Rose Levy Beranbaum’s Fudge Brownies

These fudge brownies are thick and wonderfully rich. If you like moist, dense brownies, these are for you. And they are not overly sweet, but just right. If you like to eat brownies right out of the freezer, the fudgy texture of these is a winner.

My preference is brownies without nuts and the flavor and texture of these would be more than fine without nuts, if that is your choice.

I cut the brownies into 2-inch square which gave me 16 brownies. But who can eat only one? Plan on these as a dessert for 8 people.

These brownies are a chocolate lover’s dream! They bake up very thick with a rich and smooth chocolatey flavor (surprising since the recipe called for the ultra-dark chocolate which tends to be bitter on its own), nice crunchy-chewy edges, and a fudgy interior. We also loved the toasted walnuts in each bite. They are definitely standout brownies that I’ll keep making.

This is a fairly standard recipe except for the addition of white chocolate. I think this adds a slightly different flavor but it’s not unpleasant. (It actually makes the brownie taste a bit more like brownie mix rather than homemade.) The moisture level is very good for a fudge brownie. It’s also very easy.

If I didn’t have my own brownie recipes (mostly tried and true), I might use this one. I prefer a deeper chocolate flavor and would probably replace the white chocolate with some other darker chocolate. However, this is a good recipe.

A first look suggests yet another brownie recipe, but after careful inspection you notice that this one has surprise ingredients like white chocolate and other details often overlooked in a brownie recipe. In a word, these are outstanding. They offer texture and taste and they will please any crowd.

The details make the recipe a bit time-consuming but each detail adds a step that is so worthwhile. The preparation of the pan alone takes more than a minute including parchment, butter, and baking spray with flour. (I actually don’t stock the spray with flour and ended up using plain baking spray and had no trouble with sticking.)

I was surprised by the inclusion of white chocolate but perhaps it is the cocoa butter in it that really does create the special texture of these brownies.

Toasting walnuts always enhances the flavor but never before have I rolled them in a dish towel to release the skins. A brilliant idea!

The directions are clear and worked like a charm.

I loved the detail in the directions to round the center and it resulted in a perfectly level brownie. Additionally, I would suggest refrigerating these brownies prior to cutting them as they are very tender at room temperature. They happen to taste fantastic right out of the refrigerator. They are rich and I think that a small brownie is a perfectly sized serving. I cut mine into 16 pieces.

I loved that I didn’t need my stand mixer and that miracles were performed with a bowl, whisk, and double boiler.

The only complaint among my testers was that there weren’t more!

The recipe worked as stated. The walnuts gave the brownie I nice taste and texture and I would make the recipe again, and would recommend it to others. My only criticism was that I thought the texture was at the edges a little too crisp and I wondered if it was overcooked by about 5 minutes.

These are everything as promised. Rich and chocolaty with a crisp, crunchy surface, soft melty center, and lovely chewy walnuts that made for a perfect bite. The directions are clear and precise, which ensures that every baker finds success. Definitely worth keeping all the ingredients on hand so these can be whipped up at the slightest craving. Mmm, these would also be wonderful with pecans or maybe hazelnuts, oh the possibilities!

There brownies were extremely fudgy and, I’m sure, very pudgy, too. I’m not really sure they got completely done, as by the “toothpick test” they tested done at 25 minutes, rather than the 30 to 40 as was suggested in the recipe. The taste was delicious, though. The end product was very, very moist, but delicious, as I also mentioned.

I thoroughly enjoyed these brownies. They are definitely chocolaty. The brownie batter came together easily. I used 99% cacao chocolate and had no trouble finding white chocolate that had cocoa butter as an ingredient.

I truly liked the ease of the preparation of this batter. The batter did become thick and glossy after adding the eggs and vanilla and this only took about 30 seconds. I used foil to line my baking dish and this was perfect. It came off the brownies simply. I was able to cut this into 20 small, but perfect, brownies.

I liked these brownies very much and could make these over and over again. The only caveat is that the recipe calls them “fudge brownies” and they were not exactly fudgy.