These brownies are truly outrageous, but it’s taken me so long to share the recipe with you because, of course, things like holidays or work or whatever else gets in the way. But let me tell you this: I have made this brownie recipe countless times and they are, without a doubt, the absolute best brownie recipe known to man. I’ve made one bowl brownies and peanut butter brownies and just about everything in between, but if you’ve got a little extra time and a lot of extra chocolate, these are the brownies for you. Best of all, they make enough for a crowd. Seriously. They’re made on a baking sheet, so it’s almost double your usual 9x-13-inch brownie BS. These are the real deal. You can, of course, add in walnuts, or M&Ms, or chopped up candy bars or whatever else. They are versatile and pretty much fool-proof. However, I like to keep things straight-forward when I make Ina’s brownies. They are so rich, so chocolatey, and honestly, so damn perfect, that there isn’t much more you can add to them to make them better. If anything, I think they are so jaw-droppingly good because of how unassuming they are. To the layman, they look like regular brownies, but take a bite and be transformed. The tops are so crackly and delicate, while the interior is bursting with two kinds of chocolate, plus a little chopped chocolate for good measure. It’s impossible to dry these out or to mess them up. Really. You don’t even need an electric mixer for these bad boys. Think about it: has Ina ever steered you wrong? No. She hasn’t. She’s a brownie angel. Just don’t forget the milk.
I finally got around to flipping through the last of our photos from our Asia trip in January, ha! Here’s Kramer eating some hangover-curing soba in Japan.
I wish I had some of these magical brownies to cheer me up on this crappy-looking Monday morning. We were lucky enough to have a really lovely weekend, with lots of sunshine and mild weather, but, as New York always does, it’s come to bite us in the ass because it truly looks like The Most Miserable Day Ever outside. And I have about a mile to walk after I get off of the subway to get into the office. Uggggh. At least I don’t have that much going on outside of work this week. I’ve been trying to find a good balance of social events, networking events, and just giving myself time to chill at home. One of the best (and worst) things about New York is that there’s always something to do, right? But that can be both tiring and tempting. Yes, I want to go out, but I also hate small talk. Yes, I want to advance my career and make connections and ~talk shop~, but I also want to go home and watch Flaked (which is actually pretty good, despite what reviews might say – check it out, guys). I often end up making plans for two or three different outings during the week, be it casual drinks with friends, catch-up drinks with people I haven’t seen in a while, or some kind of networking event, where I have to explain that I have a full-time job and I also freelance and I also run this blog, and yes it’s a lot, and yeah, it is hard not being “obese” when I bake all the time (this is the #1 question I am asked and it drives me freaking nuts). This week, however, I only have one obligation after work. One! I have a coffee meeting and a lunch, but the after-work stuff is the real sleep-killer, so congratulations to me for keeping it low-key this week. Now if I can only keep it that way for a few more weeks…we’ll see.
My soba had eggplant and shrimp tempura.
A delicious soy donut.
An English menu.
Our day’s reward.
Anyway – brownies!
The nectar of the gods – butter and chocolate.
Mix in that flour.
Chop up that extra chocolate and fold it into your brownie batter.
Don’t mess around when you butter your sheet pan.
Because that is what’s going on top.
Let them cool (seriously) before you slice them up and dig in.
That crackle on top, tho.
How I really feel about these brownies.
- 1 pound unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped*
- 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped*
- 6 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons instant coffee or espresso powder
- 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
- 2¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups chopped walnuts (optional - I didn't add these)
- *A note about the chocolate: I have made these with all kinds of chocolate. If you want to use all dark, or all semisweet, or all milk, or a combination of whatever you have on hand, I promise that these will still turn out amazing.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter a cookie sheet (a 12x18x1-inch pan) and set aside.
- Place the butter, 1 pound of semisweet chocolate, and 6 ounces of unsweetened chocolate in a medium sized pot, and melt them together slowly over low heat, stirring often so that you don't burn the chocolate. If the pot gets too hot, remove it from the heat for a bit, stir, and return to the heat. Once melted, allow it to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (don't beat!) together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture with a wooden spoon and allow to cool to room temperature.
- In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup of flour, baking powder, and salt. Add it into the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts (if using) and 12 ounces of semisweet chocolate in a medium bowl with ¼ cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter (these helps keep them from clumping together). Pour the batter into the generously buttered baking sheet.
- Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the baking sheet from the oven and tap the baking sheet against your counter top to force the air bubbles to escape from between the pan and the brownies (don't forget to do this!). Bake for another 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake - the beauty of these is that they are thick and chewy, but they're made in a sort of shallow pan, so they won't be as hard to bake through as some other brownie recipes. Personally, I never bake these for more than 40 minutes total, but I know my oven well.
- Allow the brownies to cool thoroughly (you can refrigerate them to speed up the process), then cut them into large squares. Ina recommends cutting them into 20 brownies, but if you're bringing these to a party or something, you can probably cut them into 30-35 still-pretty-big brownies
I am fully confident that this is the only brownie recipe I will ever need again.
Oh my you have made my day. But! You must try buttering AND sugaring…the edges will kill you they’re so good….I do that with all cakes brownies etc and there is no comparison. ..
OMG hello angel that is so smart! I can’t wait to try it.
How do you do it?!
can’t wait for the day when I have a reason to make these because I will eat them all if I just accidentally make them for no reason. Also, the how are you not 500 pounds question when you tell someone you work with food is worth at least showing them a switchblade.
because it drives me crazy when it happens
UGH I KNOW. Mind ur business.
DUDES – ‘how are you not fat’ and ‘how do you make money’ are the two shittiest questions I get. THE WORST. Let’s start a semi-violent street gang showing blades to all who ask impertinent questions/eating brownies.
I get these ALL THE TIME too. I think it’s intended as a compliment? But it’s totally the worst. Not just to me, but to people who are overweight or obese. It’s not like they sit around eating brownies all the time either! Come on, people.
100%!
I wanted to ‘like’ this but then I remembered that this isn’t Facebook ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Ina can do no wrong. I’ll definitely be making these!
Ooooh, I have a Hershey’s recipe that all my coworkers swear makes the best brownies they’ve ever tasted…I might have to try Ina’s recipe to see if they still agree! These look so good
How do these compare with your Mexican Brownies- which are our ABSOLUTE FAVORITE!!??
Thanks, Barbara! These are a bit more effort but definitely the fudgiest, richest brownies I’ve ever made. It’s worth making a batch!
Finally got around to making these. I used 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate and the rest semi-sweet. You are right, fudge like and very rich. Delicious! Thanks!
“Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownies (don’t forget to do this!)
Not sure if I understand this part, can someone explain?
Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Vikingur – I’ve updated the recipe to make it a bit more clear. Basically, I like to take the brownie sheet out of the oven and tap it (pretty forcefully, honestly) on my counter a few times to get air bubbles out. This both helps air bubbles be released from the brownies themselves, and also helps the brownies not stick to the pan so much when you cut them up later. I hope that helps!
Omg, these brownies sound insanely amazing! It’s over now, I’m going to have to try them as soon as humanly possible or I’ll never stop dreaming of them!
Just took them outta the oven. OMG. They smell heavenly. Aready cut out a corner and devoured it. Outrageous chocolatey goodness,
Hi Sydney
Thanks for sharing, these look crazy good. Your chocolate chip cookies recipe was the first I have ever tried and they turned out so great that maybe this should be my brownie start! This whole pound of butter scares me off a bit though :s
Agh, these look amazing. Definitely making these tomorrow as a little study-break <3 Granted, mine will be slightly adapted to be dairy-free but I hope they'll still turn out delicious. Thanks for sharing!
Let me know what substitutes you use – I’m interested!
I ended up substituting Pure soya dairy-free spread for the butter and instead of using two types of chocolate, I only used 70% dark chocolate. Both melt the same way that dairy products usually do so I didn’t need to change the method at all and they turned out great!
Thanks again!
Thanks for letting me know! Happy to hear it
[…] Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies from The Crepes of Wrath with Coffee Halva Chocolate Chip Ice Cream from The Bonjon Gourmet and fancy DIY Beeswax Birthday Candles from Jojotastic on top […]
These are absolutely amazing. I added some milk chocolate chunks to the mix and boy they were a hit!! I agree, BEST BROWNIES EVERRRRRRRRRRRRRR
I love your blog. Gotta say you’ve never steered me wrong. I really wanted to love these brownies but, I’m sorry (or I guess sorry Ina), I didn’t. Is the 3 TABLESPOONS of espresso powder correct? These tasted like coffee grinds. The husband wouldn’t eat them. Sad brownie day.
Looks amazing! I just need to ask how much can you taste the coffee, because I HATE coffee. Can it be left out or substituted? Thanx
You can definitely leave it out! I would do that if you hate coffee.
Hi, I’m planning to bring these brownies to a party. Can I make this few days in advance and reheat it on the day?
I wouldn’t make them more than like, 2 days ahead of time, but yeah you can!
I think they will get hard. With brownies, the fresher the better. Why not prep all the dry ingredients in advance and then you can quickly combine and bake the day before?
Hi! I only do have a 9×13 sheet. Would the recipe work out, if I cut the ingredients in half? Or what would you recommend? thx
Yeah, you can definitely cut it in half.
Huh? This recipe states it’s for a 12 x 18 inch pan. Which is it?
Sorry, I left that comment at 5:49am so I was probably a little foggy! It’s for a large sheet pan, so yes, cutting it in half would result in a 9×13-inch batch.
[…] our experiment we decided to use our absolute favorite recipe — Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies — as a starting […]
[…] our experiment we decided to use our absolute favorite recipe — Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies — as a starting […]
Ok. So, you had me at Ina Garten, and I made this recipe last night. It’s great for a potluck/cookout, because it makes a bunch of very generous sized brownies…we couldn’t wait for them to cool, so we had some warm ones last night…just as delicious! Totally understand why you have to bang it on the counter after 20 min, as it probably would have spilled out of the pan if I left it in the oven for the full baking time (35 min total in my oven). For my personal taste, I would definitely make these again, but would probably leave out the instant coffee and use semi-sweet and milk chocolate only (substitute in the milk chocolate for the unsweetened chocolate), as I like my brownies a tad sweeter. But then again, this brownie is just BEGGING for a scoop of ice cream on top…so there’s that. The depth of flavor with the coffee/espresso is great, I just prefer a bit more sweetness to my brownies…other than my own personal preference, this is now my go-to brownie recipe.