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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
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.1 Pound Unsalted Butter, 1 Pound Semisweet Chocolate Chips, 6 Ounces Unsweetened Chocolate
- Allow the chocolate mixture to cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar.6 Extra- Large Eggs, 3 Tablespoons Instant Coffee Granules, 2 Tablespoons Pure Vanilla Extract, 2 1/4 Cups 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.1 1/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour, 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder, 1 teaspoon 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.3 Cups Chopped Walnuts
- 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
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If you bake these in a 9×13 pan, how much do you need to increase the cooking time by?
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
Do not omit the coffee! It make these brownies richer.
I could not agree more! LEAVE THE INSTANT COFFEE IN!!! It really does make a HUGE difference.
Totally agree ! !!! Coffee is important in here!!
I have been making this exact recipe for yeers now…..trust me!!!!!
Do not amit the coffee! It adds a richer flavor to these brownies.
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
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. 🙂
Keep the Coffee!!! It makes the Chocolate Pop!
I live at altitude (about 5500 feet). Any suggestions for baking these at higher altitudes?
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.
What does it mean to rap the sheet again the shelf of the oven?
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.
If using a 9×13 pan, do you bake them longer?
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
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.
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!)
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!