MARTHASTEWART.COM

Mocha Brownies

Lining the pan isn't busywork; it makes it easy to remove the brownies.
Everyday Food, May 2007
  • Prep Time 15 minutes
  • Total Time 3 hours
  • Yield Makes 16
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Ingredients

  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for pan
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
  • 8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 3 large eggs

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a 9-inch square baking pan with butter. Line bottom and two sides with a strip of parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the two sides. Butter paper, and set pan aside. In a small bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

  2. Place butter and chocolate in a large heat-proof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of gently simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes; remove bowl from pan. Add sugar; mix to combine. Add eggs, and mix to combine. Add flour mixture; mix just until moistened (do not overmix). Add instant espresso powder. Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top.

  3. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool in pan for 30 minutes. Using paper overhang, lift brownies out of pan; transfer to a rack to cool completely (still on paper). On a cutting board, using a dampened serrated knife, cut into 16 squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature, up to 2 days.

Recipe Reviews

Reviews (32)

  • Fatma Al Thani
    16 Aug, 2012

    Great one, bake for 28 min.

  • AnneN
    27 Jun, 2011

    mykele: I totally agree with your post. I looked at that baking time and it's way off. I would go with 25-35 minutes too.

  • mykele
    27 Jun, 2011

    I am a bit puzzled with the baking time. Most brownie recipes
    in the 8 or 9 inch pans take about 25 to35 minutes at most.
    If anyone has baked this recipe, please post the baking
    time that you used. Thank you in advance, Mykele

  • sunflower1234
    30 May, 2011

    Sorry my bake time was a typo lol. I baked for 50 mins and it was too long.

  • sunflower1234
    30 May, 2011

    Bake time is a typo for sure as others have stated. I baked for 40 mins, waaaay too long. I would like to try it again at around 30 mins. I made the Deep Dark brownies and they were awesome!

  • lemon23
    11 Feb, 2011

    these were great! very easy, pretty quick. I just microwaved the 8 oz of chocolate and butter together and it worked fine. I also just sprayed my pan with some cooking spray and the brownies came out very clean! i cooked mine for about 45 minutes and they were perfect. yum!

  • gailmjh
    29 Aug, 2010

    Drecrease baking time to 35 min.,

  • gailmjh
    29 Aug, 2010

    Everyone in the family loved the brownies, but the baking time HAS to be a misprint. Baking them for 50-60 minutes made the edges hard, dry

  • anabelles
    7 Jun, 2010

    I've just made these and they're divine... I did had a few white chocolate chips for a little more pizzazz - very happy!!!

  • Shanigirl
    31 Mar, 2010

    alicemarie - I get mine right at my regular grocery store. I ususally find it in the same area as the other drink mixes like hot cocoa. Check with coffee products if not. It can be used for sooo much - I even add it to chilli, beef stew and rubs for meats!

  • Shanigirl
    31 Mar, 2010

    alicemarie - I get mine right at my regular grocery store. I ususally find it in the same area as the other drink mixes like hot cocoa. Check with coffee products if not. It can be used for sooo much - I even add it to chilli, beef stew and rubs for meats!

  • bettrhaf
    31 Mar, 2010

    8 T. butter = 1/2 cup butter which = one 1/4 lb. of butter
    16 T. = 1 cup

  • alicemarie
    31 Mar, 2010

    I have seen a number of recipes calling for instant expresso powder .. where can I purchase this item? Thanks for the hint of using Suisse Mocha, that I can find.

  • nands
    21 Jun, 2009

    8 tbps is almost a cup of butter. nescafe should be fine too

  • Exysay
    23 May, 2009

    Really easy and rich. I could not find the espresso powder so used general foods suisse mocha instead - low calorie. Tasted awesome!

  • jmhnath
    16 May, 2009

    these are great but SO FREAKING RICH!!

  • ini
    25 Mar, 2009

    8 tablespoon of butter is equivalent to how many grams?can nescafe used instate of instant espresso?

  • Nellifer
    7 Mar, 2009

    This is a really easy recipe to follow, and the end results are even better. I added a splash of peppermint extract to the batter along with the espresso powder for more flavour!

  • Suzngr
    5 Mar, 2009

    looks great

  • Suzngr
    5 Mar, 2009

    looks great

  • Suzngr
    5 Mar, 2009

    looks great

  • Chezyl
    5 Mar, 2009

    I believe there is a misprint in the baking time. I cooked mine for 50 minutes and they were burned on the sides and the bottom. I was very disappointed since I was taking them to my bridge group not to mention but good chocolate isn't cheap.

  • schrinpmo
    3 Mar, 2009

    it would be nice to know if these are dense or cakey. i don't like the heavy ones

    thanks

    carol

  • jogs
    3 Mar, 2009

    Cooking times will vary depending on what texture you/family likes. Also depends on what you put in.

  • lvtocraft
    3 Mar, 2009

    Thank you mykele.. I often wondered why my brownies were not chewee.

  • mykele
    3 Mar, 2009

    Ladies, a point to remember when baking brownies, Never overbake.
    Always check at the shortest baking time with a fine skewer or
    toothpick ....it should come out with a hint of crumbs sticking
    to the toothpick and still a bit damp. The center of the
    brownie will continue to "cook" after removal from the oven.
    I personally would start checking at 35 to 40 minutes.
    oven.

  • mrsmagoo2005
    3 Mar, 2009

    Love these being dense. I bake two batches of them and sandwich ice cream between them. Makes wonderful ice cream sandwiches.

  • xo23
    3 Mar, 2009

    you say add espresso powder in second step.. should i mix the mixture again?

  • LeA-apiapi
    3 Mar, 2009

    I have been drooling to try baking all the new recipes but since moved to new place, i can't bake and cook like before anymore... *sigh* ... the mocha brownies looks sooooo tempting...

  • jedrek
    24 Nov, 2008

    I baked this in a slightly larger pan so I cut the baking time to 40 minutes and they came out PERFECT.

  • Copenhagenmama
    1 Jun, 2008

    I baked less time too as edges were getting done too quickly... Texture was crumbly but dense, maybe due to the fact that I cut sugar to 3/4 cup, a bit over that because I like my chocolate bitter. The flavour of these brownies is intense and so incredibly addicitve... Delicious!!!

  • slurp
    3 Mar, 2008

    The brownies were good to taste, but did not bake right. I baked them for 50 mins and the edges over-baked turning dry and hard once they cooled. The centre was way too dense. I wil try a shorter bake time the next time. Worth giving one more try.