I love a good brownie. To me, they offer one of the best returns on a time and effort investment in the baking world. There is usually no butter to soften, no sink full of dirty bowls, no long hours to wait for them to be ready to eat. You decide you want brownies? You can be eating them in under an hour with very little mess.
With my love of brownies stated, I must say that I like trying different kinds of brownies. Those of you who have followed BoB for any length of time probably already know that. I like them with nuts or caramel or peanut butter or just about anything. When I found this recipe at Food & Wine, I had a “well, duh!” moment and stared at it in disbelief that I’d never made a salty brownie.
This particular brownie is for all of you fudgy brownie fans. They are very dense and chewy. The salt complements the dark chocolate oh-so-well. For those of you who are big believers in the salty/sweet movement, add a little extra salt to the top. Just a light sprinkle before serving them will give them a little more interest.
So, does this recipe fulfill my brownie checklist? Quick preparation? Check. Made in one bowl? Oh, yeah. Ready to eat soon? Well, not exactly. You will have to suffer through a couple of hours of waiting after they’ve come out of the oven. But, believe me, they are worth it.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, letting the excess hang over the edges. Lightly butter the foil.
Melt butter and chocolate on low heat on the stovetop in a saucepan or in the microwave in a microwave-safe bowl. Remove from heat or microwave. One at a time, whisk in cocoa, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and flour. Pour into prepared pan. Smooth the top of the batter. Sprinkle salt over top of batter. Using a butter knife, swirl salt into brownie batter.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until edges are set and center is a bit soft. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out with a little batter coating it.
Cool at room temperature for an hour. Then, cool in refrigerator for an hour or until firm. Remove from pan and foil. Serve at room temperature.
Brownies can be refrigerated for 3 days or frozen for a month.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Food & Wine.
May 12th, 2010 at 9:45 am
I came here to look at one of your older recipes, and was so pleased to see something new from you! I think this brownie is the first thing I will make with my new post-finals freedom.
May 12th, 2010 at 10:06 am
Que vuelta más espectacular. Un brownie que me copio tambien de nuevo. Tiene que estar increible. Un saludo
May 12th, 2010 at 11:48 am
I’m not a huge chocolate lover but I love salted chocolate. These look delicious.
May 12th, 2010 at 12:55 pm
These look wonderful!
May 12th, 2010 at 5:04 pm
Isn’t waiting for butter to melt obnoxious? Seriously.
I have better things to do. Like eat these brownies. Which look seriously like heaven!
May 12th, 2010 at 5:36 pm
These look delicious!!!! Is there any reason why I can’t make these for a 7:30 am staff mtg?! I am tired of making and bringing muffins.
May 12th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
Those brownies look incredibly delicious!
May 13th, 2010 at 6:03 am
Ohh yum!! Each time I come on here, there’s a new addiction just waiting to happen
May 13th, 2010 at 10:22 am
Hi Jennifer, I made them this morning and they are fab. I didn’t have the fancy salt, so I put half the amount of salt into the batter to keep it from being flat, and plan to buy some good sea salt later this afternoon to put on top of the baked brownies.
For my tasting, and since I don’t have the right salt yet, I just put a little Morton Kosher on top after baking. It satisfied my sweet/salty tooth, but I’m glad I left the rest of the batch “blank” and will dust them with the good stuff.
May 13th, 2010 at 10:58 am
I’m so happy to have found your blog. I love to bake – and recently tend to blog a lot on my own ventures. In fact just made brownies yesterday. Can’t wait to try out this delicious recipe!! Thanks for sharing!
May 13th, 2010 at 11:36 am
I really enjoy reading your blog and can’t wait to follow it!
I would love it if you could come check out my blog and follow
Jenna
May 13th, 2010 at 2:28 pm
You’re gonna be hard-pressed to get me off of the Max Brenner fudge brownie recipe you posted a while back, but I imagine I will break down and make these instead… or maybe as well! Oh, new possibilities have just made themselves known. Thanks for posting!
May 14th, 2010 at 7:50 am
You and your drool-inducing photos of brownies. I think you need to do a coffee table book of brownie photos!
May 14th, 2010 at 10:33 am
It seems that salted sweets are all the rage now. I made salted caramels and salted petits fours from great recipes i found, and now i have to make salted brownies. Oh, well, I guess I will just have to get out the KitchenAid stand mixer again. Whatever will I do with all these sweets… haha… eat them
May 14th, 2010 at 7:57 pm
I’m obsessed with brownies. The name “Salted Fudge Brownies” kind of scares me because it usually not a great combo. I’ll take your word for it though and try them myself.
May 15th, 2010 at 5:28 am
Oooh wow salted brownies these sound different but also extremely tasty, they look so moist and chewy mmm!
May 15th, 2010 at 8:22 pm
Great brownie recipe. I love it is salted !!!
May 16th, 2010 at 1:09 pm
These look ridiculously good! I’m feeling heavier yet more satisfied as I’m sitting here looking at this picture. What do you know?! Motivation to move comes in the oddest forms!
Lila Ferraro
May 16th, 2010 at 6:06 pm
Saw this yesterday, made them almost immediately. They were great!
May 16th, 2010 at 10:57 pm
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May 17th, 2010 at 6:54 am
I adore salting sweets just a touch! What a great brownies, they look SO moist!
May 17th, 2010 at 6:38 pm
mmm best thing ever! SWEET N SALTY mmmmmm
May 18th, 2010 at 1:14 pm
Ohh…sounds yummy! I love the combo of salty and sweet, and your brownies sounds like the best of both worlds! Have you ever done any vegan baking?
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May 19th, 2010 at 9:29 am
now thats my kind of brownie
May 19th, 2010 at 11:07 am
salt and chocolate all in one…sounds like a dream come true.
May 21st, 2010 at 10:33 am
oh yum! i love the salt crystals, i bet that brings the flavor out even more.
May 21st, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Made in one bowl? I’m there.
Suzanne
May 22nd, 2010 at 6:50 am
These look wonderful. I found your blog by chance and had intended only to pop in and say hello. I was, instead, lured by your earlier posts and stayed far longer than I planned. I really like your recipes and the the tone of your blog. I’ll be back as often as I can. I hope you are having a good day. Blessings…Mary
May 22nd, 2010 at 9:06 pm
These look wonderful! Chocolate and salt together can’t be beat!!!
http://www.makingmemorieswithyourkids.blogspot.com
May 23rd, 2010 at 6:25 pm
these look great :O)
May 23rd, 2010 at 6:32 pm
These were freakin’ awesome, I have to say.
Although I don’t get the whole cooling thing – what is better in this world than a warm brownie right from the oven? (I know, it probably makes them “fudgier” but I have my priorities)
May 23rd, 2010 at 7:45 pm
Love the salty sweet….perhaps the salt added will make a brownie lover out of me.
~ingrid
May 27th, 2010 at 5:00 am
This food and wine recipe is my absolute favorite brownie on the planet. I make them every chance I get too, and the salted top is just divine.
May 27th, 2010 at 1:25 pm
new to your blog…but, oh my, good first impression with the salted brownies…oh yeah, will try.
May 28th, 2010 at 7:56 am
lol, I just made this recipe too! I loved the sea salt on top with the sweet taste of the fudgy brownie.
May 28th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
This was such an easy recipe…and wow, such a great brownie! I actually bought fine sea salt just for these brownies and boy, did it pay off. The sea salt mixed with the fudgey, dark chocolate was absolutely heavenly.
Btw, there was no way I was waiting two hours to try one…They were in the fridge for maybe 20 minutes before I caved.
May 31st, 2010 at 3:27 pm
i wanna shoot myself. i’ve been following your blog for over a year now and i’m just now seeing the little link that says view recipe. i’ve always wondered why the heck you didn’t post them, turns out i was an idiot this whole time! hahah
June 2nd, 2010 at 11:12 pm
These remind me of salted chocolate that I had before. It adds an interesting savory kind of taste.
June 10th, 2010 at 4:29 am
Oh hello ooey gooey delicious brownie! I’m even more in love with these given their ease of preparation.
June 10th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
I’m new here so I have had the fun of going through your earlier posts as well as the brownie recipe you’ve featured today. I really love your recipes and will be back often to see what else you have been baking. I hope you are having a wonderful day. Blessings…Mary
June 13th, 2010 at 7:48 am
http://www.howsweeteats.com/2010/06/09/salted-chocolate-pecan-butter/
I saw this yesterday and immediately thought of sharing this with you. Hope you take the chance to make it.
June 13th, 2010 at 9:55 am
I just spent a Saturday baking up 3 versions of brownies in search of the ‘Ultimate’ brownie (www.aspoonfulofsugah.blogspot.com) and then I saw this post, AND your related posts on other brownies (the Coconut one is a must-try). I guess my search is not over yet! I do so love salted desserts. May I also suggest that not just any salt will do – fleur de sel is my salt of choice for chocolate and caramel – it has a pleasantly rounded taste unlike the jarring aftertaste of other salts.
June 18th, 2010 at 7:07 am
I totally agree with you ; brownies are the best return on investment of baking time there is; I love fudgy brownies with a nice crust. I recently made some with tahini instead of butter and they were delicious too.
June 20th, 2010 at 3:32 pm
mmmmmm….salt on brownies… a must try for sure….
June 21st, 2010 at 4:54 pm
These brownies are so good i just made them i recommend them for you to make they are exquisite
June 21st, 2010 at 9:18 pm
Thank you so much for the recipe. I have tried it like 5 times and it turned out excellent everytime! It is the best brownie I have ever made and all my friends love it!
June 24th, 2010 at 7:19 pm
Found your website by way of another one. Too funny that the first thing I see is a salted brownie recipe. I was at Trader Joes the other day and saw the same thing for sale… so I had to try it. Wonderful! Now I have a recipe to use for here at home… because homemade brownies are always better than store bought!
June 29th, 2010 at 8:59 am
Brownies are not my favorite dessert however the suggestion of adding caramel and nuts may have me rethink how I feel about this dessert. I believe the salt added to the brownie may give it a bitter-sweet taste. By the way great pictures.
June 29th, 2010 at 4:26 pm
I love brownies as well. The salt is such a good idea, I love the way salt and chocolate taste together. Beautiful pictures.
July 12th, 2010 at 9:18 am
I make these per your suggestion…the first time I have even made “home-made” brownies. They are SOOOOO friken good that I had a hard time sharing!
The whole tray was gone!
Some people that I asked to try them shy’d away because of the salt but after they tried them they were intrueged.
July 16th, 2010 at 10:40 am
These look delish!!!
August 9th, 2010 at 9:56 pm
I never thought of adding salt to a brownie, but looking at your photos my mouth was watering. This is definitely a must try recipe for a cookie and brownie lover like me. Thanks for sharing it.
August 11th, 2010 at 11:44 am
These remind me of the sweet and salty brownies from Baked in Brooklyn. They are salty, caramel-y deliciousness.
September 19th, 2010 at 1:13 pm
I would have never thought to put salt on a brownie. I’m going to have to try this out, my brother just brought me Hawaiian Salt from Hawaii. I’m going to try brownies with that on top next time.
September 19th, 2010 at 4:45 pm
These look and sound delicious! Great photos!
October 4th, 2010 at 2:57 pm
So I tried this recipe, my second time making brownies, the first recipe I used was a Martha Stewart one and I think I baked them too long so they were very let’s say hard as rocks, lol. I found this one to be much easier, but I used less sugar, a cup less, cause I really thought it was a lot. Anyway even though me and my son liked them and they weren’t hard this time, my husband’s complaint was that they tasted like diet brownies and that they were to crumbly! He said and I want to get your opinion on this, that sticking to the correct amount of sugar would keep it from falling apart and tasting better.
October 7th, 2010 at 9:45 am
Rose, altering baking recipes is a tricky thing. I would say your husband is right. Leaving out that much sugar was probably the reason they didn’t turn out quite right.
November 3rd, 2010 at 2:54 pm
I had been searching the net for a brownie recipe that included pomegranate molasses to no avail. I decided to make these brownies and include the molasses somehow. Like the previous commenter I used just one cup of sugar, added two tablespoons of pomegranate molasses, 1/4 tsp. baking soda and 1/2 tsp. baking powder. The consistency is moist with a nice crumble and the taste is sweet, sour from the molasses and slightly bitter from the chocolate. The salt adds more depth to all of the flavors.
I don’t know whether the addition of the baking soda and powder helped it stay together with the reduced amount of sugar. I did take it out of the oven after 29 mins too though,
February 20th, 2011 at 8:36 am
This is my favorite brownie recipe…I have been making it over and over again..fudgy and dense! oh yum! and so easy
September 13th, 2011 at 9:58 am
You had me at salted…
September 15th, 2011 at 5:26 am
I love all kind of Brownies.
Regards
olga.
September 20th, 2011 at 7:07 pm
MMMMMMMMMM! I used to hate the whole salty sweet combo but I have 100% grown out of that and these seem DELISH!
November 1st, 2011 at 11:35 am
What a wonderful combination-I love rich chocolate and salt! If you are a fan of this combo like me (and don’t have high cholesterol) I recommend this when you need a quick fix: great baguette spread with good, salted butter and a square of outstanding chocolate. Thanks for the beautiful blog!
November 6th, 2011 at 3:08 pm
These are out of this world fabulous. It looks like I will be putting aside “my” (Thomas Keller’s) brownie recipe for quite some time.
Thanks so much!
March 31st, 2012 at 5:46 am
These photos are great! The brownies look moist, chocolaty and…delicious!
April 23rd, 2012 at 2:22 pm
These. Are. The. Best. Brownies. Ever.
I couldn’t stop eating them. I made these two days ago, preserved myself a couple for the next day, and am presently craving more today.
This is my new fav dessert recipe
August 12th, 2012 at 8:56 am
Simply delicious!!! I added just a pinch of sea salt and they turned out wonderful! Thank you for the recipe!
November 7th, 2012 at 6:51 pm
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