These fudgy, moist and deeply chocolatey brownie bites are a winner of a recipe. They are practically foolproof bites of heaven made with real dark chocolate to give irresistibly rich and gooey brownie bites with that signature crispy top and fudgy centre.
I love making brownies this way as it is much easier to get consistent results across the batch. When you make brownies in a big tray, some pieces are fudgier, whilst others don’t have that all important crispy top. By making brownie bites in a muffin tin, you can guarantee that each one will be utterly delicious.
Why you'll love these Brownie Bites
- These brownie bites are more foolproof than a tray of brownies - especially using this quick and simple recipe.
- They are perfect to make for a party — especially if you make them in muffin cases.
- They freeze well individually so you always have a stash when the brownie craving hits.
- The brownies stay really moist and gooey for more than just one day.
What you will need for these Brownie Bites:
Dark chocolate - opt for a good-quality dark chocolate with 70% cocoa. This helps create the rich, chocolatey flavour
Butter - I recommend using unsalted butter so you can control the salt level.
Eggs - use free-range eggs if you can. I always choose large ones stamped with the British Lion.
Caster sugar - this adds a delicate sweetness. You could also use golden caster sugar or granulated sugar.
Soft light brown sugar - this adds a lovely molasses-caramel type flavour to the brownie bites. You could use soft dark brown sugar for an even deeper flavour.
Vanilla extract - always choose vanilla extract, vanilla bean paste or vanilla pods (avoid vanilla essence which will give you a synthetic flavour).
Salt - this won’t make the brownie bites taste salty! It just helps balance the sweetness of the sugars and richness of the dark chocolate. I recommend Maldon Salt Flakes.
Plain flour - also known as all-purpose flour. Brownies don’t have too much flour to prevent them from becoming too ‘cakey’.
See recipe card for the exact recipe with a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and Variations:
Soft light brown sugar -you could use soft dark brown sugar for an even deeper flavour. It will almost be caramel-like. The mix of two sugars makes them chewy and rich.
Caster sugar - You could also use golden caster sugar or granulated sugar.
Dark chocolate - Keep dark chocolate as the chocolate of choice for melting into the batter but when it comes to mix-ins, you could mix it up. It would be good with milk chocolate chunks, white chocolate chunks, nuts such as pistachios or walnuts. You could try with some raspberries but go sparingly as you don't want to make it too soggy.
Here's how to make delicious Brownie Bites:
Here's a step by step guide for what you need to do, but you can find the full recipe below for detailed instructions.
ONE: Put the butter and 140g chopped dark chocolate into a medium heat-proof bowl. Set over a pan of barely simmering water, ensuring the bottom of the bowl doesn’t come into contact with the water (or the chocolate will overheat) and allow it to slowly melt.
TWO: Meanwhile, place the eggs and sugars in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk on medium-high speed for about 1 minute - or until pale, thick and roughly doubled in size.
THREE: Add the chocolate-butter mixture and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
FOUR: Sift in the flour and salt, then fold in until you have a smooth batter. Add the chopped chocolate, if using, and mix until evenly distributed throughout the batter.
FIVE: Scoop into the prepared muffin tins (I like to use an ice cream scoop) - you should make about 9 brownie bites.
SIX: Bake for about 13-15 minutes - or until the tops are puffed up. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin.
Cooking Tips:
Serving suggestions: These Brownie Bites are delicious as a simple snack with a cup of coffee or as a teatime treat. I also love them served warm for pudding with a generous drizzle of double cream and some seasonal berries (raspberries, cherries and strawberries all work well). You could serve with a scoop of ice cream and a berry coulis instead.
Frequently Asked Questions:
The best thing since sliced bread! Joking aside, brownie bites are miniature versions of classic chocolate brownies. Think rich and chocolatey cupcake-sized treats with a delicious fudgy centre.
Although they have similar sounding names, and many people think that blondies are just white chocolate brownies, they are rather different. Brownies are known for having a dense, fudgy and gooey texture, whilst blondies tend to be lighter, softer and more ‘cakey’. Tastewise, brownies have a rich, deep chocolate flavour due to common ingredients like dark chocolate and cocoa powder. On the other hand, blondies are sweeter with caramel-butterscotch notes. Both recipes are very versatile and can be ‘personalised’ with various additions like chocolate chunks and chopped nuts.
I would recommend sticking with the dark chocolate for the batter, but you can absolutely use milk or white chocolate for the chopped chocolate chunks. In fact, you could use a mixture for triple chocolate brownie bites!
Chocolate chips are small teardrop shaped chocolate droplets that have been specifically designed to withstand high temperatures and hold their shape when baking. This means they don’t melt and look rather pretty in things like cookies and brownies - they also tend to taste sweeter as they often have a higher sugar content and lower cocoa butter content than chocolate bars. In contrast, chocolate chunks (made from chopping up your own chocolate bar) will vary in size and melt into gloriously gooey puddles of molten chocolate during baking. They won’t look as pretty or uniform, but will taste absolutely delicious. You also have more control of the sugar level as you can vary your choice of chocolate.
Other recipes you may enjoy:
I love to bake simple, easy things (as well as larger showstoppers too) so I have plenty more recipes like this. Try my Chocolate Chunk Muffins for the best ever chocolate muffins, with chocolate batter and chocolate chunks mixed through. I love my Simple Moist Chocolate Cake recipe too, it's moist and so foolproof. For something a little impressive, this Melt-in-the-Middle Chocolate Cake is unbelievably good. If you want to mix it up from chocolate, try my Banana & Chocolate Muffins. They are so moist and delicious. Or my Banana Bread Bars with Burnt Honey Cream is banana bread levelled up. It has a whipped cream on top flavoured with burnt honey and it is really incredible.
Made this recipe and loved it?
I would love love LOVE if you could leave a review in the comments… I love hearing what you thought, any changes you made, the stories behind what made you try my recipes. Also, if you share a photo on Instagram, please tag me @desertislanddishes, it makes my day to see you making my creations!
PrintBrownie Bites
Fudgy, chocolately bites of heaven - these brownie bites are quick, simple and utterly delicious. The perfect sweet treat.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 9 muffins 1x
Ingredients
- For the batter:
80g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
140g good-quality dark chocolate, roughly chopped
2 large eggs
100g caster sugar
100g soft light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
70g plain flour
½ teaspoon salt
For the filling:
- 80g good-quality dark chocolate, roughly chopped (optional)
To serve (optional):
- Double cream
- Ice cream
- Fresh berries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C Fan and grease 9 holes of a muffin tin with butter (or use paper cases if you are worried about them sticking).
- Put the butter and 140g chopped dark chocolate into a medium heat-proof bowl. Set over a pan of barely simmering water, ensuring the bottom of the bowl doesn’t come into contact with the water (or the chocolate will overheat) and allow it to slowly melt, stirring often until smooth (alternatively, pop into a microwave-safe bowl and melt in 20 second bursts, stirring between each - this is the quickest method but you have to watch closely and ensure it doesn’t overheat). Set aside to cool slightly.
- Meanwhile, place the eggs and sugars in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk on medium-high speed for about 1 minute - or until pale, thick and roughly doubled in size.
- Add the chocolate-butter mixture and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
- Sift in the flour and salt, then fold in until you have a smooth batter. Add the chopped chocolate, if using, and mix until evenly distributed throughout the batter.
- Scoop into the prepared muffin tins (I like to use an ice cream scoop) - you should make about 9 brownie bites.
- Bake for about 13-15 minutes - or until the tops are puffed up. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin.
- Serve with a cup of tea or coffee - or as a pudding with double cream or ice cream and fresh berries.
Notes
- Always undercook rather than overcook anything brownie-related. If these brownie bites are too soft, you can put them in the fridge to firm up and they will go fudgy and delicious. If you overcook, they will be too cake-like.
- If serving for a pudding, pop them in the microwave for about 20 seconds to warm through (just make sure you haven't used foil cupcake liners).
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