Browned Butter Brownies Recipe Plus 4 Brownie Ideas
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Sep 14, 2023 • 3 min read
Browned butter brownies are a fudgy dessert with a nutty, sweet, and chocolaty flavor. Learn how to make a batch for a special occasion or a casual weeknight dessert.
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What Are Browned Butter Brownies?
Browned butter brownies are chocolate brownies that use browned butter (or brown butter) instead of regular melted butter. Brown butter adds a nuttiness to the brownie batter, which will have a fudgy and chewy texture instead of a cakey texture. Brown butter is a popular ingredient in other baked goods, such as chocolate chip cookies and blondies.
4 Mix-Ins for Browned Butter Brownies
Browned butter brownies can be delicious on their own, or you can mix other ingredients into the batter to enhance your dessert or alter the flavor. Here are four potential mix-ins for fudgy brownies:
- 1. Chocolate chips: Add dark chocolate, semisweet chocolate, or bittersweet chocolate chips to a browned butter brownie batter to enhance the chocolate flavor. If you don’t have chocolate chips, chopped chocolate works, too.
- 2. Espresso: Mix instant espresso powder or a brewed shot of espresso into the butter and chocolate mixture. Coffee or espresso flavor will make the chocolate taste more chocolaty. For this reason, coffee is a common add-in when it comes to chocolate dessert recipes.
- 3. Peanut butter: A classic flavor combination, peanut butter and fudge pair well together. The peanut butter complements the nutty taste of browned butter in addition to the sweet chocolate. Use creamy peanut butter or peanut butter chips, or make a peanut butter frosting you can use atop the brownies.
- 4. Toffee: Boasting a similar flavor to browned butter, toffee is sweet, salty, and nutty. Chop the toffee or use toffee-flavored morsels in your brownie batter for additional crunch and sweetness.
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Browned Butter Brownies Recipe
makes
9 browniesprep time
15 mintotal time
40 mincook time
25 minIngredients
- 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 2
Grease a square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and line it with parchment paper, leaving some overhang to make removing the brownies from the pan easier.
- 3
In a nonstick pan over medium heat, melt the butter and continue cooking it until the butter stops foaming.
- 4
Skim the milk solids from the top of the butter.
- 5
If you wish, strain the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Leaving them in the butter is also acceptable.
- 6
Stir the unsweetened cocoa powder and espresso powder into the brown butter.
- 7
Cool the butter for 10 minutes.
- 8
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- 9
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the brown butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.
- 10
Whisk the butter and sugar for 5–7 minutes or until it’s lighter in color and doubled in volume.
- 11
Add the eggs, one at a time, to the sugar and butter mixture.
- 12
Add the vanilla extract.
- 13
Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and, with a rubber spatula, fold in the dry ingredients (flour mixture).
- 14
Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan.
- 15
Bake the brownies until a toothpick comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
- 16
Cool the brownies in the pan to room temperature.
- 17
Using the parchment paper overhang, lift the brownies out of the baking pan.
- 18
Cut the brownies into nine equal-size servings.
- 19
Serve the brown butter brownies plain or with ice cream and a drizzle of melted chocolate. Store any leftover brownies in an airtight container at room temperature.
Become a better baker with the MasterClass Annual Membership. Gain access to exclusive video lessons taught by the world’s best, including Joanne Chang, Dominique Ansel, Gordon Ramsay, Chef Thomas Keller, Mashama Bailey, and more.