Brown Butter Brownies is an older recipe from Bon Appetit. They have a very, very, fudgy texture and a hint of brown butter flavor.
The original recipe was featured in Bon Appetit, but it's actually from Alice Medrich For some reason mine came out a lot thinner, so I think I'll make them again with changes. Here's the Recipe. If you read the reviews you will see that several people cut the sugar, so I plan on trying the Brown Butter Brownies again with less sugar.
Update: New and Improved Version Here! Brown Butter Brownies.
Lynnae says
Made a batch today. Very easy and mine look like the picture. The end product tastes better than the batter. I was thinking I should add espresso powder or almond extract a la Maida Heatter's Palm Beach Brownies (my go-to for fudginess) but I stuck with the recipe and they're delicious. I like them cold from the fridge. The chill cuts the sweetness just enough.
Tawny @ The Year of The Cookie says
I did actually make these brownies (and posted about them, too!) We thought they were really good, mine weren't quite as thin but I didn't put the nuts in since my husband doesn't like them. I actually made these before (not realizing it was practically the same recipe..) and we liked them then as well. They were chocolatey but I don't think it was over kill 🙂
Louise says
Bon Appetit calls these the "Best Brownies Ever", but I disagree. I took the brownies to a Ground Hog Party and many people said they were the best brownies they've ever had. I think BAKED is by far "the best" fudgy brownie. I'm glad I made these as the cover photo would be haunting me, but I've already marked the recipe NVG (Not Very Good). For the record, they were 15/16" thick and look like the cover photo. I'll keep the recipe so I don't accidentally make them again. 🙂
michelle says
While I am always happy to see brownies on a magazine cover, I had a feeling these would be too fudgy for me, and this post/comments confirm that. So I will skip making those. My recent favorite is the brownie recipe by Kate Krader in Food & Wine magazine. Very chocolaty with a nice chewy texture.
Shannon says
Anna,
When you make the KAF brownies, have you tried halving the recipe and baking in an 8x8 inch pan? Do they come out significantly thinner than a full batch? I've tried recipes before that call for a 9x13 pan, but when I halve it for an 8x8, they're disappointingly thin.
Anna says
Julie, rant away! Most people I've talked to say these are good, but that they've had better. They're worth trying since BA really liked them, but I'd rather have my King Arthur Best Ever Brownies.
Julie says
okay, the cover of that issue has been driving me crazy. I can't stand looking at it. The brownies look raw to me, not fudgy. I love very moist, fudgy brownies, but I feel BA cares more about stylizing the food than representing it how it actually looks. The recipe itself looked fairly solid though. Sorry for the rant:) Glad to know you had good results!
karen says
After I posted this morning I went ahead and made them! Mine are a little under an inch tall. I used very big chunks of walnuts and Penzey's natural cocoa. This recipe is almost the same as Alice's Best Cocoa Brownie which has been much blogged about. I find that recipe inconsistent. Anyway we are enjoying these, but I'm not sure I'd make them again.
vanillasugarblog says
i don't like fudgy brownies at all. but i like them dense tasting. hard to find a middle there, but i do with using an extra egg yolk. its funny how many people do not like nuts in brownies--i have met a lot. i just think nuts were made to be in brownies.
Sarah says
I made these Monday..they were thin too, but I also skipped the nuts. Tasty, but not the BEST ever.
Claudia says
Mmm. I saw that magazine the other day and wondered whether those brownies were as good as they looked. I'll give them a try.
BTW, I made your Carribean Black Bean soup this weekend. I had forgotten about it this winter until now. I made a double batch so we had some leftover to freeze. It's so yummy.
Anna says
Maureen, since yours were very thin and you skipped the nuts, I'm going to conclude it was the nuts!
I love the Nick Malgieri recipe, but the one I turn to over and over and which is my all-time favorite is King Arthur's Best Ever Brownies.
https://www.cookiemadness.net/2006/11/kas-best-fudge-brownies-ever/
My new favorite iced brownie is Hershey's Pecan Frosted Fudge Brownie
https://www.cookiemadness.net/2011/01/frosted-fudge-brownies/
Maureen says
Anna,
I made these last week. I loved the taste but mine were also really thin and cooked quicker than expected. I used my eight inch pan, omitted nuts and used the Hershey natural cocoa as well. They were very fudgy - and I will make them again - but my go to brownie recipe is still Nick Malgieri's Supernatural brownie. The texture of the supernatural is more traditional. What's your "go to" brownie?
karen says
I was waiting for you to make these! I noticed on Epicurious some people commented that they got thin brownies, too.
Pamela says
The cover has been calling my name since it arrived. I don't think I've ever made a recipe with browned butter in anything. Maybe this will be the one.
Anna says
Hi Megan!
I use my 8 inch pan all the time and it's definitely 8 inches. Maybe it has something to do with the walnuts? Louise is going to make them today, so we'll see how hers are. I used Hershey's Natural for the cocoa and followed the directions as written.
Maybe I'm just being nit-picky and mine seem thin compared to how the ones in the photo appear. They weren't so thin as to be unattractive, they just didn't seem to have the bulk of the ones in the photo.
Megan says
I just made these last night! I made them with the walnuts and toasted the nuts first. Mine came out pretty thick. (Are you sure you used an 8-inch square pan? Some of my square pans are actually 9-inch pans, and it took a few uses before I figured that out.) I thought these brownies were incredible... I wouldn't go so far as to say "best ever" like BA claims, but they are very good, and they were very easy and quick to make. And I agree that the nuts are great in here because the chocolate is so rich and fudgy.
Louise says
I'm going into the kitchen right now to bake a double batch for our Master Gardener Ground Hog Party. I thought I'd do the Bobby Flay frosted brownies, but I don't have enough Frangelico. 🙁 So I'll let you know about these later and send a photo.
Anna says
Hi Esther,
Yes, I did use all the sugar. Sugar is tricky. Sometimes you can cut it and have great results, but sometimes decreasing it messes up the whole composition in the recipe.
Stephanie says
I almost made these yesterday to take to a friend's house, but ran out of time and so pulled some cookie dough from my freezer stash instead. Glad to hear your review- I'll be making them soon. (As far as brownies go, the fudgier the better IMO.)
Hannah says
I saw the cover today and thought I had to try them. It is a big claim so they better be good!
Katrina says
Looks like another thing I'll have to try soon!
Esther says
What a coincidence! Today I was just searching through your recipes for some brownies to bake with my friend. We decided to make "Jenny's brownies". Thanks for that recipe. Did you by any chance use the full amount of sugar for this recipe?