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Growing up, I made Ghirardelli brownies every week. I would eat brownies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. My friends and I would hang out after school and go to 7-11, pick up a box of brownie mix, and make brownies to eat together. No matter how amazing a brownie tastes, Ghiradelli brownie mix will always hold a special place in my heart as my favorite brownie ever.

Nevertheless, it has been a goal of mine to create a brownie recipe that is homemade, dense, fudgey, and fill of high-quality chocolate. This took a long time to develop because there were lots of elements to consider. Did I want to add melted chocolate or just cocoa powder? Did I want browned butter or melted butter? What type of sugar will give a crackly top but a dense interior? With lots of trial and error, I came out with a recipe that I think tastes spectacular! I added in m&m’s too and any mix-ins will work like walnuts, or hazelnuts, and extra chocolate chips.

Boxed brownies are super convenient and of course tasty but sometimes it is fun to level up brownies to make them more elaborate and time-consuming. This is not a basic receipe and is instead a gourmet brownie recipe for special occasions. What stands out about this brownie is each element can be tasted: the browned butter, the milk powder, the cocoa, the espresso, and the chocolate bars. It has a rich and deep chocolate flavor but it’s complemented by the other notes of flavor too. This would be a great recipe to make for any chocolate lover!

Chocolate Fudge Brownie Recipe:

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter

1/4 cup oil

3 eggs + 1 egg yolk

2 tsp vanilla

1 tablespoon ground coffee

50 grams cocoa powder (1/2 cup)

4 oz melted chocolate bar (60-72%)

1/2 tsp salt

200 grams chocolate chips (1 cup) (my favorite is Valrhona)

100 grams brown sugar (1/2 cup)

150 grams white sugar (1 cup)

50 grams powder sugar (1/2 cup)

100 grams flour (3/4 cup)

1/2 tbsp cornstarch

Steps:

1. brown butter in a medium saucepan until toasted and brown flecks appear
2. add milk powder into the saucepan and put back on heat for 30 more seconds
3. add cocoa powder and espresso powder and stir into sauce pan and remove from heat
4. chop up the chocolate bar and add to oil
5. let sit and cool
6. whisk white sugar and brown sugar together in a new mixing bowl until sugar feels dissolved
7. add powder sugar and vanilla and whisk
8. add cornstarch, flour, salt, and chocolate chips and combine with a spatula
9. bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes and enjoy!