Brown butter chocolate chip brownies

These brownies are full of chocolate flavor with a deep nuttiness from the brown butter. They have the perfect amount of chew with just enough fudginess, and you’ll get that shiny top we all love too.

I’ve been wanting to make a brown butter brownie, and I am really happy with how these turned out. I do have a favorite brownie recipe already, but I love this recipe for one that’s a little less sweet and intensely filled with chocolate flavor. You can also absolutely swap in milk chocolate in this recipe if you’re looking for a sweeter brownie.

After you brown your butter on the stovetop, you’ll use a stand mixer to combine your wet ingredients and then your spatula or spoon to fold in your dry ingredients. My favorite brownie recipe is classic with no mix-ins, but I knew semisweet chocolate chips would be the perfect add-in for this recipe.

Aside from your brown butter, you won’t need any fancy ingredients for this recipe. There is a triple hit of chocolate with semisweet chocolate melted into the batter, semisweet chips, and of course cocoa powder. The brown butter flavor compliments the chocolate extremely well, and we add in a bit of vegetable oil to balance the loss of liquid from browning your butter.

When you mix in your dry ingredients, you’ll want to move slowly. This batter is thick which I think leads to an incredible texture in the end, but it does mean that you have to move carefully when folding in your dry ingredients so that you don’t lose the air that you whipped into your eggs. You can use your mixer to incorporate your dry ingredients, but I don’t recommend it because it can lead to over mixing your batter. A spatula or large spoon is the way to go for incorporating your dry ingredients.

As with almost all brownies, these will freeze extremely well. Once sliced, you can wrap them in plastic wrap if you have it and place them into an airtight container. You can defrost them in the fridge, eat them straight from the freezer if you like them that way, or pop them into the microwave for 10-20 seconds (my personal favorite).

Ingredients:

• 1 stick unsalted butter (8 tablespoons, 1/2 cup)

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 Oz) divided in half

• 1/3 cup light brown sugar

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1 egg yolk

• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour

• 1/3 cup cocoa powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Total time: About two hours

Prep time: 20 minutes

Bake time: 22-25 minutes

Cool time: 1 hour before slicing (room temperature or in the fridge)

Cooking instructions:

In a stand mixer with your whisk attachment, add in half a cup of chocolate.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, brown your butter. Place your butter in a pot or pan (I recommend using a nonstick heavy bottomed pot) on the stovetop on a low to medium heat. After your butter melts, you'll hear it begin to crackle. Swirl the melted butter and watch it carefully as it can burn easily. You'll start to smell a nutty aroma (you'll know it when it happens). Once you see the color turn to a light brown or amber, remove your pan from the heat and pour your brown butter into your stand mixer to cover your chocolate.

Turn your mixer on at a medium to high speed for about 30 seconds, or until your chocolate melts into your butter and creates a smooth mixture.

Add both sugars into your stand mixer, and bring your mixer back to a high speed and mix for about 2 minutes.

Then, add your eggs and extra yolk in one at a time mixing at a medium speed until fully combined. Once all three are added, bring your mixer to a high speed and let it mix for 2-3 minutes. You should notice that the color lightens.

To your stand mixer, add in your vanilla and vegetable oil and combine at a low speed for another 30 seconds until fully incorporated.

At this point, you'll incorporate your dry ingredients. Sift in your flour, salt, and cocoa powder. I used a mesh strainer rested on top of my large stand mixer bowl, and then you can lightly tap the sides of the strainer with one hand while holding the handle in the other to sift your dry ingredients clump free into your wet ingredients. Using a spatula or large spoon, fold your dry ingredients in, moving slowly. When your dry ingredients are about halfway mixed, add in your remaining half cup of chocolate chips. Continue mixing until just incorporated. Note that moving slowly here, and mixing only as much as necessary will lead to a better texture and shinier crust in the end.

Line a 9x9in square pan (or you can use an 8x8 pan and increase the cook time a bit) with parchment paper and then pour in your mixture. You can use any flat tool, or even a spoon, to lightly spread your mixture so that it is evenly poured across your pan. Place your pan into the oven and bake for 23-25 minutes. If you like your brownies extra gooey pull them out at 23 minutes. You'll know your brownies are done when you see a shiny top form and if you wiggle the pan the center doesn't move showing you that your brownies have set. Remove your pan and allow your brownies to cool fully (this will take at least an hour) and then slice into 16 squares, or 9 if you'd like larger pieces! You can also speed up the cooling process in the fridge.

You can store your brownies in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge, and of course they freeze great. Brownies are one of those desserts that do truly freeze well once baked so don't be afraid to pop some into the freezer if you don't think you'll finish the batch within a few days.

Carb and serving info:

Carbs per serving (1 of 16): 24

Carbs per serving (1 of 9) : 43

Carbs for full recipe: 390

Carbs from chocolate: 110

Note: Carb information is calculated based on the specific ingredients I used to cook with to help guide my own insulin to carb ratio when dosing before I eat my home cooked recipes.