These Double Chocolate Brownies have a ton of butter, sugar, and chocolate with just enough flour and eggs to hold the whole thing together. Oh yeah, and salt. Please don't forget the salt.
This recipe is to die for!
A HUGE thank you goes out to the Firefly Grill in Effingham, IL. This recipe is heavily inspired by the brownie sundae I used to make when I worked there.
This was my inspiration ๐๐ผ
Both of these brownies are dense with 2 types of chocolate and so moist they could almost double as fudge.
The absolute BEST way to serve either one of these is piping HOT with a generous dollop of COLD ice cream then topped with chocolate sauce (because, hey, can you really have too much chocolate?) and a drizzle of caramel sauce.
Pure Bliss!
How to make double chocolate brownies
If you want the #1 secret for making these the best damn fudgy brownies you will ever have, check out the note at the bottom of this recipe. You won't want to miss that.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces unsalted butter, melted
- 3 eggs
- 1 ยฝ cups sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- ยพ cup flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, coarse
- 6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
Instructions
- Melt the butter and set it aside.
- Mix together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract.
- Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl: cocoa powder, flour, and salt.
- Stir โ of the melted butter into the sugar mixture. Mix until well combined.
- Add โ of the flour mixture into the butter-sugar mixture and stir until combined.
- Stir in another โ of the melted butter and stir well.
- Add another โ of the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
- Stir in the remaining butter and stir to combine.
- Add the remaining flour and stir until just combined.
- Fold in the chopped chocolate.
- Pour batter into a buttered 8x8 inch baking pan.
- Bake for 30 minutes in a preheated 300F/150C oven.
- Rotate the baking pan and bake for an additional 30 to 35 minutes.
- Cool completely before cutting.
#1 Tip for an amazing brownie
This brownie has 2 types of chocolate: powdered cocoa and baking chocolate. The secret to this brownie is the baking chocolate, not chocolate morsels. Chocolate chips (or morsels) have ingredients that help keep them whole.
Baking chocolate is made to melt. This is what adds even more richness and fudginess to these incredibly decadent brownies.
Plus there is an insane amount of butter in these things!!! Seriously.
Another tip is don't over-stir the batter. Over-stirring flour creates toughness. So even though you're alternating ingredients and stirring each time, mix just until things are combined, then stop.
Double Chocolate Brownies in Photos
The light was perfect in my kitchen the day I made these, so I took pictures throughout the whole process. Here is my photographic brownie journey. Cue Basso Nova music!
Mix the sugar, eggs, and vanilla together.
Sift the flour, powdered cocoa, and salt together.
Add โ of the melted butter to the sugar mixture.
Mix until thoroughly combined.
Add โ of the flour/cocoa mixture.
Repeat the above steps โ 1/3 โ until all you have left is chopped chocolate bits.
Fold those into the brownie batter.
Pour the batter into your buttered baking pan. (like there wasn't enough butter in this recipe already! ๐คฃ)
Bake at 300F/150C for 30 min, then rotate and bake for another 45 min. No need for a wire rack. Let the brownies cool completely in the pan.
Coming in!!!
Questions about this double chocolate brownie recipe
Thank you to everyone who emailed me letting me know how much you enjoyed these! You have no idea how much a love getting your feedback and I really appreciate your questions too. Please keep them coming for this double chocolate brownie recipe or any other recipe you try.
"Why don't you use baking powder or baking soda?" - Alyssa K., Minnesota
Both baking powder and baking soda are leavening agents, meaning they make baked goods rise. I didn't want a cakey fluffy brownie. I wanted a dense fudgy brownie, so I left the baking soda and baking powder in the pantry.
"I've always made my brownies with brown sugar and white sugar. How come this recipe only uses white sugar?" - Bobbi S., Illinois
I love this question! Brown sugar is typically used when you're going for a fudgy brownie, which is exactly what I was going for here. So why didn't I use it?
Brown sugar has molasses in it which makes it a wetter sugar than white sugar. It's this extra moisture that helps create a fudgier brownie. White sugar, on the other hand, is drier and makes a chewier brownie.
I chose to make the brownies with an exorbitant amount of butter. The fat in the butter not only makes these brownies incredibly dense, rich, and super moist but the butter coats your mouth and spreads the flavor around your tastebuds like a tsunami of chocolate!
After the brownies are done baking, the chunks of baking chocolate create little pools of melted chocolate as you bite into each piece. So they add quite a bit of moisture too. With all of these "wet" ingredients, we didn't need the extra added "wetness" of the molasses in the brown sugar.
"What would you need to do to make brownies more cake-like, and not quite so fudgy?" - My Aunt Margie A., Mexico
The answer to this one lies in the fat to flour ratio. As the fat increases and the flour decreases, the brownies become fudgier. Ergo, the inverse is true: as the fat decreases and the flour increases the cakier they become.
If you want a lighter brownie, look for a recipe with a higher flour to fat ratio that also incorporates baking soda and/or baking powder. Leave out chopped chocolate (added fat) and opt for a high-quality cocoa powder. That way you still get great flavor without weighing the brownie down.
"Can I make this double chocolate brownie recipe GLUTEN-FREE and how?" - Rachael R., New York
YES!!! However, not all gluten-free flour is created equal. I've tried Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free flour and I've tried Cup 4 Cup.
Bob's Red Mill does a poor job mimicking real flour. It's grainy and flat.
Cup 4 Cup, on the other hand, is AMAZING!!! And no, I'm not on their payroll.
The main difference between these two is Cup 4 Cup has in addition to white rice flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, and tapioca starch is... xantham gum and milk powder.
So whatever gluten-free flour you choose, look at the ingredients and make sure those are in there. At least the xantham gum, if nothing else.
More chocolate recipes
Buckeye Balls are chocolate-covered peanut butter balls. They're pillowy soft and the perfect balance between sweet and salty.
Flourless Chocolate Torte (Gluten-free)
Double Chocolate Brownies
The secret to this recipe is tons of butter, sugar, and chocolate with just enough flour and eggs to hold the whole thing together. Oh yeah, and salt. Don't forget the salt. This recipe is to die for!
Ingredients
- 12 ounces butter unsalted and melted
- 3 eggs
- 1 ยฝ cups sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- ยพ cup flour
- 1 teaspoon salt kosher
- 6 ounces dark baking chocolate chopped
Instructions
-
Melt butter.
-
Whisk together eggs, sugar, and vanilla.
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Sift together cocoa powder, flour, and salt.
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Chop dark chocolate into tiny pea size pieces.
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Mix โ of the butter into the sugar mixture until thoroughly combined.
-
Stir โ of the flour mixture into the sugar mixture until well mixed.
-
Continue alternating until everything this completely combined.
-
Fold in the chopped chocolate bits.
-
Pour batter into a 8 x 8 inch buttered pan with 2 inch sides.
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Bake for 30 minutes at 300F. (See Notes)
-
Rotated the dish and bake for another 30 to 35 minutes.
-
Cool completely and cut.
-
To serve: warm each piece in the microwave for 15 seconds. Optional: Serve with ice cream, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
If you are using a 9x13 pan, bake the brownies for 45 min, rotate, and bake for another 35 min.
This is a very forgiving recipe.ย These are very moist fudge-y brownies and very difficult to overbake.ย One time I forgot the 2nd 45 min baking time and took them out of the oven only ยฝ baked (total of 45 min).ย And they were STILL amazing!!! They were cooked through, but extremely fudge-y. Lol For the record, I don't recommend that.ย ย
Tandy | Lavender and Lime says
For sure, you can never have enough chocolate! These look divine ๐
Madalaine says
Thanks Tandy!
Tandy | Lavender and Lime says
These look amazing! And you can never have enough chocolate ๐
Marlene says
This looks good but that is not a 9 X 13 pan. Do you still bake that long?
Madalaine says
Hi Marlene,
Yes. It's the same amount of batter and it's a very moist batter. I think the pan I used in the picture is 8 x 8. Even though the pan has a smaller face area, the brownies are deeper than if I used a 9x13, so they need that much time to cook through.
When I have a long bake (longer than 30 min) I'll check for doneness about 15 min prior to the end of the baking time. It's easier to bake a little longer than try to "fix" something that's over baked.
Jason Harley says
When you say dark baking chocolate, do you mean 100% cocoa?
Thank you.
Madalaine says
Great question Jason! I was referring to bittersweet baking chocolate which has 70% cocoa. If you give it a go with a cocoa bar with 100%, please let me know how you like it! I would think it would be less sweet (but not by much), and still fabulous.
Joyce Flanagan says
Great recipe!!! Love it!!! Will make it again!!!