The Baked Brownie
The Baked Brownie! Totally famous and for good reason – they are rich, dense, fudge-like brownies; you’ll never need another brownie recipe!
The famed Baked brownie. Oprah says it’s one of her favorite things. America’s Test Kitchen claims it’s their favorite brownie.
I don’t put much stock in Oprah, but America’s Test Kitchen is pretty much like the bible to me when it comes to all things kitchen. I check their reviews before any other recipes, and before I buy any kitchen equipment or new ingredients. So, if it’s their favorite brownie, I need to take a serious look.
If you haven’t treated yourself to the beauty that is the Baked cookbook, run, don’t walk, to Amazon and order it immediately. The Baked series is one of my most coveted groups of cookbooks – they have incredibly wonderful recipes, many that have a cozy, homey feel as well as some that have unique tweaks. I could go on about all of the amazing recipes in this book, but for now, let’s focus on these brownies. Because they deserve it. They are one of my favorite things. And I usually need to hide them from myself.
There is a great explanation in the book about how the Baked brownie recipe came to be, which is a great read. The key is that they don’t want it to be cakey, so they use no leavening agents (no baking powder or baking soda). With 11 ounces of chocolate, additional cocoa powder, lots of butter and sugar, and 5 eggs, you don’t need me to tell you that these babies are R-I-C-H.
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This is quite possibly the most perfect brownie. Now, if you like cakey brownies you won’t think so. But, if you like honest-to-goodness, rich and dense brownies, you will have found your Eden when you bite into these.
They have a good bit of height given that they don’t have any leavening agents, so they aren’t thin, gooey and smooshed like some brownies (this is a good thing). They have substance and heft when you bite into them, and they boast the ever-elusive and much sought after thin, crackly brownie crust that seems to be the calling card of amazing brownies.
Now, get thee into the kitchen and make these! Then pour yourself a tall glass of cold milk and enjoy bite after decadent bite.
Three years ago: Toasted Almond Fudge Ripple Ice Cream
Four years ago: Coconut Cream Pie
The Baked Brownie
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups (156.25 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, natural or Dutch-process will work
- 11 ounces (311.85 g) dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder, optional
- 1½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (110 g) packed light brown sugar
- 5 eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9x13-inch glass or light-colored baking pan. Line the pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and cocoa powder together.
- Put the chocolate, butter and instant espresso powder in a large heat-proof bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water and add the sugars. Whisk until completely combined, then remove the bowl from the pan. The mixture should be room temperature.
- Add 3 eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until combined. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey.
- Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture. Using a rubber spatula (not a whisk), fold the flour mixture into the chocolate until just a bit of the flour mixture is visible.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it, about 30 minutes. Let the brownies cool completely in the pan, then lift them out of the pan using the parchment paper. Cut into squares and serve. Store at room temperature in an airtight container or wrap with plastic wrap for up to 3 days.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
This recipe was originally published on October 8, 2010.
I just made these. They’ve been my go-to brownie recipe for years — they never fail me. My favorite variation is to add dollops of creamy peanut butter to the batter right before baking. I made them in a 8×8 ceramic pan, which took about 55 minutes to bake. I didn’t halve the recipe, but in retrospect I probably should have. The edges were a little more done than the center, but they were still delicious. Thank you for an amazing recipe!
I tried these and they are SOOO good! I’m highly impressed. Thank you for the recipe!
Crazy Q–Do you ever get a hard/chewy white piece from the egg? How to avoid it please?
Hi Kim, I’ve never had that issue!
This is caused by adding the egg to a mixture that is too hot, causing some of the egg white to cook. Make sure your mixture is cool before adding any eggs to it.
Can I make these in a mini muffin tin?
I never have, but I’m sure you could try!
These are hands. down. the. BEST.
Easy Step to follow, keep up, thanks
Let’s just say Ive made these several times after finding them on Pinterest. Why I looked there instead of here first anyway, I’ll never know. I was asked to make these twice in one week… For one person. I add a cup of mini semisweet chips to these. One batch I also added chopped drained marchinio cherries. Another batch I swirled in peanut butter. You can’t go wrong here. Hands down winner
This is very delicious. Maybe I’ll try it someday.
8 years later I stumble on this… tried to make them and the outer ring tasted fantastic… but then I realised the inside wasn’t actually cooked (weirdly, the toothpick I inserted came out fine…?). but it’s super oozy… and greasy….? I’m not in the US, so I’m wondering if something is off with my ingredients… maybe the fat content of my butter?
I know this is from many years ago but I had the same issue. I live in the UK and 30 minutes mine came out all gooey too. Then I cranked the temperature to 180 c for another 25 minutes. Once it’s cooled it turned out perfect like in the picture.
What percent cacao is your dark chocolate? I think I used too high of a percentage. Thank you
Hi Justina, It is 60%.
In reference to the name…….aren’t all brownies baked? However I can relate to your opinion when it comes to reviews by “America’s Test Kitchen, especially tools in the kitchen… What they’ve demonstrated countless times is many companies NEVER did prototyping of their product they released on the market. There is NO way they could have had 10 or 20 people used and tested many of the products that sre sold. There is no way otherwise they would have fixed the problems. My family used to have a store for a while. We sold many things, including kitchen tools. I quickly came to appreciate the upset.
Hi Pamela, The name comes from the bakery where the brownie recipe originated – it is called simply “Baked”.
A close friend of mine loves this recipe, but is on a lowcarb diet. So, I’m trying to modify this to make her feel a little better about eating them. I plan to use coconut flour in a ~1/3: 1 ratio while decreasing the number of eggs to adhere to a 6:1 ratio I found on some online tutorials. I will post the final results and recipe later after the taste test.
Wish me luck :)
Hi! My mother in law wants a black forest brownie for her birthday…any ideas on adding to this recipe or the better than box?
Hi Carolyn, I would use the better than box mix brownies – that’s my go-to recipe for doctored up brownies!
Thank you…how would you incorporate the cherries? What type and amount? I have found so many variations! Syrups, jams, frozen, fresh…goodness! I am paring it with coffee ice cream and fudge sauce…she is a woman who knows what she wants! I love it!
And by the way….have you ever heard of an 8 x 10 brownie pan? It is in a cookbook I have and I have never seen that….did searches and nothing came up except quarter sheets…but that just doesn’t seem deep enough.
Have a great day!
Hi Carolyn, I would do fresh, but they’re not in season right now, so frozen might work well too! I’ve never heard of an 8×10 pan, but I do know that Pyrex makes a 7×11!
Best brownies EVER!!!❤ Thank you so much for the amazing recipes! If I ever need to make something new, I check to see if you’ve already made it cause I know if you’ve made it, then you’ve perfected it! Thank you, thank you, thank you!☺
Fabulous every time :)
This is one of the first made from scratch brownie recipes I’ve tried that is absolutely worth the extra effort vs using a box mix. My bible study absolutely raved about them and fought over bringing the leftovers home!! Thanks so much for sharing.
I have made these brownies several times and they are always fantastic! They are so rich and dense; the texture is moist and fudgy without being too ‘gooey.’ I will never go back to another brownie recipe again! I never wait for the chocolate mixture to cool to room temperature before adding the eggs and my brownies turn out just fine. These usually do end up taking up to 10 minutes longer to cook than the recipe says.
This is now my go-to brownie recipe. Everything you promised and more !
Hi, if I want to make say 8 brownies, can I just divide all the quantities by 3 and cross my fingers? :)
I mean, you COULD… but you could also make the regular batch and freeze what you don’t need for another day!
I made 2/3rd of the recipe and it didn’t turn out fudgy. It was cakey. Even though I was careful not to overmix
😑
Made these exactly per recipe using 9×13 light metal pan, even cooked them 5-10 min longer than the 30m it called for as toothpick was still very wet at 30m…though middle still seemed too soft I took them out as the sides were getting too done and I assumed the carry over cooking from heat of pan would carry them to correct doneness…I let them fully cool and didn’t even attempt to cut them until well after 2 hrs…the entire middle section was a gobbly gooey mess!…wouldn’t even cut into a square let alone hold in hand to eat…could only use outer layer 2 rows in and even they were very gooey and messy to eat with your hand like brownies are meant to be eaten…I tried these as the description and picture is exactly how I like brownies but mine turned out nothing like picture!…I don’t feel the problem is my oven temp as I dont have issues with other things I cook…as well I was very careful about reading everything through and am certain ingredients were spot on…so disappointed…what a waste of time and ingredients…for the life of me I cannot find a brownie recipe that’s not too gooey or cake like…it’s beyond me how so many others loved these ???
Mine was gooey too until I increased the temp to 180c and added another 25 minutes. It looked and tasted awesome after the change.
I made these and they are awesome! But my kids prefer the taste of milk chocolate. Is it an equal substitute to put in milk chocolate? Have a blessed day!
Hi Brianne, I think if you used milk chocolate these would be way, way too sweet. I’d try stepping down to semisweet chocolate first.
I use milk chocolate and raw sugar every time. Bake a little longer….. extra 10ish minutes. the most incredible chewy crust forms once you put them in the fridge!!! (A must in my opinion)
Oh my goodness these are amazing. I have always been a boxed brownie believer, but these have changed my mind. Chocolately and moist with that signature crackly top–they’ve got it all! Thanks for the recipe!
Can you use cacao instead of cocoa?
I’m honestly not sure how it would affect the flavor and texture.
My sugars aren’t melting at all! What do I do? 😑
Hi AJ, Are you talking about step #3? They don’t need to melt, you just need to whisk to thoroughly combine them.
Delicious brownie , mine came out too soon. Only 25 min but the taste is superb! The kind of brownie that doesn’t need nuts or chocolate chips! I’ll make it again
I made these and wow, they’re fabulous. So fudgy and rich tasting. I added chopped walnuts and it brought them to another level. Definitely will keep this recipe.
One of the best brownie recipes I could find online. You are a true magician in the kitchen. Thanks for providing this complete in-depth recipe on the best brownie of all time – baked every time :)
Great recipes and I also like that your ads are about helping Animals! I have made your Irish Soda Bread and that cane out really well. Thanks so much for sharing the photos of the finished recipe and of your men in short pants!
Ellen in NJ and the 2 Senior Cats and the 4 Horses
Just made these for dessert after dinner tonight – they were perfect! Even better with vanilla ice cream on top. ? These are not super sweet. Would make again!
I made these for a treat for the teachers at my daughters school and they absolutely loved them! Recipe was easy to follow and the results were spectacular! Thanks for another great recipe.
I love this cookie made baked…