I’ve been making brownies for as long as I can remember. One of my first forays into baking as a kid. Probably from a box, at first, then I grew confident enough to explore double boilers and homemade recipes. They are also one of my very favorite things to eat for dessert. Pure chocolate. So, I’ve been itching to develop my own brown butter espresso brownies recipe. I seem to put brown butter in everything these days, which takes brownies from delicious to incredible. So does the black cocoa, espresso powder, and fresh walnuts, which are a must-include for me.

Brownie Shopping

I’ve eaten many brownies from many places over the years. My go to dessert for a while has been these store-bought brownie bites. 2 or 3 at a time, almost every night. They’re pretty good for store-bought, but I’m very serious about brownies. I also have tried many brown butter espresso brownies and regular brownies from bakeries around Maine and beyond. My favorites are at a place called Treats, not far from where I live. They’re thick, rich, and filled with walnuts. Which gives the brownies a beautiful crunch and nutty flavor. 

So, my goal with my recipe was to create something thick, full of chocolate flavor, and bursting with walnuts. I started the week with a trek to my favorite health food store. I picked up some milk and eggs and filled one of those brown paper bags with fresh, whole, shelled, walnuts. Which only cost about 3 dollars a pound. I got nearly 3/4 of a pound, too, so I got a lot of bang for my buck. I placed one of those white stickers on the bag and wrote down the item code and perused the rest of the isles. Gourmet cheeses. Local sausages. Leafy green produce. 

Brown Butter Espresso Brownies with Walnuts

When I got home I prepared my ingredients and did a little googling to look at inspiration. My favorite thing about brownies, visually, is the sugary, shiny top that cracks as the brownies bake. I also wanted to use so many walnuts that you could see them from any angle in every slice. I decided to use the fresh black cocoa I recently bought for my black cocoa cake, and I started by making brown butter in a pan.

Of course, like usual, I bloomed my cocoa powder and espresso powder in the hot butter. I also decided to cook my walnuts a little in the brown butter, which toasts them to intensify their nutty flavor. I have many fond memories of making brownies, brown butter espresso brownies or otherwise. When I first learned to bake them I would just take a bowl of butter and throw it in the microwave when I had a late night craving. I would add chocolate chips until they melted, a couple eggs, then the dry ingredients. Everything was eyeballed and guessed. But they always turned out amazing.

Sweet Memories

I’m thinking too of a special day back in 2015 or 2016 when I worked at a historical museum in the summer. On the island one town over from mine. A place that became beloved and special to me, which I returned to 4 summers in a row. I’ve mentioned them before, but I worked alongside a group of people who were all at least 80. If not 90. And I adored them.

Long story short, we ate lunch together every day. One woman would bring in baked treats a lot. And my pal Ron, who I worked with most, always brought in his wife’s homemade molasses cookies. I would eat one and give one to my mom, who loved them even more than I did. But one day I decided to repay the favor, and I baked a batch of brownies for them. I called them garbage brownies, because I threw in pretzels, potato chips, chocolate candies, chocolate chips, and coconut. Kitchen sink brownies. They loved them, and I realized I was pretty good at making chewy, rich brownies on the fly.

Baking Walnut Brownies

Years later my mom picked up brownies from Treats, a local bakery that I don’t go to nearly enough. They have thick, square brownies topped with powdered sugar that have an abundance of walnuts in them. I’ve never been a fan of nuts in baked goods. Except for candied nuts in my favorite banana bread recipe. But brownies? No way. When I tried the walnut brownies from Treats, I absolutely loved them. So, I knew I wanted to have a ton of walnuts in my brown butter espresso brownies. 

I used the whole bag that I bought from the grocery store. About 3/4 of a pound. And like I said, I toasted them lightly in the hot brown butter. Then, I added dark chocolate, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and salt. I let the mixture cool as I prepared the rest of my ingredients. The chocolate melted into a shiny, inky puddle. I got two eggs out of the fridge, which I used cold to combat the hotness of the butter. Just extra security to keep them from scrambling.

Chocolate Fudge Batter

I also measured out my sugar and flour mixture. When the butter and chocolate mixture cooled a little I whisked in my egg and sugar to make a thick, shiny black batter. The brown butter brownies come together magically when you add the flour mixture. It smooths into a thick, fudgy chocolate batter that is hard to not eat with a spoon. You can see the brown butter shining through everything. And you can smell the caramel notes, coffee, and walnuts.

I scraped the sides of my brown butter brownie batter bowl and prepped an 8×8 square pan with parchment paper and a little butter. To keep things non-stick. I poured my batter in and smoothed it on top, making sure the walnuts were evenly dispersed. I thought about topping them with orange zest or more sea salt. Crunchy sugar. But I wanted to let the chocolate and walnuts shine.

Taste Test

I’ve been obsessed with orange chocolate lately, and have plenty of other chances to enjoy dark chocolate with fruit. So, into the oven they went. I kept an eye on them and smelled the rich cocoa wafting out of the kitchen as I ate lunch. It was heavenly. I took them out when they had that signature cracked shiny top and were most of the way set, but still a little wobbly.

All that was left to do was let them firm up a bit. I impatiently waited as they sat on the counter and then hoisted them out by the overhanging parchment paper handles. A couple pieces of chocolate crumbs fell off and I devoured them. A rogue walnut, too. Once they cooled I sliced them up. First into long elegant bricks. They were thick like I wanted and had a bit of a give under the knife. Nice and chewy. The walnuts were plentiful and golden brown. The brown butter brownies around them were nice and dark from the black cocoa powder and had an Oreo-like scent. I photographed a brownie on its own and thought about making a brownie sundae with a scoop of homemade ice cream. But the weather was too chilly. 

Brownie Bites

I curled up with my hot, fudgy brownie and took my first bite. They’re thick and chewy as expected and have delightful little pops of crunch. From the flavorful, earthy walnuts that cut through the intense richness of the chocolate. The initial flavor is that slightly bitter black cocoa, which I love. But then it’s mellowed out by the sweetness of the chocolate, sugar, and the rich brown butter. There’s a slightly nutty and caramelized flavor from the espresso powder which pairs perfectly with the walnuts. Just like my favorite brownies at Treats, they are proud and thick and take more than a few bites to finish. But, like my brownie bites from the grocery store, I sliced up the rest of my brown butter brownies into bite-sized pieces. 

For the rest of the week I enjoyed them a little at a time. A little piece after lunch, here and there. A couple after dinner when I craved something sweet. I sometimes snuck a rogue walnut from the leftovers container as a snack throughout the day. Just as I almost, barely started to grow weary of the rich, dark chocolate, they were gone.

Easy to Make, Easy to Eat

This recipe is very easy to make. And my brown butter brownies are simple to throw together in a bowl or a pan on the stove. You can even bake them directly in the cast iron skillet, if you want. Just melt your brown butter, let it cool, and add the rest of your ingredients. I might worry about the batter sticking to the pan, but there are worse things than eating crispy brownie edges directly out of a skillet. And you can always take the batter out and grease the pan with butter before baking.

So this is my new go-to brownie recipe. And I never want to make regular brownies again after tasting brown butter brownies with walnuts. I’m excited however to try pecans or pistachios or almonds next time. Or to throw in potato chips, pretzels, and coconut like those garbage brownies from my early days of baking.

I really enjoyed making something a little easier this week, too, after feeling a bit run down and tired from life. It was nice to give myself a little bit of a break and curl up with a fudgy, hot brownie fresh out of the oven on a cold day in early spring. The days are either sunny and grassy now or bitter cold with spitting snow squalls. So, I’ll be here in Maine anticipating the actual start to spring. Which should be coming soon. Any day now.

Thank you for reading! Check out my Etsy for 100’s of my watercolor food prints and recipe cards. Use code THEFORKEDRING for 25% off. 

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Brown Butter Espresso Brownies

A rich, dark chocolate brownie recipe with brown butter, espresso powder, and black cocoa

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword brown butter, brownies

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 10

Author theforkedring

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter
• 1 1/3 cups walnuts
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 oz dark chocolate
• 2 whole eggs
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp espresso powder
• 2/3 cup AP flour + 1 tbsp
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Heat butter in a large skillet or pot over medium heat.
• Cook butter until lightly golden brown and bubbly. Add your walnuts and vanilla and stir to combine and remove from heat.
• Add your dark chocolate and stir to melt.
• In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, white sugar, and salt until light and fluffy.
• In a medium bowl, sift together the dark cocoa powder, espresso powder, AP flour, and baking powder.
• Add your melted chocolate, walnuts, and butter mixture to your egg mixture and combine.
• Add your dry ingredients and fold in with a spatula until no streaks are left.
• Grease and line an 8×8 square baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour in your brownie batter and spread with a spatula evenly.
• Bake for 30 – 40 minutes until a toothpick comes out half clean. The top should be shiny and cragged and still a little gooey in the center.
• Let rest for 20-30 minutes and dust with powdered sugar, slice, and serve.