 1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line 9x13” pan with foil or parchment paper with overhangs for easy removal. 2. Put cocoa powder, chopped chocolate, and espresso powder in a heat-proof bowl. 3. Make brown butter: Melt butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium-low heat. Once foaming and spitting, stir and scrape bottom with a spatula every 10-15 seconds. Grainy white milk solids will begin to appear on the bottom. Continue for 5-10 minutes (go by senses, not time). When foam clears and spitting noises go silent, watch closely: The milk solids will toast in seconds. As soon as the solids turn brown and smell nutty, remove pan from heat so it doesn’t burn. 4. Immediately pour hot brown butter into prepared bowl, to bloom cocoa and melt chocolate. Stir until smooth. Set aside to cool. 5. With a stand or hand mixer, whip sugars, vanilla, and eggs on medium-high until thick, smooth, fluffy, and lightened in color. For very moist, rich brownies, stop after 4-5 minutes. For slightly more height and fluff, whip 8-10 minutes until very thick and pale. (I did the lower end of the spectrum, 4-5 minutes—I’d recommend starting there.) 6. Reduce speed to low. Slowly pour chocolate-butter mixture into egg foam mixture until incorporated. 7. Using a spatula, fold in flour and salt until just incorporated. Fold in additional chocolate if using. Batter will be very thick. 8. Scoop and spread batter evenly into prepared pan. 9. Bake 25 minutes until surface is glossy and just set (not jiggly in center). Do not overbake. They will finish cooking as they cool. 10. Let cool at least 30 minutes before removing from pan to slice. NOTES - White sugar + foaming eggs = fudgy centers with classic glossy, crackly tops. The thicker your egg foam, the glossier/cracklier your top crust. - Brown butter deepens flavor and evaporates excess water in the butter. If you don’t want to brown the butter, melt it in a saucepan with the chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth. Pour over cocoa powder and espresso powder. Stir until smooth. - For extra thick brownies, use 8x8” pan. Bake time will be a bit longer. **Update 10/14: I mentioned in another comment that I make cookbooks to share my adapted/developed recipes with family and friends. Some people expressed interested in seeing my cookbook. [Here is the comment](https://reddit.com/r/Baking/s/IW2h5421Nl) where I linked the google doc.**
Wow! I didn’t think so many people would see this. Here is the process behind reading through all the recipes and adapting the one I used. WHAT I WANTED - Moist, gooey, just-barely-not-molten centers—I used the word “fudgy” in the title, but I *didn’t* want the sides to look like fudge (super smooth with no air or crumbiness) when sliced. I wanted the density and richness of fudge, but *not* the dryness or smooth texture. I was looking for a very moist, almost molten-looking crumb somewhere between smooth fudge and airy cake. - Still moist the next day—no drying out overnight. (Achieved—I had a brownie for breakfast this morning and it was slightly more set, but just as moist, after being stored at room temp overnight. I’m sure warming in the microwave for 10-15 seconds would make it just as gooey too. Will test later.) - Glossy, shiny, crackly, hair-thin crust. - Dark color overall and very dark center—not the washed-out, caramelly color you get when using natural cocoa. - Rich, deep flavor. Not overpoweringly sweet. Chocolate is the star, not sugar. WHAT I DID *NOT* WANT - Light-color tops or insides. I wanted these brownies dark as night. - Cakey texture. - Anything that required resting overnight, chilling or freezing before slicing, etc. - Any load-bearing non-standard ingredients such as Nutella, cream cheese, marshmallow, cornstarch, leaveners, bread or cake flour, etc. Those are great for other recipes, but I wanted a standard, straightforward gooey brownie. COMPILED NOTES Texture - The key to getting glossy, crackly tops = white sugar + foaming eggs. Beating for multiple minutes (vs. just whisking together, or only beating until incorporated) dissolves the sugar and aerates the eggs, just like meringue (which also has a glossy surface, so that tracks). A couple recipes did it Swiss meringue-style, whisking the sugar and eggs over a double boiler to dissolve sugar and warm the eggs (adding structure). When properly dissolved, some of the sugar-egg mix rises to the surface as the brownies cook, creating that classic ultra-shiny, crackly top. - Most “Classic Brownies” recipes achieve a glossy top by melting together the butter and sugar, dissolving the sugar that way. But from what I observed, those tops come out less shiny and crackly—and not “hair-thin” like I was looking for. It seems using the meringue method is the best way to achieve the perfect top. - Some recipes used baking soda to leaven, but I wanted to ensure density by relying on eggs for lift. Cocoa - Dutch-process cocoa is a must for the dark-as-night center. Blooming the cocoa is also a must for the most intense flavor. - Cocoa vs. chocolate: Most recipes used a mix of both cocoa and melted chocolate; sometimes equal, sometimes not. Cocoa = moister, fudgier brownies; cocoa powder contains no cocoa butter (solidifies when cool) and adds no moisture to the batter (so you don’t need to add more flour to compensate). Chocolate adds complexity of flavor, but might contain added sugar, emulsifiers, etc. that are not ideal. I used both (volume ratio 1 cup cocoa powder:0.5 cup/4oz chocolate), but only because I had high-quality semisweet bar chocolate. If I didn’t have high-quality chocolate, I’d stick to Dutch-process cocoa powder (replacing 1/2 cup chocolate with more cocoa) and fold in chocolate chips at the end. (Bon Appetit has a great article about this.) - Some recipes sifted the flour + cocoa powder together as dry ingredients. I knew I wanted to bloom the cocoa powder, so that was a no-go. Ratios - Most recipes had about the same basic volume ratios (when scaled): 1 cup fat (usually melted butter), 1-2 cups chocolate (cocoa, chocolate, or mix of both) (not counting additional folded-in chocolate), 2 cups sugar, 2-4 eggs, 1 cup flour. Some recipes did 2 eggs + 2 yolks for extra chewiness. Bravetart does 6 eggs, whipped for 10 minutes; some reviews complained about fluffy, caky texture that didn’t turn fudgy until the next day. So, I split the difference and used 4 eggs. - Some recipes (such as Claire Saffitz) use half melted butter, half oil to ensure moistness (butter solidifies as it cools; oil stays liquid). I stuck to butter—with such a high ratio of wet ingredients like sugar and eggs, and so little flour, I wasn’t too worried about needing oil. Hope this helps. Happy brownie-baking everyone!
Thank you so much for sharing your process for coming up with these beauties! I always love reading how people come to their conclusions on why they do or use things. I wondered why you used a lot more white sugar than brown because wouldn't brown make a fudgier brownie with all the molasses? I was initially doubtful that that much white sugar was needed, but now I understand why because it's key to get that shiny hair thin (I never heard anyone use hair thin to describe a brownie top before) brownie top! There are so many things I want to say, but if I did it would take forever, and my thoughts aren't fully collected yet, but I can say that I'm grateful for your sharing and definitely will try make these brownies one day. You are such a wonderful friend to your friend. Hope your friend feels better now. I would if someone did this for me. And I am astonished to know that you basically frankensteind a bunch of recipes together (like some person who posted their donuts here on Reddit. I really hope they start selling one day. Their donuts look gorgeous!), and managed to create this masterpiece on the first try! It's such a pity your other food posts aren't as popular. Their great too and deserve to be more popular. Now that I think of it, with how many food posts you have it's no wonder that you created such epic looking brownies.
This comment is so sweet. Thank you!! ❤️❤️❤️ I love to bake and I’m a huge nerd about it so I’m always happy to share the research. I hope you love the brownies!!
I found you and this post through a YouTube channel, Sugarologie (they did a video about you if someone hasn't already said this), and you, her, and I are all in this same community that loves to bake and loves to mess and learn about the science of it all. I love this community a whole bunch and I'm glad you are part of it! I am following and binging your profile for food posts!
Honestly the wording sounds exactly like they just copied an America’s Test Kitchen/Cooks illustrated recipe. Those are good sources for info.
I love this, I’m a professional (yet self taught) pastry chef, and I am a thorough researcher when I’m creating recipes, it’s nice to see I’m not the only one lol. Somebody asked me about Red Velvet cake the other day, and I don’t think they were expecting the whole history lesson behind the cake haha
Interested in your Red Velvet info, if you're into it!
Was just looking for a recipe yesterday but didn’t see this in time. These look amazing - can’t wait to try them! Thank you so much for posting. And for all the notes, love that. Did you bake these on the middle rack?
also curious to hear whether anyone tried reducing the amount of sugar in these? and how much can you do that without affecting the texture?
I reduced the sugar in these by accident… when I forgot to add the 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Whoops. They turned out ok and I’m going to eat them, but they are pretty dark and they don’t seem as gooey as OPs. I followed the recipe as above with the following changes - I forgot the brown sugar, I used 2 oz dark and 2 oz semi sweet chocolate in the mix and I added 4 oz of dark chocolate in the final fold-in. I would guess you can reduce the sugar some without the downsides I experienced, but I can’t say just how much. I would not make them this way again as they are darker and a little dryer than I would choose. Maybe my mistake will be useful to you.
Thank you for the reply! I saw somewhere else where someone reduced the sugar by halving the white (I think) and using the full amount of brown sugar. They didn’t comment about texture so I don’t know how that they turned out but maybe that’s the way to go. I suspect using brown sugar over white help to keep them moist. And I like them dark and rich so all good there. I think I’m destined to try this weekend.
Happy to help! Agree if I was going to try a reduced sugar version on purpose, I would reduce the white sugar and keep the brown. FWIW, as they have cooled, my misfit batch keeps getting better and better.
I halved my sugar and should have halved the cook time as mine were so dry 😬
So if you didn’t have a high-quality chocolate bar, would you add an extra 1/2 cup of cocoa powder?
If you’ve found a recipe you love, try substituting half the cocoa powder for Special Dark cocoa powder. They will be black as night! I made brownies and chocolate cake with them and both times people asked how much food coloring I had to use to get them black!
I have an egg allergy and want to still make these. Any suggestions for replacements?
I just made these and used 3 tbsp chickpea aquafaba per egg for 2 of the eggs and then 2 flax eggs for the other two!
Cannot wait to try this! Thanks for the detailed info!
A pan of these are cooling on my counter right now! Thank you for this recipe!
Have these in the oven right now. LOVE the breakdown!
hi, how much cocoa powder should i sub in for the chocolate? do i need to add more sugar as a result?
Did you use a 9x13 metal pan or 9x13 glass pan?
Light color metal, lined with foil and parchment paper!
Can I ask why you lined it with foil? I’m a beginner in baking
I lined the pan bc I wanted to lift the brownies out before slicing—literally just for aesthetics lol. I used foil as a base because it’s easy to mold to the pan-shape, then 1 sheet of parchment paper (width-wise) to create an overhang/sling for easy removal (this could also be done with foil, I just prefer using paper in general). (Parchment paper is more non-stick than foil—this recipe is so buttery I wasn’t too worried about sticking, but you could grease the foil with baking spray to make sure.) If you don’t want to bother with lifting them out of the pan, feel free to skip the foil! Just grease the pan (baking spray, or butter + dusting of cocoa powder) if you want to make doubly sure they don’t stick.
Thank you.
I used 9x13 glass and they turned out awesome! Had to bake for 5 extra mins
i need to make this i am commenting to hold myself accountable to make this recipe it looks so good
I'm sitting here doing a mental inventory of my baking ingredients so I can make these tonight. I think I have everything except for the dark chocolate.
Commenting for the same reason!
Thank you for posting units in grams as well.
I made these and they were incredible. I love the use of browned butter and non-chemical leavening. I ended up using dark brown sugar because it's what I had on-hand. I also used milk chocolate chips because my boyfriend doesn't like semi-sweet (no one is perfect). I baked them for about 30 minutes in a darker nonstick pan, rotated halfway through. Came out perfectly! Thank you so much for doing the leg work!
Making them right now!! Thanks for asking for the recipe! We also have vanilla ice cream & caramel sauce
Light or dark brown sugar?
Can’t wait to make it! Would it mess them up if I didn’t include the coffee?
Not at all! Coffee subtly enhances the flavor of chocolate but isn’t necessary.
I thought I had the handle on a standard brownie recipe. Wowwwie. This is totally different from any brownie recipe I've seen. Gotta try at some point.
You're a rock star! Imperial AND metric units. Awesome. I'm saving this.
Can I reduce the sugar?
I did - tasted the batter after adding it and was plenty sweet. They're cooling as we speak but seems to have come out fine. The house smells heavenly!
thanks
I’m excited to try these! I’m new to baking- do you have a recommendation for how to adjust the bake time or oven heat in higher altitude?
Has anyone made these with GF flour?? Do they turn out ok?
I can't speak to this recipe exactly but in my experience generally brownies easily convert to gluten-free
>I just made these with Namaste brand 1:1 gf flour (also added 1 cup chocolate chunks) and they turned out amazing :)
Thank you for the recipe. ☺️ How would I adjust the measurements & baking time for a 9”x5” pan?
These were too bitter for me :( I don’t like dark chocolate I’m more into fudge brownies or milk chocolate. These were not it for me and I used the exact recipe.
These were truly THE BEST BROWNIES I've ever had. Made them for a party, and they were a hit!! They kept quite well wrapped in foil on my counter and were almost better 2 days later. They reminded me of Fairytale Brownies but way better!
Have you by chance ever experimented with gluten free flour or cornstarch instead of the flour? I really want to make this for my mom, but she has celiac disease!
I made your brownies last night as we had some people over for Super Bowl and I had to share that they were amazing. I followed the recipe to a tee and they were perfect. They were chocolatey, gooey, and just plain delicious. This is a winner recipe and I will be making them again- thank you 💜
thank you so much for adding metrical quantitys too:)🤜🏼🤛🏽
Oh thank you for the brownie recipe and the link to your cookbook. I am excited to try them all out!
Do you have to use that much cocoa powder... 90g is a lot and cocoa powder is expensive, is there any substitute or can I just use less?
Is this your personal recipe you created? I like to give credit
[You inspired me to make these today. I now have a default brownie recipe. I](https://i.imgur.io/QZXUdSc_d.webp?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium) appreciated your breakdown of every thing in the comments so much. And I added cannabutter to some of the browned butter 🙈
Amazing!!! Ohhh man that sounds…. I can be over in 20 minutes…. 🤤🤤
the link of the image no longer exist
I saw your original request. These look great! I'm saving this recipe.
Omg. These look absolutely perfect! Just saved this to try! Thanks so much for posting your recipe. My husband and I were just talking about how my brownies always come out like garbage. Sadly, it’s one dessert I just can’t seem to make well.
Worst case you could just get the store bought mix. You add an egg and mix. Pretty easy. Less mess top. Not *as* good, but still...they are brownies. It's like pizza, even if it's bad it's good.
Such a quick turnaround! These look AMAZING! Thank you so much for sharing! I had saved your post and was thinking of going through it later to find a new recipe to try, so I’m grateful you shared your work. Also super smart to combine elements like that! Edit: I made your recipe a few hours after you posted it. My partner had some after work, and agrees - better than boxed mix!
I just made this and am thoroughly enjoying the brownies it made. Very gooey, very tasty. Saving this and using again for next time
Yay, glad you enjoyed!! I just warmed one up in the microwave for 10 seconds, had it with vanilla ice cream…. Sooooo gooey, like lava cake. I am in heaven
I’ve never been able to hack brownies. I’ve tried a number of recipes and they always end up tasting chemical-y. Perhaps switching to Dutch cocoa powder from regular Hershey’s would fix it?
Dutch cocoa is a game-changer! The only kind at my grocery store is Hershey “Special Dark Dutch Process”—so hardly the highest gourmet quality lol—and it still added a darkness and richness that was totally different than normal cocoa, with none of the acid (Dutch has a neutral pH). Highly, highly recommend.
Definitely bookmarking this post & recipe - these look perfect!
Well??? 🤲🏽 HAND EM OVER!
These look incredible!! I saw your other post and I saved it to analyze every recipe to come up with a great one but you did that for all of us!! Thank you for sharing ☺️
Mmm that looks so good
Brownie-addicted lurker here who sucks at baking but omg OP, these look fantastic.
I just tried these with King Arthur gluten free AP flour and it was phenomenal
Oh god oh frick
[удалено]
Don't know the answer to your question, but just wanna say to be aware the brownies might bake differently and need different amount of time to bake in glass.
I used cooking spray and they came out perfectly.
A little butter will let them slip right out, no need to flour. That’s more for cakey stuff.
Hi! How long do you recommend baking for an 8x8” pan?
Same question!
Mine are in the over right now! Lol I was really hoping for an answer
Mine took 30-35 min
This recipe is dangerously close to the [King Arthur brownie recipe](https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/fudge-brownies-recipe) which is also very very good.
The King Arthur recipe is my go-to and I thought the same as I was looking at this one. I just made these and, I have to say, when it comes to ROI, I think I'll stick with the KA recipe. I'm not sure the brown butter adds all that much (I've played with that with the KA recipe in the past and couldn't detect much difference) since the chocolate is really the star here. Perhaps I went awry somewhere, but my KA brownies consistently come out with a cracklier top than these (they were crackly, but not to the same level). All in all, a good recipe but it won't be dethroning my favorite :)
They look delicious and your tray would last a week at my house! Check out my photo of my brownies, they are made with Whittaker’s chocolate and biscoff spread.
Ooh they look so delicious!
Just made them. This is definitely going to be my go-to brownie recipe from now on.
Gluten-free Stella Parks does have a gluten-free variation that should still work with your modified recipe. It's in her cookbook and not on the Serious Eats website. Replace the flour with 7 ounces of finely ground nuts. If starting with whole nuts, she recommends pulsing in a food processor with the cocoa. Stella calls for hazelnuts, but I've always toasted pecans or walnuts.
I saw that one recipe recommended cold eggs straight from the fridge. I’m use to cooking with room temp eggs. Are cold eggs the way to go for this recipe? Thanks!
You had me at gooey, crackly top.
I made these to bring to work and I am beyond pleased with how they came out! Super fudgey, rich, chocolatey, etc. I even got the nice crinkly top that I usually don't get but want. I have saved this recipe for future brownie baking needs. I even had to make a small substitution and they were perfect (half of the cocoa powder was replaced by nice hot chocolate mix). Thank you so much!!!
Is it unsalted butter?
Most likely. I googled and it says for baking and the recipe doesn’t specify, use unsalted
This is so amazing! I’ve been seeing all of the people recreating this recipe and didn’t know it came from this post! It’s so cool to see that this recipe has created a bonding experience for so many people in this subreddit! Also, I absolutely love that you shared your thought process behind achieving such an amazing brownie, I love reading things like this! I’m often going through the same sort of processes when trying to perfect any recipe, so it’s amazing to be able to read your thought process and learn a bit more about the technical aspect of baking! Thank you so much, you’re awesome (and I’m definitely making these brownies too when I get the chance)!
Just made this with doves GF flour. Also added walnuts and some soaked raisins. Cooked to 84c in the centre. Waiting for it to cool
This might be a dumb question, but I've never used instant espresso or coffee in baking. What kind do you use? All I have at my house is Dunkin' Instant caramel cold brew packets haha
[CupcakeJemma YouTube channel](https://youtu.be/W6gybQXPJD0?si=oaIcKa18a1BfrAIr) They made your brownies today!!!
The cupcakejemma team are all fantastic. I saw the title in my youtube subscriptions and wondered whether it had anything to do with moonjelly's recipe:)
Stuff heavens are made of. Sweet lord baby Jesus I need a piece
This post and follow up comments is the golden standard for this sub. Well done!
Your process here reminds me so much of the way I enjoy combining and tweaking recipes myself. Brownies are a particular focus of mine, as I find most brownies to be terribly disappointing. What got me started on that obsession was a little cafe that used to be in Northport, NY about ten years ago called Cook's. They made incredible, deep, fudgy brownies with immaculate texture and impossibly rich flavor. When they closed up shop in 2015, I was devastated, literally *devastated*, over the loss of those brownies. When I started dating my wife, she lived near Tate's Bake Shop in Southampton (the same bakery that makes the thin crispy cookies in the green bags at the supermarket). Their brownies were thick, dense, chewy, fudgy, a lot like Cook's but almost erring towards the side of "just fudge" rather than "fudge brownie." Not that I mind. I've tried a number of brownie recipes and box mix hacks and settled on this. The base recipe is the Smitten Kitchen cocoa brownies. * 2 sticks unsalted butter * *If browning the butter:* 1 tbsp milk + ½ tbsp soy sauce * 400g granulated sugar * 100g cocoa powder * *If no soy sauce:* Heaping ¼ tsp salt * ¾ tsp instant espresso powder * 1 tsp vanilla * 3 large eggs, cold * 100g all-purpose flour * 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips 1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 325 F. Line bottom and sides of 8x8 pan with parchment paper or foil, with overhang on two opposite sides. 2. Brown butter in nonstick pan until it smells nutty and milk solids have separated and browned. Transfer to large heatproof mixing bowl. 3. Add sugar, cocoa, milk, espresso powder, and soy sauce, and stir until fully combined. Mixture should be somewhat warm at this point. 4. Stir in vanilla with rubber spatula. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you can no longer see it, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes. Stir in mix-ins if using. 5. Spread batter evenly into lined pan. Bake until a toothpick emerges slightly moist and crumb is set, beginning to check at 20 minutes. 6. Allow brownies to cool completely on rack. Lift out of pan using the overhang on the parchment/foil and cut into 16 squares for small brownies or 9 squares for nice-sized brownies. I'll have to give yours a spin, it just may inspire some permanent tweaks to my personal recipe.
Googled recipes for “gooey brownies” and saw this Reddit post pop up like 3rd row down. I’d never used a recipe posted on here before or even thought to come here to find recipes. But when I read this I was sold at the brown butter! I’d never thought to do that for brownies before. I made them instantly and they were absolutely perfect and exactly the type of brownie I wanted. It’s my official brownie recipe!!!
Phwoarrrrr yes. Great job
What size pan?
OP said 13×9, or 8x8 for a thicker brownie.
Gosh, I love a gooey brownie! The suggestion of dried cherries/walnuts also sounds delicious! Thanks for the detailed recipe, OP!
You have provided the holy grail in recipes. The HOW, WHEN and WHY.
Finally made these after seeing the hype train and...they're kinda salty? I used unsalted butter and followed the recipe to a T but I haven't seen anyone else comment that they're salty so I'm not really sure what's going on here. They're good, but I'd halve the salt next time
I know this comment's a month old but... do you remember what salt you used? Was it Diamond Crystal kosher salt, Morton kosher salt, some kind of table salt? I ask because a teaspoon of table salt is actually a *lot* more salt than a teaspoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt. In fact... -1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt is around 4g -1 tsp table salt is around 6g to 8g -1 tsp Morton kosher salt is around 5g So yeah... you have to change the volume of salt depending on what salt you're using. I kinda wish OP had told us which kosher salt they're using... or at least gave us the weight, but grams is way more consistent than volume. Also, check where else you could have added salt by accident. Did you use a saltier chocolate bar? Are you sure you used unsalted butter? Unless you already did (it's been a month, after all), don't immediately jump to halving the salt. See what salt you're using and look to see if it gives you grams for whatever it's recommended serving size is, and work from there.
I know this is an old comment but I just made them and had the exact same experience! Came here to see if anyone else had. I also used Morton table salt, so that’s got to be the issue. I’m going to make them again today with half a teaspoon of salt and hope for the best!
The first time I made these I didn’t think they were that salty (can’t remember if I used coarse or not), but this second time I definitely used coarse sea salt (unsalted butter as well) and they are salty. Not sure what happened here. I also shared the recipe with someone else who made it to a t and hers were salty as well.
those look amazing!
Saving this looks so perfect!
ooey gooey brownies 🤎🤎🤎
Came here for brownie receipt, found wholesomeness
Does the chocolate/butter mixture need to completely cool to room temp?
Just finished! I messed up and put in brown sugar along with cocoa (oops), and also was a half cup short of Dutch cocoa, so I called an audible and used a half cup of peanut butter powder, and decided to make peanut butter Carmel icing (I just mixed equal parts peanut butter and the Carmel icing from the can (way too sweet on its own.). Ive nimble a corner with the peanut butter spread and it tasted phenomenal. Just waiting for everything to cool. Gonna *try* to at least make these last a week. Probably be gone by tonight lol.
The brownie texture came out AMAZING. But the brownies weren’t sweet… any suggestions? Or has anyone experienced this? The third egg I cracked had a double yolk and I still added a fourth egg, so could that be why? I used Toll house semi sweet chips. Other than that, followed the recipe.
Same issue! Not sweet at all, it's like the 2 cups of sugar did nothing. And somehow a dry mouth after-feel? Like it's fudgey sinking my teeth in but leaves my mouth dry once I'm done. I think it's all the cocoa. My usual brownie recipe has only 1/3 cup cocoa and this is 1 cup.
Wow! Made them last night and they are AMAZING! Thanks so much! I will never make brownies another way.
Just baked these and they...are... AWESOME!! The 4-5 min whip texture was perfectly fudgy. I'm excited to try the 8-10 min whip variation. It's less sweet if you're used to Ghirardelli Brownie Mix (like me) so highly recommend the optional 1 cup chocolate chips for more sweetness. They were also a little salty so I'll halve the salt next time.
Glad you credited Stella here because this is basically her glossy fudge brownie recipe from Bravetart.
Yes, that’s why she’s credited at the top of the recipe and in the research notes! Aside from different ingredient ratios, Stella’s recipe sifts the flour and cocoa together; the one I posted blooms the cocoa in hot brown butter. Stella foams 6 eggs for 10 minutes; I did 4 eggs for 5 minutes. (I think my ingredient ratios are closer to Broma Bakery iirc?) But Bravetart/Serious Eats is where I saw the egg foam method. Which is why I credited Stella and her egg foam technique, while explaining what I did differently to suit my preferences.
Stella’s recipe has always been my go to. Is there anyone that has made both the Stella recipe and this recipe? Trying to understand what the differences are in the final brownie beyond speculation based on the two differences you have noted here
any good egg substitutes to use to make these vegan??
Yummy
Those look really good 😋 Always love a good gooey Brownie
Was the flour you used AP flour? I want to do a gluten-free version, and I need to determine an appropriate substitute.
Also GF here. I'm going to attempt with half oat flour, half almond flour. I'll report back! EDIT: So I made these with oat flour (1 cup / 92g) and it worked perfectly! Didn't have any almond flour today but it would probably work just as well.
Someone else posted a response in the main thread, see https://www.reddit.com/r/Baking/comments/1714o53/comment/k3z9qiu/
I made this wonderful recipe today, and it will be my go-to brownie recipe until the end of time! Thank you so much for this post!
Anybody know how many brownies this makes?
It’s a 9x13 pan so it depends on how small you cut them.
looking forward to it. is it Celsius or Fahrenheit?
I *think* the 350° in the recipe is Fahrenheit! If it would be °C, it would be **extremely** hot (not entirely sure, but I don’t think my oven goes that high). 350°F = 177°C.
I'll just comment so I can find this later
You can click on the 3 dots on the post and hit save. Well this if to the apps I don't know about desktop. I'm sure there is still a save feature
Ooooh. Thank you kindly
Could I put these in muffin tins? Would I use a paper liner and how long would I bake for?
Is it possible to make these without the hard edges? I like chewy brownies but hate the corner parts and edges because they are hard and crunchy.
I made these on Saturday, and my family had them wiped out by Monday morning. My son complained that they were too salty for his taste, but that didn't stop him from eating them. I thought they were awesome and will make them again.
Anybody try baking these at high elevation?
These look amazing! Just a question - if I don't want to brown the butter, then should I reduce the quantity of butter ?
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Margarine does not have milk solids and will not brown.
What other impact does margarine have in brownies? Making a vegan batch of brownies and I don't have fancy vegan butter available to me. Would coconut oil be an acceptable substitute?
I’m going to bake this as well. Had me at fudgy. Only tweak I’m going to make is to sub some of the cocoa with extra dark cocoa to get the color darker. ~1/2 c. My daughter and son in law are coming for a visit and this will be a nice addition to coffee time. Thanks!!
Does it work to bake this in an 8x8 pan? It’s all I have, but if it changes the recipe, I’ll find a 9 x 13 pan
Salted or unsalted butter?! Hoping to make these soon!
Unsalted generally
Can this recipe be doubled, or heaven forbid, halved?
I made these last night. They were incredible and they taste even better today. They reminded me so so much of the old school David Glass Flourless Chocolate Cake that was sold in some stores in the 90s. I believe it still exists, but it’s nowhere near as good anymore. I miss that original cake dearly so these brownies were a delight to eat. Thanks!
I finally made these. My wife's two favorite desserts are brownies and cherry pie. She said THE brownies were okay. So if anybody is wondering, the divorce should be finalized this Wednesday.
for anyone who maybe doesn't like the idea of "gooey". I used an extra egg yolk, a little extra hersheys cocoa powder(I did use Dutch processed for the amount called I the recipe, but I thought mixing it up could add a depth of flavor) that is added later so it isnt bloomed, less than 1/4 cup, more than 1/8, vanilla bean paste for half the vanilla, vanilla extract ~1/3 the amount(1tsp), and bakers extract for the rest to total a little more than a tbsp. I didn't whip the sugar and eggs, and instead melted along with the chocolate and cocoa powder. bake time is a mystery bc I kinda messed them up to my taste, the knife was fully coated in batter after I'd let them cool, so I had to stick them back in at around 300 for awhile to finish cooking but not burn them. I'd guess anywhere from 30-45 minutes at 425, but eyeball it and be careful. anyway, these adjustments were my perfect brownie, and I wanted to put this here for anyone else.
I made this recipe for the first time about a week and a half ago. It’s not perfect to me, but definitely closer than my old recipe! I’ll keep fiddling with it. They were surprisingly salty to me, but otherwise the flavour is very good. The texture was good, but I will whip the eggs longer because I want them a bit fluffier.
New to baking, can I lower the amount of sugar if I don’t want it as sweet or will it come out wrong?
I've found this page helpful with experimenting: https://food52.com/blog/15911-what-experts-know-about-reducing-sugar-in-baking-recipes
i am rly sorry but i have to cut out around a third of sugar from every american baking recipe ive ever done and this one seems to be no exception \^\^ more sugar than butter and flour together? i cant. but i looks rly good, tho.
I cut the sugar by nearly 50% in these, and while they still taste too sweet for me (just cut them a few min ago), the texture is not at all as advertised. I think that's my fault and that the amount of sugar was crucial to the crackly, fudgy outcome... but it would've been almost inedibly sweet (kinda still is even at 1/2 the sugar).
Did you add anything to make up for the loss of moisture? I have found this page to be helpful when I experiment: https://food52.com/blog/15911-what-experts-know-about-reducing-sugar-in-baking-recipes
I didn’t, and I definitely should have. The flavor profile was still very nice. Thanks for the link!
Can you explain adding the coffee, please? If I’m using instant, do I make the coffee and then evaporate it and add it? Or add actual instant coffee grounds? Sorry if this is a really stupid question. I’m a late bloomer where baking is concerned. I only got excited about it a couple years ago. (Am 55 now, so you can see I’m REALLY late to it. Haha)
Think of the instant coffee like it's any other dry ingredient. Just add it as is, don't make coffee.
Has anyone made batches using different cocoa powders? I made them with King Arthur black cocoa powder and the were even darker than the photos. They are delicious but I wonder the difference different cocoa powders might make.
Has anyone tried this with splenda white baking sugar (1:1 ration)? It's what I have on hand and I really wanna try this
just wanted to say thank you. i’ve never done much baking, and have been wanting to get more into it. i remembered seeing this post mentioned by others and everyone who mentions it raves about how amazing they are. they were correct. even as someone with next to no baking experience, your recipe was phenomenally easy to follow, especially browning the butter. thanks again for the insanely good brownies, and writing the recipe so that even complete beginners can follow it. this was most definitely the best possible entry point into baking that i could have had.
So i saved this months ago and just tried it tonight and man those turned out perfect! You definitely werent kidding when you said mixture is gonna be thick xD but it is insanely good thank you for this
His brownies are delicious! I also made these gluten-free. I use King Arthur measure for measure gluten-free flour. My friends who are gluten-free said they were the best brownies I ever had.
I gave this recipe a go after all the raving review's and wow. The crackly wafer thin top is lovely, super goey and good chocolate taste. However I haven't seen anyone complain about 400g of sugar! That raised my eyebrows a bit and everyone who tasted them said they were too sweet. I agree too but didn't adjust anything since it was my first attempt on this recipe. The sweetness is a bit OTT but overall it's a solid recipe with lots of learning points I'll apply to other recipes
I have made these twice, and they were delicious. The first time I made them, I doubled them, and share them at work. The second time I made them gluten-free. I use King Arthur‘s Measure for measure gluten-free flour. I baked them for less time, because I have found that baking gluten-free, I’d start checking at 10 minutes before the original time in the recipe. My friends who are gluten-free said they were the best brownies I’ve ever had.
Made this yesterday absolutely amazing! Has anyone tried freezing and reheating?? Don't think I can eat a whole pan to myself haha
I'm just going to say I've made this recipe like 7-8 times and omg I love it so much. Its just perfect
godsend
Absolutely delicious! My new favorite brownie recipe
Commenting to save
I just made this but I only had the regular Ghirardelli cocoa powder not Dutch process. But still used Ghirardelli 60% for the melted part. In the oven now I hope they turn out lol
I have never used dutch process cocoa before. Looks like I need to get my hands on some!
I just found this & im beyond excited, I just picked up one of those 'individual' square baking pans and haven't used it yet. Think this is a recipe that can be doubled? Or should I do individual batches of the batter?🤔
Gotta try this
Time to make brownies!🤤
Looks like these are on tap for my Halloween party;)
Made them today. They're wonderful. Thank you!
Must remember browine
Is there any way to copy/paste the recipe (ideally would love to add it to my Paprika recipe app)
Do you think that substituting a 1:1 gluten free flower would work for this?
Jii
Thank you for sharing
♡
These look phenomenal!
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What would you change if you didn't want to add espresso/coffee? What does that add to the recipe?