Death by Chocolate Brownies – Baker by Nature

If you love brownies with crackly tops and tons of chocolate flavor, these death by chocolate brownies are for you! Unsweetened cocoa powder and chocolate chips create fudgy brownies that are exceptionally rich and decadent. The hardest part about this homemade brownie recipe? Letting them cool completely before digging in!

You’ll Crave these Brownies

Chocolate lovers rejoice! Because if you’re a die-hard chocolate lover (like me), this is going to become your new favorite recipe. These homemade brownies come together fast and are even more decadent than my famous cocoa fudge brownies! And just as decadent as my death by chocolate cake.

Ditch the boxed mix forever and get ready to fall in love with this homemade brownie recipe. The perfect quick and easy treat for bake-sales, potlucks, or holiday gatherings. Or for anytime you need a deeply indulgent dessert with LOTS of chocolate flavor.

Key Ingredients and Substitutions

• All-Purpose Flour: I have only tested this recipe using all-purpose flour and cannot recommend using nut flours. A 1 for 1 GF flour substitute is your best bet to experiment making them gluten free.
• Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder: Regular 100% unsweetened cocoa powder will technically work. But I recommend dutch-processed cocoa powder for the most intense chocolate flavor.
• Salt: This important ingredient balances the sweetness in this recipe and enhances the chocolate flavor. I like using fine sea salt, but any fine salt will work. Save the flaky salt for topping the brownies!
• Baking Powder: This leavening agent gives our brownies just a little lift while they bake, so they’re fudgy… but not exactly like fudge. Make sure your baking powder is fresh and do not sub baking soda. If you don’t have baking powder, you can technically skip it. Your brownies will just be extra dense.
• Espresso Powder: This is an optional ingredient, but it does enhance the flavor of the chocolate. And overall elevates this homemade brownie recipe! If you’re a chocolate lover, pick up a jar of espresso powder and add a little to all of your favorite chocolate recipes.
• Butter: Cube your unsalted butter sticks so that they quickly and evenly melt. In a pinch, you can use salted butter. But you’ll need to reduce the amount of salt called for by half (so just use 1/2 teaspoon instead).
• Chocolate: Whole bar chocolate and 1 and 1/2 cups of chocolate chips (or chunks) give these homemade brownies tons of decadent chocolate flavor! My fave whole bar chocolate for this recipe is Lindt, but Ghiradelli or even Trader Joe’s brand will work. As for the chocolate chips, I love Ghiradelli brand or try Enjoy Life brand chocolate chunks!
• Oil: A small amount of oil makes these ultra moist and keeps them fresh for days on end. You can use a neutral oil like canola or vegetable. Or if you prefer added flavor, olive oil or coconut oil will also work great.
• Sugar: Do not sub brown sugar for the granulated sugar in this recipe! Brown sugar will add too much moisture, resulting in cake-like brownies.
• Eggs: A combination of whole eggs and egg yolks give our brownies structure and create an ultra fudgy and chewy texture. For this recipe, you don’t need to bring them to room temperature.
• Vanilla Extract: Did you know vanilla actually enhances the flavor of chocolate? That’s why we use 2 whole teaspoons! Just be sure to use real vanilla extract, not imitation.

How to Make Homemade Brownies

1. Baking Prep: Preheat the oven 30 minutes before you plan on baking! Line a baking pan with parchment paper and and set it aside until needed. Note: I suggest using a metal or aluminized baking pan. But if you use glass or ceramic, add 5 to 10 minutes to the bake time.
2. Combine the Ingredients: In one bowl you’ll combine the dry ingredients, except for the granulated sugar! You’ll add some of the granulated sugar to the butter/chocolate mixture. And add the rest of the granulated sugar to the egg mixture.
3. Make the Brownie Batter: Now that we have all our ingredients, it’s time to combine them! The most important step is slowly pouring the melted butter mixture into the egg mixture. You want to add it gradually so that it tempers the egg mixture, but doesn’t curdle/cook the eggs.
4. Time to Bake: Scrape the brownie batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until the edges are firm and the top is shiny. This forms into crackly tops everyone loves!
5. Cool Completely: I cannot stress how important this step is enough! The longer you let them cool, the denser and fudgier they’ll be. They’ll also slice neatly when fully cooled!

Can I Freeze Brownies? 

Omg, yes you can absolutely freeze these delicious brownies! When I was pregnant with Sylvie I was craving brownies like crazy, and would bake these once a week. I’d savor half of the batch, and freeze the other half. They’re so fudgy you can almost eat them straight from the freezer, or let them thaw for a softer brownie treat. 

1. Before you freeze your brownies, let them cool completely! They shouldn’t even be slightly warm when you go to wrap them. This cooling process will take about 2 hours. So be prepared to be patient. 
2. Once your homemade brownies are completely cool, wrap them with saran wrap. This will protect them from getting freezer burn, so make sure the plastic wrap completely covers the brownies. You can wrap them as a whole slab, or you can wrap individual brownies.
3. Place the brownies in a freezer-safe sealable plastic bag and squeeze out as much air as possible before sealing it. Air is the enemy of any freezer bound item!
4. Label the bag and add the date, then pop it in your freezer. These will stay fresh in the freezer for up to 2 months. But I doubt they’ll last that long… because who can resist sneaking in the freezer for a homemade brownie?