The Deluxe 8-inch Pan Brownies recipe is adapted from an old Southern Living contest winner. The sponsor was a coffee company, and the ingredient used in the recipe was ¼ cup brewed coffee. I never thought that ¼ cup coffee added much flavor to the brownies, but I've always liked this 8x8 inch brownie recipe.
To me, these are the quintessential "in-between" brownies. They're neither fudgy nor cakey but rather a combination of the two. They also have a very light texture that comes from whipping the eggs with the sugar.
For the coffee, I use 2 tablespoons of whatever I've brewed that morning, plus I also (sometimes) add a little espresso power. Using water and no coffee at all would be just fine too. For the chocolate, I use 1 cup bittersweet chips or sometimes a mixture of chips and whatever semisweet and/or dark chocolate that is around.
Deluxe 8-Inch Pan Brownies Bake Time
The brownies bake at fairly high temperature, so keep an eye on them. It's best to err on the side of under-baking rather than over. The last time I baked these in an 8-inch pan they were done in 28 minutes. For a 13x9 inch pan double batch you should check at 28, but keep baking if the brownies don't seem quite ready.
Recipe
Deluxe 8-Inch Pan Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter (114 grams)
- ⅜ teaspoon salt omit if using salted butter
- 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate Ghirardelli or Scharffen Berger (56 grams)
- 2 tablespoons brewed coffee
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup all-purpose flour, lightly spooned into cup or weighed (65 grams) do NOT pack if measuring by volume
- 1 cup extra dark chocolate morsels
- ½ cup chopped and toasted walnuts optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F. Line an 8-inch square metal pan with nonstick foil.
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan or in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the salt, chocolate and coffee Reduce heat to low, and stir until melted. Remove from heat and allow it to cool slightly.
- Beat eggs on high speed of an electric mixer. Gradually add sugar and vanilla, beating 3 minutes or until thick and pale.
- Add chocolate mixture to egg mixture, beating until blended. Gradually add flour, stirring just until blended.
- Stir in chocolate morsels and walnuts (if using). Pour into the pan and bake on center rack at at 375° for 28 - 30 minutes (see note). Cool in pan on a wire rack for about an hour, then transfer to refrigerator and chill for another hour or two or until very cold. Lift foil with brownies out of pan. Cut brownies into squares.
Anna says
I hope you like them! This is one of my favorite recipes because if you nail the bake time, they'll be soft, but neither too fudgy nor too cakey. They're not fudge bombs, but they should not be dry either.
Jenn says
I just made these followed the directions exactly. I tasted the batter before they went in and it is amazing. They have been in the oven for about 16 minutes now and smell yummy. Thanks for sharing!
Anna says
Hi Jenny, I wouldn't try that. A better substitute would be to use unsweetened cocoa powder and butter. For ever ounce of unsweetened chocolate (in this case, two), use 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder and 1 tablespoon of butter. So for the 2 ounces of chocolate, use 6 tablespoons of cocoa powder (a little over 1/3 cup or 1 ounce in weight) and 2 tablespoons of butter.
Jenny says
hi, i was just wondering if i could use dark chocolate chips instead of unsweetened chocolate but use less sugar. it's hard to find unsweetened chocolate where i live.
Anna says
Awesome! That made my day!
I think it's neat that she's 13 and discriminating. Kids are excellent tasters when they know that you really want an honest opinion and that you are truly taking things into account.
They should do a Top Chef kids, with kids taking over for Padma, Tom and Gail.
Gloria says
My niece says they are the best brownies I've made so far!!! Just thought you should know. She is 13 and a dark-chocoholic, but she is still discriminating. She gives her honest opinions.
Anna says
Hi Karen,
Thanks for the detailed review! That's terrific that you were able to use 2 ounces of dark chocolate in place of unsweetened. Your version is definitely more convenient since you don't have to bother with buying unsweetened chocolate. That being said, now you just have to try them with the unsweetened chocolate!
By the way, there's a recipe on allrecipes.com called Mmm Brownies which might also be convenient for those days when there isn't any unsweetened chocolate in the house. I have yet to try it, but it has great reviews.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mmmmm-brownies/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=brownies&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Recipe
Karen says
Hi All, I made the brownies. With a couple of modifications. I added 1/2 tsp. chocolate extract. I figured if there was 1/2 tsp. vanilla, equal amt of choc. would work. Instead of the chocolate squares I used 1/3 c. of special dark choc. chips = 2 oz. I weighed on my older than dirt WW scale. My brain wasn't thinking right then... I did have the choc. squares in the cupboard but the choc. chip bag was sitting out already... No coffee, just used water. Plus then I used the same dk. choc. chips in the batter. They baked up lovely, although even after an extra 4 minutes baking time were still very gooey. But I like my brownies under done. These were definately under baked. The taste was wonderful. I couldn't wait for them to chill. Wow! Loved the intense chocolate flavor. And this morning after chilling, well, I like them warmed back to room temp. better. Very reminiscent for texture of my mom's brownie recipe that she got from a great aunt before I was born. No choc. chips in that one though. I might try Mom's recipe with the choc. extract.
Anna says
Karen, in my experience, things made with melted butter have a denser texture. These brownies are interesting because they're light (like cake), but dense. They don't appear to be very special at first glance, but they taste rich. They remind me of a local Austin brownie called Mrs. Butter's Brownies.
About the chocolate extract, I thought about adding some then decided not to. It might have added extra flavor, but the brownies didn't necessarily *need* it. And if I did use chocolate extract, I'd only use 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoons and still use the 2 tablespoons of coffee (even if I didn't like it) or 2 tablespoons of water (if I didn't use coffee because I didn't have it or for other reasons).
Katrina, I'm so happy to hear you tried the Viceroy granola. Post a link to your review if you get a chance.
Oh, and back to the coffee. The reason I said it doesn't add much flavor is because I think two tablespoons of coffee divided among a whole pan of brownies just wouldn't do much, so even coffee haters probably wouldn't notice the flavor. For more coffee flavor or for just enough coffee to intensify the chocolate (as Adam mentioned), I'd add a little instant coffee to the batter or dissolve an instant coffee packet in water.
Katrina says
Made the granola. Now I want brownies!
Karen, I did make brownies with chocolate extract in them back when Anna was first talking about extracts. It was a brownie recipe right on the extract box (Watkins). I liked it! And while reading about this and knowing I don't use coffee either, I actually thought of that extract--though I wouldn't use it per tablespoon in place of the coffee, I'd go with less, maybe a teaspoon and the rest water.
Karen says
Another thought--Anna, are you still using your chocolate extract in your baking? I haven't tried it with something like brownies, although it really enhances the hot chocolate when I add to the heated mixture. I was just thinking about what the extract might do to this recipe, maybe since I don't like coffee flavor at all, adding the chocolate extract would be pretty darn tasty.
Adam says
ooooo... these look way good. I'm having a serious brownie craving right now. Though I suppose I'm always having one :). And typically coffee is added to chocolate based recipes because it actually enchances the flavour of chocolate without needing to add more. As a result you don't get the flavour of coffee, but you do get a richer chocolate flavour without making a heavier dessert :),
Karen says
I am curious about the science of melting the butter rather than just having it softened. I recently noticed that in your post of Lee's Chocolate Chip cookies also.
The Hershey Special Dark choc. chips were just on sale for a buck less per package. I should have picked up a "CASE" full. LOL.
Paula B. says
Always on the hunt for another perfect brownie! And I, too, subscribe to "the more chocolate chips the better" philosophy Thanks for the recipe.
Gloria says
I used salted butter, decaffeinated coffee, and added 2 T of extra flour. They were still great!!! Thanks for the recipe!!
gaylin says
I think I will give these a try, I am allergic to grains so will switch the flour out with either almond flour or quinoa . . .
Gloria says
See my post about this post! They are wonderful!!!!
Anna says
Gloria, the batter is supposed to be thin. Hopefully the extra 2 tablespoons of flour won't have a negative effect. Let me know what happens. But yes, the batter is almost like cake batter.
Gloria says
They are in the oven now!! Followed the recipe with only ONE exception. The batter was thinner than I'm used to so I added 2 T more flour. The raw batter is DELICIOUS!!!!! I'll update again later when they are out and cooled a little.
Anna says
Mary, I highly recommend these brownies. If you're on a brownie kick, give them a try.
Gloria, I always used Guittard extra dark. My grocery store sells them!
Lisa, I actually halved the whole recipe and not just the chips. Maybe I should reword that, because in this case the more chips the better.
Lisa Ernst says
These look great! When I took a look at the recipe, I could understand cutting the morsels down to one cup. Normally my philosophy is the more chips added the better, but in this case, I can't quite imagine two whole cups in such a small recipe. If somebody tries it, I'd love to hear a report though. 🙂
Gloria says
These look like I could eat too many of them!!! I have a new favorite chocolate chip I'll try in them: Hershey's special dark. Not all stores carry them anymore 🙁 Also, I'll use decaffeinated coffee! I want to bring treats in tomorrow to the elementary school I volunteer at so also no nuts,,
Chewthefat says
Wow! Those look quite perfect! And the chocolate chips in the chocolate bottom...yum! I just made Nigella's chocolate chocolate chip muffins, subbing out a half a cup of milk with coffee. Coffee and chocolate always attract me as a great baking combination...and coffee is particularly nice because it's very flavorful without having to add extra sugar or fat.