About Stella Parks Brownies
Stella Parks brownie recipe makes thick and incredibly fudgy brownies. They are marked by a signature glossy, shiny top that crinkles and flakes when sliced. These brownies are incredibly rich and indulgent thanks to ingredients like brown butter, espresso powder, and both melted chocolate AND Dutch-processed cocoa powder. The recipe is from her James Beard Award-winning cookbook, BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts, and is my favorite brownie recipe beyond my own.
For more delicious homemade brownie recipes, check out Hummingbird High’s Brownies, Blondies, & Bars Recipe Archive! Popular recipes include these Chewy and Fudgy Purple Ube Brownies and Small Batch Almond Flour Brownies.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Now that I’ve convinced you to make Stella Parks brownies, let’s talk about some customizations you can make for this recipe:
Natural Unsweetened Cocoa Powder versus Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder
Cocoa powder, when used in baking recipes, often comes in two varieties: natural unsweetened, and Dutch-processed.
Natural unsweetened cocoa powder is more typical and is cocoa powder in its purest form. It is slightly reddish brown in color and results in deeply flavored chocolate goods. Because it is slightly acidic, it is often paired with baking soda in baking recipes to help create a chemical reaction that will cause the baked good to rise in the oven.
Dutch-processed cocoa powder is natural unsweetened cocoa powder that’s been treated with alkaline to neutralize its acidity, giving it a darker color and milder flavor. It is the cocoa powder that is used for making midnight-black baked goods like Oreos.
What’s espresso powder and where can I find it?
Espresso powder is made from espresso grounds that have been roasted, ground, and brewed. The water is then removed from the espresso either by flash-heat drying or freeze-drying, leaving behind dehydrated crystals.
Historically, espresso powder was primarily used in baking as an ingredient. Bakers frequently use espresso powder in chocolate desserts. Why? The espresso powder intensifies the cocoa flavors in the chocolate without making it taste too much like coffee. You can read more about it in this Kitchn article.
For a long time, espresso powder was only available for purchase online on Amazon or in specialty stores like King Arthur Baking Company. However, these days, folks use espresso powder to make drinks! You can now buy espresso powder in most major grocery stores and Target. In the US, the most readily available instant espresso brand is Medaglia D’Oro.
Recipe Troubleshooting and FAQ
Why is it better to use a glass or metal pan when baking brownies?
Alright, here we go—when you google the answer to this question, the first few search results will tell you that it is better to use a glass pan when baking brownies. THEY ARE 100% INCORRECT. It is my *FIRM* opinion that it is always, ALWAYS better to use a metal pan when baking brownies.
Why? Glass pans are slow to heat up; however, when hot, they retain heat for much longer. This quality often results in uneven baking. By the time the interior of whatever you’re baking is done, the exterior of it is often overcooked, dry, and overly dark.
What does that mean for these fudgy brownies? If you’re baking the brownies in a glass pan, they’ll continue to bake LONG after being pulled out of the oven because the pan continues to retain so much heat. That usually means dense, dry, and overcooked brownies that are not fudgy at all.
Metal, on the other hand, conducts heat. Because metal heats up faster than glass, it leads to brownies with a better rise (but without being cake) with crispier edges. And because metal pans lose heat quickly after being pulled out of the oven, your brownies will too. That means the brownies will cool faster, and they won’t be overdone. Instead, they will instead be perfectly fudgy and set. So please use a metal pan for this recipe!
Finally, if you want to be a perfectionist, choose a light colored metal pan over a dark metal pan. Dark pans absorb more heat, which, like glass, can cause the exterior of the brownies to bake too quickly. I always use pans from Williams-Sonoma’s Goldtouch Pro Nonstick line for my baking.
Help! My brownies don’t have the shiny paper crinkle top like yours do. What did I do wrong?
It’s likely that you either:
a) used too much flour
b) used too little sugar
c) baked the brownies for too long and/or used the wrong type of pan to make them.
First, let’s talk about measuring ingredients. A lot of people don’t have the right technique when using measuring cups. It’s easy to use too much flour when using volume measures. Don’t use the measuring cup to scoop the flour in the bag and pack it down into the cup. Instead, set the measuring cup on the counter and then spoon the dry ingredients into it. Once it’s formed a small mound, don’t pack it down. Use a butter knife or bench scraper to level it off.
While this technique works best for ingredients like flour, you’ll need to do the exact opposite for measuring brown sugar. Spoon the brown sugar into the measuring cup. Once it’s formed a small mound, pack it down, then add more brown sugar until it is level with the top of the measuring cup.
Finally, if you used the techniques above OR used weight measures (which I always recommend, since you won’t need to fuss with the techniques I just outlined) and are STILL experiencing issues, it’s likely that the brownies were overbaked. Check out the FAQ above on why you should always use a metal pan when baking brownies, as well as the baker’s notes below on how to test brownies for doneness.
Can you freeze Stella Parks brownies?
Yes! You can freeze the baked brownies.
To freeze the brownies, individually wrap any leftover bars in two layers of plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil. The aluminum foil will prevent the bars from absorbing any other flavors or odors in the freezer. Freeze for up to 3 months.
When ready to serve, transfer to the refrigerator to thaw overnight. You can eat the brownies straight from the fridge, or rewarmed in the microwave.
Best Recipe Tips
Ingredient Tip
- The brownie batter recipe states that you need 6 ounces (170 grams) of chopped dark chocolate to make the brownie batter. If you don’t have a digital kitchen scale, that’s equivalent to 1 cup of chopped chocolate. Each piece of chocolate should be roughly the same size and shape of a regular-sized chocolate chip.
Technique Tips
- When cooking the butter, its color will progress from a bright lemon yellow to a golden tan and finally, a dark amber brown. The longer you cook the butter, the darker and more flavorful it will be. However, there is a fine line between toasted and burnt! There’s no salvaging butter once it’s burnt, so be sure to watch it like a hawk as it browns.
- The recipe instructs you to add the dry ingredients into a thick, sludgy chocolaty batter. When doing so, make sure your stand mixer is on its slowest setting! If you add too much at once, the dry ingredients have a tendency to fly out the bowl and make a huge mess. I recommend adding the dry ingredients 1 to 2 Tablespoons at a time, only adding the next batch when the previous ones are fully incorporated.
Baking Tip
- It’s better to pull the brownies out of the oven early than leave them in too long—if you over bake the brownies, they’ll be tough. They might appear underbaked, but I promise that when they’ve cooled, they will be perfect.
Get the Recipe: Stella Parks Brownie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup (4.5 ounces or 128 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 ⅓ cups (4 ounces or 113 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted if necessary
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
- 1 ¾ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups (3 sticks or 12 ounces or 340 grams) unsalted butter
- 6 ounces (170 grams) dark chocolate (between 60% to 70% cacao), from whole fèves or a high-quality chocolate bar chopped into ½- and 1-inch pieces
- 2 ¼ cups (16 ounces or 454 grams) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup tightly packed (2 ounces or 57 grams) light brown sugar
- 6 large eggs
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prep your oven and pan. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a 9 x 13-inch cake pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the pan’s two long sides. Spray the parchment, too.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and salt.
- Brown the butter, then add the chocolate. In a light-colored saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat, swirling the pan occasionally, until it starts to foam. Use a heatproof rubber spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the pan occasionally to prevent the milk solids in the butter from burning. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the butter smells nutty and is amber with dark flecks at the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat and immediately add the chopped chocolate. Stir with a rubber spatula until the chocolate is completely melted and combined. Pour the mixture into a liquid measuring cup. Set it on a wire rack to cool slightly while you prep the other ingredients.
- Whisk the sugars, eggs, vanilla, then add the chocolate mixture. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the sugars, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk on medium-high speed for 8 minutes, or until thick, fluffy, and doubled in volume. Reduce to low and slowly pour in the warm chocolate mixture, mixing on low speed until just combined.
- Mix in the dry ingredients. Once the chocolate mixture is combined, use a rubber spatula to scrape down the whisk and the bottom and sides of the bowl. Affix the paddle attachment to the mixer and gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing on low speed until just combined.
- Assemble the brownies. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and use an offset spatula to smooth the top.
- Bake the brownies. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few crumbs attached. Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.
- Serve and store. Run a butter knife or offset spatula along the edges of the pan and use the overhanging parchment as handles to lift the brownies out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Slice into 20 rectangles, each about 2 ¼ inches wide and 2 ½ inches long, and serve. The brownies can be stored in an airtight container or zip-top bag at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Adapted from Stella Parks’ BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts
Changes I Made To Stella Parks Brownies Recipe
I made this recipe three times before publishing this version of it on Hummingbird High. The first time, I’d followed the directions exactly as they were written in Stella’s cookbook. The next two times, I made some subtle technique changes that I thought would lead to a more successful result. Here’s a summary of everything I changed below:
- Instructed you to line the baking pan with parchment paper as opposed to aluminum foil.
- Instructed you to use the mixer’s paddle attachment to mix in the dry ingredients.
- Adjusted the Bake Time significantly. Stella’s original recipe instructs you to bake the brownies for 25 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted into the center of the brownies reads 205°F. At 25 minutes, my thermometer read nowhere NEAR 205°F. At 25 minutes, the internal temperature of the brownies read something like 150°F. It only started to reach the 200°F range at the 35 to 40 minute mark. I’m seriously convinced that the original time of 25 minutes in her book is a typo!
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Weeknight Baking:
Recipes to Fit your Schedule
Over the past several years of running Hummingbird High, I kept a crucial aspect of my life hidden from my readers: I had a full-time, extremely demanding job in the tech world. In my debut cookbook, Weeknight Baking, I finally reveal the secrets to baking delicious desserts on a tight schedule.
Hi Michelle
Do you agree with Stella Parks Post about DIY Vanilla Extract is a waste of time and money.
Mmm, mixed feelings. It takes a long time to make vanilla extract at home—usually I cure my homemade vanilla for 1 year! So I do think it’s easier to buy/you can get better quality products that way. But it’s also fun to make at home/be able to control the amount and type of vanilla in the extract.