If you’ve had Little Pastry Shop brownies, then you know how fudgy, chewy, ooey, gooey and delicious they are and you’ve probably (at least once) wondered how you can make these delectable treats at home. If you’re a fan of our brownies then you’ll be excited to get the inside scoop on the recipe and process to make them at home.
The first time I made these brownies, I used a base recipe as I do a lot of the time. I bake it once, I taste it and I decide if it’s missing something, if it needs more or less of something, or what other tweaks it might need to make it just a little bit better. Now remember, better is relative. My taste will be different than your taste and I want to encourage you to make changes as you see fit too! That’s what makes baking incredible. One basic recipe can be changed in a million ways to make it unique for each person.
The following recipe will just be for a base brownie which you can top with any kind of topping, frosting, garnish you desire and you can absolutely stuff these with as many and whatever flavour chocolate chips you want and it will not change the quality of the bake.
I will caution you not to over bake the brownies if you want them to have that same chewy texture. When you pull them out they may seem a smidge under baked but they will continue to cook in the pan while they cool. These brownies will come out with crispy edges and the whole middle will be chewy and delicious. If you're like me, your favourite part of the brownie is the crispy corners. I will literally take a corner piece, cut off the edges and eat just the crispy edge bits from it! The. Best! But to each their own.
A few things to note:
A cooling rack is incredibly handy if you have one, but not completely necessary. It will cool the brownies faster and more evenly.
An oven thermometer is helpful so that your bakes can be consistent regardless of what it is you’re baking at home, so I suggest everyone invest in one of these. They’re cheap and will give you insight into the exact temperature of your specific oven. None of them are exactly the same and almost every single one is off by at least a few degrees.
While you could hand mix these, for best results use a hand mixer or a stand mixer (yes I have opinions on these too but for this recipe the brand or type doesn’t really matter)
Please please please buy a kitchen scale. I’m happy to share alllllll the recipes with you guys but they will always be weight measurements because they are incredibly accurate and consistent vs. cup measurements.
Vanillas are not all created equal. Real vanilla makes a difference and vanilla bean paste has vanilla bean seeds in it. Please invest in real vanilla for all your baking. Trust me & you’re welcome!
LPS Brownies
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and spray a 9 x 13 pan with non stick cooking spray OR line with parchment paper.
257g butter - melted
2 tbsp vegetable oil
500g sugar
Mix until light in colour and fluffy, about 2-4 minutes.
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla (I use vanilla bean paste but vanilla extract is fine)
Mix until the colour lightens, about a minute or 2.
156g all purpose flour
120g cocoa powder
1 tsp espresso powder (enhances the chocolate flavour)
1/2 tsp salt
Mix these in a separate bowl with a whisk and then add to the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined.
Pour into your prepared 9 x 13 pan and bake for 35 minutes. If you’re using your oven thermometer and your oven is actually at 350 then 35 minutes is the magic number. If not then start with 30 minutes and what you’re looking for is when you insert a toothpick in the centre, only a small amount of brownie batter sticks. Remove them at this point to continue to cook while they cool.
I'd love to see what your brownies look like and how you each decide to top and decorate them, so send me photos or post on social media and tag Little Pastry Shop! Be creative and have fun :)