Magical Layered Brownies
The browned butter in these layered brownies makes a good brownie great by changing the frosting into a creamy layer with depth and richness.
Are you familiar with the magical effect that happens when butter undergoes a simple transformation and changes from everyday yellow to tantalizing brown?
Oh yes, I’m talking about browned butter, and it just might be the next best thing since sliced bread.
Take for instance these brownies.
Without the browned butter, they would be your everyday layered brownie. Not necessarily a bad thing. Would I eat them? Well, that’s a silly question. Of course I would. But add in a middle layer of browned butter frosting and here’s the difference: I can’t stop eating them.
Seriously, the browned butter makes such a glorious difference – changing a too-sweet frosting into a creamy layer with depth and caramelly richness.
Browned butter is in, people, and trust me, after tasting the magic, you’ll never go back to plain old softened room temperature butter for a frosting like this.
And as your friend, I must tell you, yellow butter is, like, so last summer. So stay hip and use browned butter today!
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Magical Layered Brownies
Ingredients
Brownies:
- ½ cup (113 g) butter
- 6 ounces (170 g) unsweetened chocolate
- 2 cups (424 g) sugar
- 4 large eggs
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (142 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Browned Butter Frosting:
- ½ cup (113 g) butter
- 2 cups (228 g) powdered sugar
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Glaze:
- 3 tablespoons (42 g) butter
- 4 ounces (113 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch aluminum pan with nonstick cooking spray and cut parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan. Lightly grease the parchment paper. Set the pan aside.
- For the brownies, in a small saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate, stirring until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, combine the sugar, eggs and salt. Mix with a handheld mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer for 3-4 minutes, until the mixture has lightened in color and is very thick.
- Fold in the warm (not hot!) chocolate/butter mixture. Stir in the flour and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing evenly.
- Bake the brownies for 25-30 minutes until the sides pull away from the pan just slightly. Remove the brownies from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack (about 1 1/2 hours).
- For the browned butter frosting, place the stick of butter in a small saucepan and set it over low heat. It is best to not use a non-stick or dark coated pan in this step because it will be difficult to tell when the butter has turned brown. Let the butter melt over low heat and turn a caramel brown color, about 15 minutes. Watch carefully so the butter doesn’t burn. Once it has turned a nice medium-brown color, remove it from the heat.
- Pour the butter into a medium bowl. Immediately add the powdered sugar, heavy cream and vanilla. Mix well with an electric mixer until the frosting is smooth and thick.
- Spread the frosting over the cooled brownies.
- For the glaze, melt the butter and chocolate together in the microwave or on the stovetop until it is smooth. Pour the warm glaze over the frosted brownies. Tip the pan from side to side to even out the glaze over the frosting (or carefully spread with a knife or offset spatula).
- Chill the brownies until the glaze is set and the brownies are chilled through, about 1-2 hours. The brownies taste best cold.
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Recipe Source: adapted slightly from Ann Hodgman
Hi Mel! How should these brownies be stored? Can they be room temp? (Though I see you say they are best served cold).
They stay the freshest and taste best if stored in the refrigerator. If you don’t want to serve them chilled, just take them out of the fridge an hour or so prior to serving.
If I wanted to make these, but only have a dark chocolate pound plus bar from Trader Joe’s, would you recommend decreasing the sugar? And if so, by how much? Thanks for any help!
Yes, I’d probably recommend decreasing the sugar to about 1 1/2 cups.
During step 2, I had to substitute unsweetened chocolate for unsweetened cocoa powder. I looked up the substitutions online but when I melted it with butter it became a solid, and I tried it twice! Is it supposed to be smooth and runny or smooth and fudge-like?
Using melted chocolate instead of powdery cocoa powder will make a huge difference in the consistency of the batter…I don’t know how best to sub in actual chocolate for cocoa powder. Sorry!
These are a favorite!! They are pretty and unique. Tho… every time I make them I’m wondering if the baking temp at 300 is a typo. At 300 I have to increase the baking time by quite a bit. Are you sure it shouldn’t be 325? I feel sheepish- I usually NEVER question you Mel!! You are perhaps (half of) my most stable relationship….. ha ha.
Haha, thanks for making me laugh, Brooklin. I actually do think the 300 degree temperature is right (according to the recipe I adapted the brownies from all those years ago) – BUT, I agree with you. I’ve made these a lot over the years and they don’t cook through in 30 minutes at 300 degrees. So I always use 325 degrees. I’ll edit the recipe to note that. 🙂
Mel, why does my frosting look tan and yours looks white? If the butter turns medium brown, how could your frosting be so white? Hmmm…
Hey Mary – I think it’s just the pictures. When I make this frosting it is a light tan color, too.
These are so AMAZING. I’ve been making since 2014 when I found your site while on maternity leave! Love so many of your incredible recipes! And love your stories. 🙂
Thank you, Kris!! Reminds me I need to make these more often!
Can this be halved and made in an 8×8 pan?
I don’t know how the layers will do (as far as covering that amount of space) but you could definitely try!
I made these yesterday and they were very good, but I tried doing it with browned butter and now they only taste like butter. I think they would be much better with regular butter.. now I just eat the brownie part cause it’s just too much.
I just discovered this blog and these sounded so intriguing, I had to try them. Took them to a bbq on Saturday and they were a HUGE hit! I’m not a big brownie fan but these are absolutely delicious! Very, very good and not difficult to make. Thank you! I’m a fan & will try more recipes!
Made these the other night for the first time and they were seriously dreamy! Can’t wait to make them again! Thank you!
Looks so good! Can’t wait to try these!!! What adjustments would you recommend for an 8×8″ square pan? Thanks!
I’ve never scaled back the recipe for that size of pan – maybe halve the recipe and watch the baking time.
I made your magical layered brownies last night. My goodness, they are absolutely amazing!!! My husband is a brownie snob, and I have yet to make a brownie to suit his liking… until now! He gobbled them up. THANK YOU for sharing this recipe… amazing!
I made these for coffee hour at church yesterday and people were hitting up my husband for the recipe like he had made them (I was teaching Sunday School at the time); they were crazy about them! I’ll definitely be making them again!
These brownies are gorgeous, especially once fridge-cold! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
http://thesugarlump.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/brown-butter-layered-brownies.html
Oh wow. Came across this recipe on pinterest and decided to make them for my boyfriend’s birthday dessert (he hates cake, but loooves brownies). Have to admit, I was a little concered with the cold brownie, because I have always liked warm ones. But let me tell you, this is the richest, melt in your mouth deliciousness that I have ever baked. Everyone that had one begged me to take some home with them and told me that I should open my own bakery, haha, right. So thank you very much for this recipe. It’s awesome.
A-MAZ-ING!!!! Love these brownies! I had tried them when my sister made them a long time ago, but I made them today and sampling the frosting really made me realize how amazing they are. Browned butter tastes like carmel. Mmmmmm…these were so tasty. I had to use a different brownie base because I didn’t have enough unsweetened chocolate, but they were still awesome. I will put this in my winner box. Thanks Mel!
I have a question about these brownies: I couldn’t get the brownie portion to fully cook at 300 for 30 minutes–it was raw inside. Is there something I should be doing differently? The browned-butter frosting was incredible! Thanks for your scrumptious recipes!
Cara – I suspect you just need to add more time (even a significant amount like 10 minutes or so) or you could raise the temp to 325 degrees. Many ovens can differ quite a bit in actual temperature and that might be the issue.
Mel…you just may be my “knight in shining armor” (or at least the female equivalent)!!! My grandmother used to make brownies just like this but sadly she passed away without leaving us the recipe. My sister have spent decades looking for a similar recipe, but without success. I’m going to try making these this weekend and if they’re anywhere near as good as hers, I’m going to give you a great big cyber hug!
What kind of Chocolate do you reccomend?
Darci – I almost always use the Baker’s brand of unsweetened chocolate and Ghirardelli’s for semisweet or bittersweet.
This has been my go-to recipe for years. My son calls them, “mom’s world famous brownies”! The only difference in my recipe is that the brownies are cooked in a 15×9 jelly roll(cookie sheet) pan. I love them this way. Since the brownie is so rich, having a thinner base is nice. If you do it this way, make sure to only cook the brownies 18-20 min at 350. Not a big change, but I also drizzle on the chocolate layer instead of making it solid. Makes for an attractive pattern on top of the brownies.
Trust me, I did not forget these brownies! They are my most favorite brownies ever! Your Andes mint brownies are a very close second. Can’t get enough of your site!
My daughter made these and told me how wonderful tey are. I’m not a huge “sweets” person, but I made them. Wow!! They are amazing. I’m making them tonight for a ladies Christmas party tomorrow. I’m sue I’ll be printing the recipe for friends.
Best brownies EVER!!!!!!!!! These remind me of the brownies my grandma made and kept in her fridge-she added mint to the frosting. My family fought over these! (my too tight pants tell me I won!) Thank you!
I made these tonight and my husband said they were “scrumptious” so thanks for another winner!
I always use browned butter in my chocolate chip cookies AMAZING.
Ashlee – I haven’t doubled this for a sheet pan so I don’t know how the measurements would work out exactly. Do you have two 9X13 pans you could easily double the batch and bake in separate pans?
Mel, have you ever tried doubling this for a sheet pan? I have to take a pan of something for a church thing, so I’m deciding between these and your thick and chewy chocolate chip bars…
Do you have to use an aluminum pan or can you use glass?
Cindy – I use an aluminum pan but glass should work ok – I’d suggest lining it with foil or parchment.
Question… I am always looking for freezable desserts that can slide nicely into my husband’s lunch in the morning. Do you know if these would freeze well frosted? They look heavenly!
Elizabeth – I’ve never frozen these brownies, so I’m not sure, but I think it’s probably worth a try. Let me know if you give it a go!