Description
Easy, homemade small batch brownies, with three kinds of chocolate, super chewy centers, and shiny, crackly tops. All the fudgy, decadent bits to love from classic box mix brownies, but made from scratch – and just for two! No mixer required, one bowl recipe.
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp (57g) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
- 1 oz bittersweet chocolate, roughly-chopped ¹
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp (25g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1 Tbsp (15g) vegetable oil ²
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tbsp (12g) unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted
- 1/4 tsp Kosher salt ³
- 1/2 tsp espresso powder (optional)
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp (45g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (45g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a 5×9-inch loaf pan ⁴ with parchment paper or grease lightly with butter or baking spray.
- Add the butter and chopped chocolate to a microwave-safe bowl and melt together in the microwave for about a minute at 50% power. When the butter is mostly melted, give it a good stir and add the granulated sugar. Continue melting for another 30 to 60 seconds, until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth and shiny.
- Note: if you don’t have a microwave, you can melt the butter and chocolate together with the sugar in a large bowl over a double-boiler.
- Stir in the brown sugar, oil, vanilla, and egg, mixing well after each addition.
- Stir in the cocoa, salt, and espresso powder (if using), mixing well until completely combined.
- Fold in the flour, mixing only just combined and no streaks of flour remain.
- Fold in the chocolate chips, then spread the brownie batter (it will be thick) into your prepared pan. Even out the top with an offset spatula and give the pan a couple of taps on the counter to settle the batter and release any air bubbles.
- Bake for 19-23 minutes, until the top is shiny and gently puffed and a cake-tester (or toothpick) inserted into the middle comes out with only small crumbs. You may hit some melted chocolate chips and that’s okay. Let cool before slicing. Enjoy!!
Notes
¹ Look for a bittersweet chocolate bar with a cocoa content of 70% to 100%, depending on how sweet you’d like your brownies. I’m a fan of this Lindt 85% chocolate bar (you’ll need 3 squares).
² I like to use olive oil or sunflower oil in most baking, but any neutral oil will work (vegetable, canola, etc.).
³ For most baking I recommend using Diamond Crystal Kosher salt. If you’re a fan of salted treats, you can also add a light sprinkling of flake sea salt (such as Maldon) when the brownies emerge warm from the oven. If so, reduce the Kosher salt to 1/8 tsp.
⁴ Note on pan size: You can also use a 4×8-inch loaf pan, for a slightly thicker brownie. You may need to adjust the bake time by a minute or two.
Keywords: small batch brownies, chewy brownies, brownies for two, loaf pan, better than box mix