This is a recipe I posted years ago in honor of my daughter's first day at Brownie camp. Also known as Chewy Triple Fudge Brownies, the recipe calls for three different types of chocolate. There's unsweetened, semisweet chocolate and cocoa powder. It is originally from Cook's Illustrated or as I like to say, "CI".
From June 2000
This deep dish recipe is adapted from one by Dawn Yanagihara in the June 2000 issue. It says she made the brownies 50 times to get the recipe right. At the end of the day it's all subjective. And while these are excellent brownies, they may be too chocolaty for some. If you are a chocoholic they're perfect.
Flaky Top, Chewy Sides, Velvety Texture
In creating the original recipe, the CI team said they wanted triple fudge brownies with a flaky top, chewy sides and a “velvety” fudge texture. Mission accomplished.
The Shiny Crust!
Along with the attributes listed above, Fudgy Triple Chocolate Brownies also have a shiny crust. This happens when the fats in the batter melt, giving the batter extra fluidity. This causes some sugar to rise to the surface where the heat dries it into a smooth light-reflecting surface. For a shiny crust, you have to the right chocolate and not too much unsweetened, as unsweetened chocolate absorbs floating sugar preventing it from rising. So for the best chance at a shiny crust, use only 2 oz of good quality unsweetened chocolate and 5 oz of good quality semisweet or bittersweet.
Chewy Triple Fudge Brownies are excellent. They may be the best brownies I’ve ever made. Plus the recipe fits an 8-inch square so it makes just enough.
Recipe
Chewy Triple Fudge Brownies
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (114 grams)
- 5 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (70%), chopped (142 grams)
- 2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped (56 grams)
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 large eggs
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar (245 grams)
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup all purpose flour (130 grams)
- Walnuts for top optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Line an 8-inch metal pan with nonstick foil or line with regular foil and grease bottom only.
- Melt butter in a saucepan set over medium heat. When it's about halfway melted,add the chocolate, reduce heat to low and stir until chocolate is melted. Stir in cocoa powder. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
- Whisk eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt together in a mixing bowl. Whisk in the melted chocolate mixture. Add the flour and stir until blended. Pour into pan.
- If desired, place 9 walnut halves across the top. This is best for large brownies.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes (check at 30). Let sit on a wire rack until completely cool.
- Chill thoroughly before slicing for neater brownies.
Anna says
Thanks for posting the review, Kara! This is one of my favorite recipes. They're REALLY good if you use the Scharffen Berger chocolate.
Kara says
I made these today and they were excellent. I've been having trouble getting that nice shiny, crinkly top, and these finally had it! I think I've tried no fewer than six recipes in the last few months to achieve it. I love a super rich chocolately brownie, and these were good, but not too rich.
Anna says
How sweet! Thanks so much for the review 🙂
Jiji says
Thank you so much, I made it & Just tasted they are great!
My two sons really like it and they asked me where did i learned this recipes and i replied that i owe this from your Tita Anna and I' so thankful for your site....God Bless...
Anna says
Hi Katia,
Thanks for letting me know! I may try that tomorrow.
katia says
Just made these using coconut oil instead of butter. Turned out really good 😀 with a nice crunchy top. These were also incredibly easy to make. Lets see how my family likes these, I've been on the hunt for the perfect brownie.
Anna says
Hi Sophia, the results might not be identical, but you should be able to substitute the 2 oz of unsweetened chocolate with 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder and 2 tablespoons butter or oil. So the total amount of cocoa powder in your recipe would be 9 tablespoons which is 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon.
Payal says
dear Anna, I made these brownies today and they were just perfect..yummy, delicious! Thanks for this fantastic recipe and a fantastic blog..keep rocking 🙂
Anna says
Hooray! Good luck at the fair. I'm going to have to try the mashed banana technique.
Gloria says
Anna, I'm so happy and I owe it to you!!! This recipe gave me the shiny, paper-thin crackly crust, like your brownie picture, when I used 2 instead of 3 eggs plus I added the mashed banana (a trick I learned from my mom.) Baked 325 for 35 min. Thank you so much for posting-it's going to the State Fair.....(For this contest the entry doesn't need to be my recipe-just home-made and no boxed mixes....but I know who gets the credit!!!! ) For all those people who think the crust comes from melting sugar, beating eggs, etc., my test proves otherwise. I didn't do any of those things. I'm doing the happy dance now....need to burn off future brownie calories!
gloria says
Just tasted brownies...they are great!
Yes, I did add the banana. However, the two times my brownies had the shiny, glass-like paper thin crust they also had the banana. In a 8x8 pan: the brownies also had only 1 egg, 2/3 cup brown sugar, 3/4 cup semi-sweet choco chips, 2/3 cup flour, and a pinch of salt. I just mixed until incorporated and didn't melt sugar or beat eggs. Maybe it is the sugar to leavening agent/egg ratio? Go figure!!!
Anna says
Gloria, did you add a banana to this recipe? If so, that may be why you're getting such different results.
gloria says
Sorry for the double post-can you delete it?
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly!!! I looked at the recipe you suggested and the crust (and brownie!) look divine!. I always add a very small ripe banana to my brownies so I'll try it with this one too. I am trying recipes to enter in to our State Fair. I thought entering the plain brownie category would be easier than the frosted with nuts category-however you can't cover your mistakes entering a naked brownie!
I am going to try this recipe again only adding one less egg and baking at 325 and see what happens....I love the flavor....
Anna says
Hi Gloria,
It's been a while since I've made this recipe and since posting, I've tried to be a little bit more precise in listing exact mixing methods. But I can tell you I didn't go to any extra effort in beating the eggs. I might have whisked them a little more than you did or perhaps the chocolate was warmer, but I didn't do anything out of the ordinary (as far as a I recall) to get the flaky top crust. I know for a fact I used really good chocolate (Scharffen Berger) for these brownies and that they were spectacular, but I'd have to re-trace my steps to see how I got the shiny crust in this recipe.
There's another recipe I use which usually gives me a shiny crust. It's called Effortless Brownies. Maybe you could try that one?
https://www.cookiemadness.net/?p=107
It sounds like you're doing all the same things I do, so i'm not sure what's going on.
gloria says
I am a first time writer, but long-time site viewer. I enjoy your comments and depend on them.
The batter for these brownies tastes great!!! Just took these out of the oven and it's too late to eat them tonight-really bummed....Thought these would have the crinkly, shiny, paper-thin crust like pic, but they didn't--- more cake looking. Did you beat the eggs before adding the sugar and beat both together? I've tried melting the sugar, beating the finished mix 40 strokes, and nothing works. Only once did I get the shiny crinkly crust and I don't know why-I didn't do anything special....Please help!!!
georgiaw says
Well the second you figure it out let us miles addicts know! No other brownie is quite the same and I'm going broke buying them at whole foods! Thanks so much for your reply.
Anna says
Hi Georgia,
I am trying to perfect it so I unpublished it.
georgiaw says
Dear Anna, This is off the subject a bit, but I don't know where else to ask; Im looking desperately for your miles of chocolate clone recipe but can't seem to find it. Could you point me in the right direction or if it's not too much trouble repost it? Me and a few friends are miles addicts! Thank you so much.
Anna says
Thanks for the feedback, Tiffany!
I hope you try more of the recipes here :). Also, I haven't made this particular brownie in a while, but I probably should. Also, I think I need to break the Top 5 brownie category up into "basic brownies" and "fancy brownies".
Tiffany says
Hi Anna,
I've been a reader of your blog for awhile now, but this brownie is the first recipe in here that I've used. This is the best brownie I have made - and I have made a lot! Definitely should be in the Top 5 list. Thanks for the recipe!
Anna says
Hi Kim,
Thanks for making these. It's been a while since I used this recipe but as you can see by the above description, I liked it at the time. It probably should go in the Top 5.
sweetiesbykim says
I made these the other night -they ARE the best brownies I've ever made!!!!!!!!!!! Not cakey, but not too fudgey that they seem like they weren't baked long enough. Easy to slice and perfect all around. Mmmmmmmmmmm.
Anna says
Hi Sarah,
Here's the metric version. Hope this helps!
140 grams semi-sweet chocolate
56 grams unsweetened chocolate
114 grams unsalted butter
45 ml tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (3 Tablepoons)
3 large eggs
245 grams granulated sugar
7.5 ml vanilla extract (1 1/2 teaspoon)
2.5 ml teaspoon salt (1/2 teaspoon)
126 grams all purpose flour
Walnuts for top (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degree F (180 C). Line an 8 inch metal pan with Release foil or line with regular foil and spray foil with cooking spray.
Melt both chocolate and butter together in a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring often. Stir in cocoa powder. Remove from heat to cool slightly.
Whisk eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt together in a mixing bowl. Whisk in the melted chocolate mixture. Add the flour and stir until blended. Pour into pan.
If desired, place 9 walnut halves across the top. This is best for large brownies.
Bake for 35-40 minutes. Let sit on a wire rack until completely cool. Chill if desired, or score into 9 large brownies or 16 small. ATK cuts theirs into 1 inch squares and gets a lot more.
sarah says
these brownies look amazing, but im in england so use grams instead of oz and 'cups'
i have no idea how to translate your recipe, help?!
Hillary says
You can't get any better than chewy AND fudgy...yum! I'll have to test these against my: best chocolate brownies.
Michelle says
Anna, Those look so good. I'm going to add them to my to try pile. I'm like a previous poster, trying a new one almost every time, always in search of the perfect one. I've had a few bad ones lately, where I've thrown out the whole pan of them because they were so terrible.
Here's one I recently found that we think is the perfect one to have for a brownie sundae:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/06/AR2007020600438.html
I'm not crazy about them for just eating plain, but slightly warmed in the micro for a few seconds, topped with some good ice cream, caramel, hot fudge sauce....incredible!
Julie O'Hara says
These sound great. I think they should be the next ones I try. Another good chocolate that most supermarkets seem to carry is Lindt Excellence 3.5-ounce bars. I absolutely love the 70% cocoa for eating and baking, and it's relatively inexpensive.
Anna says
Kelly, I like using Recipelink. It's kind of a busy website in terms of design, but there is a lot of good info. In the center of the page a little down from the top, you will find "Weekly Menus"
http://www.recipelink.com/surftuesday.html
I also plan menus using Joe's site (Culinary Joe AKA Culinary in the Country) because his pictures help me visualize. Another place to find good and easy dinners is
http://chickinthekitchen.com/
I just made her cashew chicken the other day and everyone liked it -- including my daughter. Her recipes are kid friendly but not boring.
I also like Myrecipes.com which is Southern Living, Cooking Light and Sunset.
Kelly says
Just wanted to let you know that Martha Stewart is doing a cookie of the day recipe for this entire month. If you go to her website it has a calendar with a picture,video,recipe of each cookie for this month. Some of them look pretty good. You may want to check it out.
P.S. Keep up the good work with your website, I really enjoy it. Do you know of other websites that have dinner ideas and menus for the week. I cook so much sometimes it is nice to get some new ideas.
Kelly
Erin Mylroie says
I'm printing this one out and leaving it on the counter. Won't rest until I get my hands on some worthy chocolate.
Anna says
Therese, thanks for catching that! Good thing the recipe is hidden in the comment section. I need to make it and take a photo for Kelly.
Wendy, Ghirardelli semi-sweet or bittersweet is always a good choice. Plus, it's pretty easy to find.
BB, sorry to hear you've had a bad week. Maybe it was a case of the Mondays???? Sorry. Had to say that.
bakingblonde says
Those look Perfect! What I would not give for one of those right now! I have had a rough week and it is only Monday, haha. Chocolate cures everything!
Wendy says
What kind of semi-sweet chocolate do you recomend if I can't get Scharffen Berger? Love your blog. Wendy
Anna says
VG, I like walnuts too. Putting them on top gives people the option of picking them off.
Rita, Fuzz went to day camp. Brownies are young Girl Scouts. Also, I think you will like this one, but part of the reason mine turned out so good was that I used Scharfen Berger chocolate.
Joanna, the edge pan is really popular. I kind of like the middles best, but that's just me (and Julie H.). LOL.
Amy, these seem crustier like they have a thicker shell. They're not quite as fudgy, either.
Katrina, if you need more than 9, you can cut them much smaller.
Rachel, I think 36 small brownies is reasonable. I guess 64 would work, but they'd be one-bite brownies. Also, I was tempted to add chocolate chips but these were so rich they really didn't need them.
Rina, I love the Alice Medrich recipe too.
Catherine, sometimes it's harder when your mom is the leader. There are days when I want to kick Fuzz out of brownies! She's usually better after snacktime, though.
Therese B. says
oops...absolutely. SPELL CHECK PLEASE!
Therese B. says
OH..YOU ARE KILLING ME!!
Those brownies look absolutly amazing!! Those brownies are soooooo fortunate to have you as their leader! TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER...TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER....ARRGH. I wish my daughter had you as a leader..she had a "bad" leader/no enthusiasm..boring...and quickly left Girl Scouts shortly after....so sad.
p.s. I just took the blueberry crumb cake out of the oven....YUM..YUM...my kitchen smells out of this world awesome! Just a heads up on the ingreds. The crumb mixture is missing the 1 1/4 cup flour. Found the recipe online..so, no problemo! EVERYONE TRY....SO GOOOOOOOD!! See previous posts.
Lisa Ernst says
Anna, I'm curious about whether you think these brownies are better than the Kind Arutur Flour brownies? Hard quesiton, I guess. But want my next batch of brownies to be the "best" recipe I can find!
Catherine says
Oh, I remember being a Brownie! True story - I was KICKED OUT of Brownies and my Mom was one of the leaders! That's how BAD I was!!!
But I just love brownies, and these look tooooo good!
Rina says
These look great! I am in the same boat as Amy, fell in love with the Alice Medrich recipe after your brownie battle a while back and wondering how these compare to hers (the recipe with the ice bath to stop cooking the brownies)? Thanks!
Rachel B. says
These are one of my favorites--though I always have to laugh at the "sixty-four one-inch brownies" that the recipe is supposed to produce! Yeah, right. 🙂 I always add a variety of chocolate chips to these, since that's how I like my brownies, and won a local baking contest this past Christmas with the results. They also ship well, in case you like to mail cookies to friends & family.
Katrina says
That's a good lookin' brownie. I need to make some on Saturday. Always looking for a great one. Will try these.
Amy says
Ok, this scares me. It's all your fault. I fell in love with Nancy Baggett's after you got me hooked on them. How would you compare them?
Joanna says
OMG, this recipe sounds soooo delicious! (All of yours do...but I absolutely LOVE brownies!!)
For my bday a few weeks ago, my mom got me one of those new Edge Brownie Pans that make them all taste yummy chewy like brownie edges (instead of uncooked centers)... so I really have to get it out and try this recipe in it - I've tried a couple of others and they are twice as yummy in this pan, I swear it's made me a better baker! Even made a macaroni casserole in here and the topping got so perfectly chewy that I've vowed to use it for all my casseroles, too.
Here's a picture of it, funny looking but boy does it work wonders for my brownies:
http://www.brightandbold.com/edgebrowniepan.html
I'll let you know how my luscious new brownie recipe turns out in it!!
Clumbsy Cookie says
Wow if you say these were probably the best you've baked they must be really excellent, having in count the tons of recipes you have tried. I've bookmareked them and will make them next time I'm requested a brownie. I like to do a new brownie recipe everytime, I'm still in the search of the best one (aren't we all?)
What kind of camp is Fuzz going? I'm assuming is not an "all you can eat" brownie... althought that would be a good one! Rita
VeggieGirl says
YUM!! Love the walnut addition.