I think a good brownie recipe is actually kind of hard to come by. Some are too cakey, some too dry, some taste like cocoa powder and others just taste like booty. For me, well I think these are way too stinkin’ rich. I think they have fantastic flavor, perfectly moist, but too rich. In fact I use half semi-sweet and half milk chocolate chips just to tone it down a bit. Now, most of you probably loooove rich, I prefer strawberry shortcake or a berry trifle for dessert so I guess you can’t really take my opinion. My husband LOOOOOVES Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies recipe. It’s the most requested brownie recipe at my house. I bet you’ll love it too.
How Can You Tell When Brownies Are Done?
For cake-like brownies, take them out of the oven when the brownies begin to pull away from the sides of the pan.
A toothpick inserted near the center of the brownies will come out clean when brownies are at a cake-like consistency.
For fudgy brownies, bake within the suggested baking time.
A toothpick inserted into fudgy brownies will come out with a few moist crumbs attached.
For very fudgy brownies, remove from the oven at the minimum baking time.
A toothpick inserted into very fudgy brownies will come out covered in moist crumbs, but not batter.
How Long Will Brownies Keep?
Store cut brownie squares in an airtight container at room temperature; they’re best eaten within 1 to 2 days.
Uncut brownies, wrapped well with plastic wrap or foil will keep for 2-4 days at room temperature.
Can You Freeze Brownies?
To freeze brownies or bar cookies, cool brownies or bar cookies completely, but do not cut into individual servings.
Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then wrap again with foil.
Brownies or bar cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies
Ina Garten's Outrageous Brownies
Description
Ingredients
By Ina, herself
- 1 pound unsalted butter
- 1 pound semisweet chocolate chips, plus 12 ounces
- 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
- 6 extra-large eggs
- 3 tablespoons instant coffee granules, we omit this
- 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups sugar
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups chopped walnuts, we omit these
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Grease a 12 x 18 x 1-inch baking sheet.
- Melt together the butter, 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water.
- Allow the chocolate mixture to cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar.
- Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.
- In another medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the cooled chocolate mixture.
- Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter.
- Pour everything into the baking sheet.
- 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 brownie dough.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Do not overbake! Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate, and cut into 20 large squares
Meredith
I plan on making these this weekend! Made them a few times but years ago- they are incredible. What do you think about omitting the walnuts and adding a layer of mint frosting on top? Too heavy/rich?
I am trying to recreate some mint-frosted brownies that I discovered on Cape Cod and am not sure which brownie recipe to use with the frosting! Would love your two cents 🙂
Sweet Basil
Hi Meredith! You could definitely add a layer of mint frosting! It is so good! Use the recipe from this post for the frosting: https://ohsweetbasil.com/copycat-byu-mint-brownies-from-scratch-recipe/
Let us know how it goes!
anina r marcus
with the brownies.. I think you omitted some of the chocolate right? I just want to be clear. I will put in 1 pound and 12 oz chocolate
Sweet Basil
Yes, it needs 1 pound AND 12oz of chocolate.
Jeanne
In one reply you said to half the recipe in a 9 x 13 pan and in another you said to use an 8 x 8 OR 9 x 9.
All very different. Which one is best and what baking time would be best for very fudgey brownies?
Thank you so much!
Sweet Basil
Hi Jeanne! It will half best in a 9×13 pan to match the thickness as the original recipe. In a 8×8 or 9×9, they will be very thick. Hope this helps!
Mickey
I love this recipe have made it several times. I never use the coffee. I would like to make this gluten free will almond flour work.
Sweet Basil
Hi Mickey! I’m so glad you have enjoyed these. I haven’t ever tried to make them gluten free, but it is worth a shot! Using almond flour will just change the texture a little.
Cindy Clark
these are the best brownies I’ve ever made!!! Everyone loves them
Sweet Basil
Aren’t they divine? That Ina knows her stuff!!
Tina Barcelli
OMG, why would you omit the coffee? That’s the best part! I’m not a chocolate lover, but I do love these.
Sweet Basil
Hey Tina! I know people swear by the coffee in brownies and chocolate cake! For religious reasons, we don’t use coffee or tea products in our baking, but feel free to us it yourself!!
Cindy Ball
Right, because the coffee really heightens the flavor of the chocolate in this recipe.
Carmyn
This is not Ina’s recipe. If you look at her book, she has an additional 12 ounces of chocolate chips added to her batter. She’ll go thru the roof!
Sweet Basil
The recipes match exactly when I compare the two. So delicious!
Donna valenti
Can I halve the recipe ? If so what size pan would I need to use?
Sweet Basil
Yes, you can definitely half it. Bake it in a 9×13″ pan.
Ange Garrett
Do you think I could substitute the sugar with Monkefruit or Swerve?
Sweet Basil
I haven’t tried substitute sugar with monkefruit in this particular recipe, but I have in other recipes and it has worked great. I would say it is definitely worth a shot! I’ve never used Swerve, so I can’t speak to that product.
Tiff
I want to attempt to make these with 1 Ib and 12 ounces of milk chocolate Hershey bars and 6 ounces of dark chocolate Hershey bars, but since it’s like double the sugar would I put in 1/2 of the sugar or none at all ?
Sweet Basil
Hey Tiff! I’m not sure as those Hershey’s bars aren’t baking chocolate which is a different source of chocolate. I haven’t ever used a true candy bar in baking these.
Stefanie
Hi Ina! I made these brownies and they were AMAZING!! The consistency was perfect, but my kids are more milk chocolate fans. I think using ALL milk chocolate will maybe be too sweet? Then again I’m not the chef. If so, what would be the perfect ration of semisweet/milk chocolate or unsweetened/ milk chocolate ?
Sweet Basil
This is totally my issue too! I prefer a little more milk chocolate flavor in my brownie too. I haven’t toyed with the ratios in this brownie, but you could try going half and half. You could try our Caramel Brownies that are our absolute favorite of all time!
https://ohsweetbasil.com/caramel-brownies-scratch-recipe/
Pamela Major
Not good, too much coffee taste. More like blah cake than brownies. Cooking time varied immensely from recipe. Disappointed in this recipe
Emily
Question: Can I half this recipe and make it in an 8 by 8 or 9 by 9 pan?
Sweet Basil
Absolutely! Either size will work. I would cut back the bake time by about 10 minutes on the first baking time and keep your eye on it during the second baking time to make sure they don’t get overdone.
Jamie
By unsweetened chocolate do you mean chocolate or powder?
Sweet Basil
It’s a chocolate bar:)
Carol Harris
Ina, do glad I found you again. I isrf to watch your show and loved it. So naturally when i saw this brownie tecipe I had to make it.
I loved it!
Nice to hang with yoi again.
Carol
Your friend in NY
denise
i made these a while back for the first time and loved them..the best. Then a few months later I made again for a pot luck at work. Not sure what happened but this batch came out with a like gritty feel. They tasted ok but I did not like the gritty texture. It was as though the sugar had not disolved. Very weird. I had not changed my sugar type. Do you use extra fine sugar or regular?
Sweet Basil
Hi Denise, we use regular, however it sounds like it may have been a tempering issue with the chocolate that messed with it properly mixing and baking. Always make sure to use a glass bowl over a pot of water and don’t allow the water to touch the bowl or it will scorch the chocolate.
Gina
These are the best! Made a half batch on Friday night, figured I’d have enough for my daughter’s lunch this week. Nope. They were almost gone by Sunday morning. Only 3 people in my house. My daughter was wary about letting her cousins in the kitchen because she didn’t want to share! (Usually she is the first to share!) I see another batch in our near future.
Sweet Basil
Haha, I love that! Three people and no brownies left is always a good sign. Thanks Gina!
Dawn
Hi, I love your Instagram feed and it’s brought me to your website to see more. I’m wondering if there is a way I can print out this recipe without the ads as they take up a lot of room. I find it very distracting trying to read through ingredients and instructions with adds in the way. Can they be limited to the side of the page with the others? You have delicious looking recipes but these ads are killing it for me.
Sweet Basil
Hi Dawn, thank you so much for following and for taking the time to write us about the ads. In all honesty, we hate the ads and wish we could completely get rid of them. Unfortunately we have our hands tied as the blog takes over 40 hours a week (and we are still always behind!) and so the only way to keep going and to keep it a free site is to have ads which pay our income so we can continue with it as our full time job. I’m so sorry they are annoying. We are always looking to approve so we will work hard to see what we can do to move things around. Promise.
sophia
did not like these as much as i was hoping I would. Funky texture and a waste of a lot of ingredients. will be sticking to my go-to brownie recipe
Sweet Basil
How interesting. I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy it. It is one of the most popular recipes on the internet for brownies but just goes to show that everyone’s tastes are different. I am interested in the texture though, it is like a perfect brownie, not cake like, but brownie so I’m wondering if maybe something happened. Anyway, best of luck!
Carol
If you bake these in a 9×13 pan, how much do you need to increase the cooking time by?
Sweet Basil
Only a few minutes, but it also depends on your oven so we would check them at the correct time then check every minute or so until they aren’t jiggly. They should not be firm as that is overbaked
Dori Mosher
Do not omit the coffee! It make these brownies richer.
Ryan King
I could not agree more! LEAVE THE INSTANT COFFEE IN!!! It really does make a HUGE difference.
Chantal
Totally agree ! !!! Coffee is important in here!!
I have been making this exact recipe for yeers now…..trust me!!!!!
Dori Mosher
Do not amit the coffee! It adds a richer flavor to these brownies.
christina
i wish to make these for a christening, so will need about 50 – 60 but i can cut them smaller. do i need to treble the amount, as so many eggs may turn out too much. any ideas of amounts please
Sweet Basil
I’ve actually done the same and we cut them smaller and just did two batches in jelly roll pans (cookie sheets) and we had plenty. 🙂
Jackie
Keep the Coffee!!! It makes the Chocolate Pop!
Tracee
I live at altitude (about 5500 feet). Any suggestions for baking these at higher altitudes?
Sweet Basil
Hi Tracee, we are actually almost 5000 and we really haven’t had to change anything at all. I’d try it first and if it needs any adjusting we can ask Mountainmamacooks.com as she’s wonderful with helping.
laura
What does it mean to rap the sheet again the shelf of the oven?
Sweet Basil
Hi Laura,
It just means that you use two pot holders, pick it up on either side and then tap it against the shelf of the oven or I tap it against the counter really quick so I don’t have to lean into the oven. It just removes any air bubbles.
Ann
If using a 9×13 pan, do you bake them longer?
Sweet Basil
Ya know, unfortunately we’ve done it in three ovens and one needed about 10 minutes more whereas the other two oven we only needed about 2-4 minutes more so I’d watch it carefully and when it has that glossy top and seem to be set up pull them out. THen let them cool before cutting
Megan
I made these today. Didn’t have any semi sweet chocolate chips so I used my Velata Belgian Dark Chocolate fondue chips 🙂 and I had about 4 oz of milk chocolate that I combined with the dark. Think they are a little bit underdone even though my toothpick came out clean- but boy are the DELICIOUS!! BEST homemade brownies I have ever had. Will be trying your milk recipe next.
Lee Ann Kaplan
Oh my goodness! I’ve been baking since I was a LITTLE girl and realized I have NEVER made homemade brownies before! Well I tried tonight! They are in the oven right now and had way more than enough batter to fill up my 12*18*1 pampered chef bar pan. Possibly enough for another whole batch. Tempering the chocolate and eggs took a lot of patience (probably why I havent made homemade brownies before!)
Sweet Basil
I agree, Ina’s recipe is way more work than some of the others and while she calls for a cookie sheet I like thicker brownies and so they usually fit well in my 9×13″. Unfortunately some pans claim they are the same size (I have two that both “claim” to be 8×8 and are totally different sizes) but totally aren’t. I hope they still turned out! We loooove these brownies!
ashlynn
Is there a way to shorten this recipe for a 13×9 pan ?
Sweet Basil
Ashlyn, I actually make mine in a 9×13 and although they are thicker (as seen in the photo) they are still fantastic!
Joyce Winters
make 1/2 the recipe. it works very well. may have to adjust time.
Sweet Basil
Yes, we are all about making 1/2 a recipe otherwise there are a few too many brownies for late night snacking, haha
Denise Kellum
Question: Why would you have to refrigerate these?
Sweet Basil
Denise, I’ll be honest I have no idea, but it’s what Ina says to do and I love her recipes so I just do as she says. haha. Many times we don’t refrigerate so no worries if you don’t.
purplebev77
I have made these before. Don’t leave the coffe pwder out…it enhances the chocolate flavor…it doesn’t taste like coffee. These are the best brownies ever!
terri
use the instant coffee. you can use perked coffee, but would need to cut back on any liquids just a tiny bit. Coffee added to any chocolate, brings out the chocolate flavor, heightens it, you don’t taste the coffee at all, and not enough caffeine to do any harm. It’s a trick chefs use when making desserts, and it works. To leave it out kind of insults the dessert. Ina makes a KILLER chocolate cake (check her site) that uses coffee, and is SO worth the time to make… you’ll get rave reviews! It’s called Beatty’s Chocolate Cake.
Sil
I don’t drink coffee so if a recipe calls for it I us Postum or Pero and it really adds a lot of flavor!
penny
I JUST HAVE A QUESTION THE BROWNIE RECIPE CALL FOR INSTANT COFFEE DO YOU MEAN COFFEE STRAIGHT OUT OF THE JAR OR THE PERK COFFEE THAT HAS BEEN MADE I THINK I KNOW THE ANSWER BUT I WANT TO BE SURE
terri
penny, I keep a tiny jar of instant coffee in my freezer specifically for chocolate desserts. For this recipe, you just add the instant granules into the mix as the recipe says.
Sweet Basil
That’s a fantastic idea!
Muriel Miller
I love Ina and wow these look so good!
Si
This has been a favorite of mine for years. Love this recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Jennifurla
these looks super good, great color and look delish
The Café Sucré Farine
These look awesome! I do have a wonderful brownie recipe but might just have to try these, you have really tempted me with the picture and description!