Recipe from Nick Malgieri
Adapted by Julia Moskin
- Total Time
- About 1 hour
- Rating
- 5(3,190)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This recipe is an accidental creation by Nick Malgieri, who (in a rare human moment for a pastry chef) once forgot to double the flour when baking his own fudge brownie recipe. He also adds a measure of brown sugar to the basic formula. The experts are divided as to whether the brown sugar actually contributes flavor or simply makes the brownie moister (molasses, which makes brown sugar brown, is powerfully hydrophilic). It’s my belief that the slightly bitter taste of molasses acts as an invisible enhancer to the chocolate. The result is as complex and sophisticated as any terrine or truffle I have ever produced. —Julia Moskin
Featured in: Simple Pleasure, American Style
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Ingredients
Yield:15 large or 24 small brownies
- 2sticks (16 tablespoons) butter, more for pan and parchment paper
- 8ounces bittersweet chocolate
- 1cup dark brown sugar, such as muscovado
- 1cup granulated sugar
- 4eggs
- ½teaspoon salt
- 2teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1cup flour
- ½cup chopped walnuts or ¾ cup whole walnuts, optional
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (15 servings)
343 calories; 21 grams fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 40 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 31 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 100 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Step
1
Butter a 13-by-9-inch baking pan and line with buttered parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In top of a double boiler set over barely simmering water, or on low power in a microwave, melt butter, chocolate and sugars together. Cool slightly. In a large bowl or mixer, whisk eggs. Whisk in salt and vanilla.
Step
2
Whisk in chocolate mixture. Fold in flour just until combined. If using chopped walnuts, stir them in. Pour batter into prepared pan. If using whole walnuts, arrange on top of batter. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until shiny and beginning to crack on top. Cool in pan on rack.
Tip
- For best flavor, bake 1 day before serving, let cool and store, tightly wrapped.
Ratings
5
out of 5
3,190
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Cooking Notes
Hopbell
Do not make this if you live alone!!
Nick Malgieri
Somehow the instructions in this recipe got mixed up. Heating the sugars with the butter and chocolate is just plain bizarre. Here's the correct version:Melt the butter and chocolate together and stir smooth; stir in the dark brown or any other brown sugar you wish.In a large bowl, whisk the white sugar and flour together; a little at a time, whisk in the eggs, vanilla, and salt.Check the chocolate mixture for lumps of brown sugar and stir (not whisk) thoroughly into the egg mixture.
Kate
I'll never need another brownie recipe.
This must be the best brownie recipe on the planet; the perfect brownie, and so quick and easy to make. As we're just a house of 2, I halved the recipe and baked in an 8x8 square. Reduced cooking time to around 20 minutes in a fan assist oven - removed when the top was shiny and starting to crack and they were perfect, gooey in the inside, perfection!
Microwaving to 'melt' the butter, chocolate & sugar - so easy and quick.
Roni Jordan
Made a 1/2 batch of these last night in parchment-lined Emile Henry small baker and waited until just this morning to cut them into 12 rectangles. Easily removable as a whole with the parchment and then cut neatly. I added just a tsp of instant coffee granules - something I almost always do with brownies. While they're only about 5/8" high, they're the way I prefer a brownie - lightly crispy top crust and fudgy the rest of the way through.
Mike Masin
I couldn't find muscovado sugar and used conventional brown sugar. These brownies are heavenly!
mlstarfish
sugar functions as a liquid, so reducing suger will make baked goods drier.
Cheryl
Stopped collecting brownie recipes since I started making these years ago. Best. Brownie. Ever. They even freeze well, if you can save any from ingestion on day one.
Karen
This is almost exactly the recipe for brownies that my mother gave me- God knows where she got it. She used 2 cups granulated sugar, not brown. I add a cup of chocolate chips rather than nuts -'cause I don't like nuts, and there is that allergy thing- and I have become locally famous for these amazingly fudgy brownies. For the holidays, I use peppermint extract instead of vanilla and add crushed candy canes- makes a very easy and welcome gift!
Suetoo
I have made these many times, and last time used the online recipe instead of my old printout.The directions have been changed, and so THEY DO NOT WORK.They now call for melting the sugar in with the butter and chocolate. Bad idea. The sugar sort of clumps together.Just melt the stuff that needs melting and then stir in the sugar. They way the recipe used to say to do it.WHY ON EARTH CHANGE A GOOD RECIPE?
Susan
These brownies are Amazing. Easy to make, delicious, and easy to eat!
I followed the recipe exactly except for adding one tablespoon of expresso powder.
I've eaten a lot of brownies in my lifetime but I have never tasted any like these. The texture and taste are perfection! (You'll have to make them yourself to know what I mean!)
susie homemaker
These truly are the best brownies I have ever made, and I have made A LOT of brownies in my day. I live in northern Germany and am somewhat 'famous' for my brownies around these parts-even if I do have to say so myself ;-). I tried this recipe out and it is now the brownie of choice. We don't have what I would call a decent brown sugar here so I add a good tablespoon of a dark molasses-like syrup (Zuckerrübinsirip) to 1 cup of white sugar. It works well. Awesome recipe!!!
kml
That's OK. I will keep it at my house. The half recipe worked well in an 8x8 pan.
Christina
Easy to bake. The result is a delicious, deep chocolate flavor. I reduced the sugars by about 1/3 and the sweetness was just right for me.
Found the texture somewhat dry though, would have preferred them a bit moister. Realized later that I didn't melt the sugars with the chocolate and butter. I'm going to make again exactly as written and see if that doesn't improve the texture. Overall great recipe though.
Kayla
What about adding some strong instant coffee powder to the mix? It vastly improves other chocolate recipes. I found a brand, Pilon, which is quite strong, comes in individual packets, so it stays fresh longer. I used to use instant espresso but it got stale pretty quickly if not used up fast, and this doesn't.
Sandi
I always use pecans. And I place whole ones on top for those who can't or don't eat nuts. Obviously for someone with a nut allergy that won't work
Eegulleye
I followed the recipe using Lindt 70% bittersweet chocolate. Baked for 40 minutes (the top was shiny and crackly at 35 minutes) and yet the brownies came out gooey. A day later they are still gooey, so the "waiting a day" didn't help. Aside from that, these lack chocolate flavor, and are over-the-top sweet. Other tasters in the house have the same comment so sadly this recipe will not go into my repeat file.
Laura
Brownies can be frustratingly hard to get right. I often struggle with brownies that are too gooey or too dry. These are just right! Goldilocks brownies!!!
Jp
Delicious on day 3! Hard to resist I let them sit for 3 days and they were scrumptious! I did not get the typical cracking top texture of brownies but my company devoured them! I did add 1/2 tsp expresso powder and followed Nicks directions!
MattinDE
Sad to report that, although in the oven for close to an hour, these still are so runny that they cannot be served (planned to take them to a local basketball game for sale).They are delicious, natch - it‘s chocolate, butter and suger. So we helpers will eat them, with strong coffee or a beer, but they cannot be used to raise funds for the team. A pity. I bake often and usually well, so really not sure what happened here.
CB
I prepared with the notes from Nick Malgieri, the original author, but melted the butter over very low heat on the stove while I prepped the dry ingredients and egg. When just melted, I turned off the heat and dumped in the chocolate. It took just a minute to soften, then I stirred it, added the brown sugar, and then proceeded. This streamlined the recipe a bit and omitted the fussy double boiler and chance that the chocolate would overheat or seize. Delicious with pecans which is what I had.
maya
Old step 1: (can find in article form on NYT)1. Butter a 13-by-9-inch baking pan and line with buttered parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In top of a double boiler set over barely simmering water, or on low power in a microwave, melt butter and chocolate together. Cool slightly. In a large bowl or mixer, whisk eggs. Whisk in salt, sugars and vanilla.
Ken
A little cracked sea salt on top takes this amazing recipe to another level.No nut version: substitute Heath English Toffee Bits
Melanie
Throw away all your other brownie recipes.
marg
My new go-to brownie recipe. Quick and tasty, with a nice shiny top. Made a half recipe in an 8x8 pan and cooked for about 25 minutes. Maybe a little too sweet for my taste -- might decrease sugars a tad next time or use even darker chocolate. I might have undercooked them; they crumbled when cut that day. But the next day they were fine.
gail
I call these a mature brownie. It has an intense dark chocolate flavor. That could be because I added a packet of via instant coffee. I’m bringing them to a superbowl party tonight. I added walnuts. I have to work on the baking temperature. The ends were too burnt so I had to cut off 1/4 inch all around. As I play with the recipe, I think I’ll add dried cherries. At 80 years old I don’t bake too much. But this is a really easy recipe to make.
Elena
These turned out sort of grainy, but my granddaughter (aged 6 1/2) has declared them delicious. Next time I would bake them a bit longer. I like chewier brownies myself.
FF
I now use a REMA insulated baking pan for these. When I used a regular pan the edges tended to burn.
Briguy
incredibly dense and rich brownies. halfway between fudge and cake. added chocolate chips along with pecans (rather than walnuts). amazing results.
Natalie
I really wanted to make these but was missing some ingredients. They turned out amazing, though. I used 1 cup of dry cocoa powder instead of bittersweet chocolate (I still melted it into the butter) AND I ran out of butter, so added some olive oil to the butter, chocolate, and brown sugar mix. Wow. I'm sure these are even better (is that even possible?) with the ingredients as listed, but I wanted to submit a note in case anyone else was hoping to use dry cocoa powder in a pinch.
J Emery
I tasted this years ago at the Metropolitan Chocolate Show in Chelsea (the happiest people in NYC), and screamed My God, it was unbelievably delicious! And everyone around me agreed. Am making this for a Maine bake sale Election Day- wish me luck!
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