The best brownies: Julia Child's Amazing Brownie Recipe (2024)

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by Garlic Girl 17 Comments

You will never need another brownie recipe after this one.

I won’t even distract you with any other words in this postso the main point doesn’t get lost. And the main point is that you’ve got to try this brownie recipe!

If you love rich, gooey, chewy and chocolaty brownies – the kind that make milk a necessity – thisis the brownie recipe for you. You do not need to add thepeanut butter mixture, but I think it was a reallyyummy addition to an already perfect brownie. This original recipe appears to be a Julia Child recipe, but it seems to have been revised from where I found it. And then I made more adaptations. I’d love to think it started with her, so I’ll just call it Julia Child’s Amazing Brownie Recipe.

Enjoy!

The best brownies: Julia Child's Amazing Brownie Recipe (2)

Print Recipe

Julia Child's Amazing Brownie Recipe

Servings: 12

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 8 ounces unsalted butter
  • 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate coarsely chopped
  • 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate coarsely chopped (Iused chocolate chips)
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 4 large eggs room temperature

Optional Peanut Butter Filling

  • 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons butter room temperature

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 350°.

  • Sift flour and salt together; set aside.

  • *Optional step for peanut butter filling: With electric mixer, beat peanut butter, powdered sugar, and butter until very creamy, about 3 minutes. Set aside.

  • To make the brownies, melt chocolate with butter in double boiler, stirring frequently. Alternatively, you can melt in microwave in 30-second increments, stirring in between. After dissolving, add 1 cup of the sugar to the mixture; stir to blend. Add vanilla and stir.

  • Pour the mixture into a large bowl.

  • In stand mixing bowl whisk together the remaining cup of sugar and the eggs until just combined.

  • Little by little, pour half of the sugar and eggs into the chocolate mixture, stirring gently but constantly with a rubber spatula so that the eggs don't set from the heat.

  • Using whisk attachment, whip the remaining sugar and eggs until they are thick, pale, and doubled in volume, about 3-4 minutes.

  • Using rubber spatula, delicately fold the whipped eggs into the chocolate mixture.

  • When the eggs are almost completely incorporated, gently fold in the dry ingredients.

  • Pour and scrape the batter in to an unbuttered 9-inch square pan. Note: I sprayed with a little baking spray just to make sure they didn't stick.

  • *Optional step: drop teaspoonfuls of peanut mixture on top of the batter and throughout the pan.

  • Bake the brownies for a minimum of 45 minutes, during which time they will rise a little and the top will turn dark and dry.

  • Cut into the center at about the 30-minute mark to see how the brownies are progressing: they are perfect when they are just barely set and still a little gooey. Note: Some people like them a little less gooey. If so, bake an extra few minutes.

  • Cool the brownies in the pan on a rack.

  • Optional: sprinkle with powdered sugar.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. The best brownies: Julia Child's Amazing Brownie Recipe (3)Kimberly Vaswani

    Hi,

    Thank you so much for posting this recipe! I have spent the last week trying to recreate the taste of a brownie that I made in 1996, and I have baked 6 brownie recipes since Sunday. I was beginning to become rather discouraged, but then I saw your recipe today I had a sense of hope, 1) from the beautiful picture and 2) it was Julia Child’s recipe. The brownies are so wonderful, they leave you speechless. When I fed it to my husband I said, “Your going to need a minute after you take a bite.” Food should always taste this good! I am so happy to finally have the recipe for the perfect brownie, at least in my opinion. And this time I won’t lose it. Thanks for all the work you put into your blog and for posting recipes worth posting!!

    Reply

    • The best brownies: Julia Child's Amazing Brownie Recipe (4)Garlic Girl

      What a sweet comment! I am so glad you enjoyed it!!

      Reply

  2. The best brownies: Julia Child's Amazing Brownie Recipe (5)Angie K

    These were fantastic but 22-26 minutes wasn’t nearly enough time in the oven. I had to bake mine for about 50 minutes just to get them to set. Just fyi for anyone else trying this recipe.

    Reply

    • The best brownies: Julia Child's Amazing Brownie Recipe (7)Garlic Girl

      Hi Jessica,
      I’ve heard equal enthusiasm for both versions! 🙂
      Jodi

      Reply

  3. The best brownies: Julia Child's Amazing Brownie Recipe (8)Brenda

    Am I reading this correctly? Pour the brownie batter in a 9″ pan and then drop teaspoons of peanut butter mixture on top of that?

    Reply

    • The best brownies: Julia Child's Amazing Brownie Recipe (9)Garlic Girl

      That’s correct!

      Reply

  4. The best brownies: Julia Child's Amazing Brownie Recipe (10)Merilee

    I don’t have a whisk attachment for my mixer. Should I whisk by hand or whip with my mixer.

    Reply

    • The best brownies: Julia Child's Amazing Brownie Recipe (11)Garlic Girl

      Hi there – I would use an electric mixer. Of course if you don’t have one, then beat by hand with whisk. Enjoy!

      Reply

  5. The best brownies: Julia Child's Amazing Brownie Recipe (12)Anonymous

    What can be substituted for eggs?

    Reply

  6. The best brownies: Julia Child's Amazing Brownie Recipe (14)Stefanie

    Good evening. Found your blog post via Pinterest. Would I be able to substitute the peanut butter with another? My youngest is allergic to peanuts. Thank you.

    Reply

    • The best brownies: Julia Child's Amazing Brownie Recipe (15)Garlic Girl

      Hi there! I’ve made these without PB more than with. So I’d recommend just leaving it out. 😊
      GG

      Reply

  7. The best brownies: Julia Child's Amazing Brownie Recipe (16)Becca

    These were absolutely the best brownies I’ve ever had!! I’ve been “perfecting” my own recipe for years. Whipping the egg mixture adds so much to the recipe. I made the brownies about 7 hours ago and my boys have eaten every last one of them!!

    Reply

    • The best brownies: Julia Child's Amazing Brownie Recipe (17)Garlic Girl

      Oh yay! So glad you love them too! I need to make them again soon!

      Reply

  8. The best brownies: Julia Child's Amazing Brownie Recipe (18)Dolly N.

    I just deleted all my other brownie recipes. Due to time and ingredient constraints, I used all 85% chocolate and used the one-bowl method (no beating the eggs separately. The brownies were glorious. This is the only brownie recipe for me! I am looking forward to trying the peanut butter version next.) Thank you.

    Reply

    • The best brownies: Julia Child's Amazing Brownie Recipe (19)Garlic Girl

      Yessss! Now I need to make them again! 😊

      Reply

Leave a Reply

The best brownies: Julia Child's Amazing Brownie Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are Katharine Hepburn brownies? ›

The brownies are made with unsweetened chocolate, which is also known as baking, plain or bitter chocolate. It is chocolate in its rawest form and this means that unsweetened chocolate is just ground cocoa nibs that have been refined and contain between 50-55% cocoa butter (cacao fat).

What can I add to brownies to make them taste better? ›

Six Sneaky Ways To Make Brownie Mix Taste Homemade
  1. Use melted butter instead of oil.
  2. Use milk, flavored creamers, or brewed coffee instead of water.
  3. Add extracts or flavorings.
  4. Add mix-ins like cookies and candies.
  5. Underbake, just slightly.
  6. Toppings.
  7. My Favorite Mix-Ins and Toppings.
Jan 19, 2021

What are the three types of brownies? ›

Brownie textures fall into three general camps… Cakey, fudgy and chewy. Cakey brownies, like the name implies, are light, moist and airy, with a slightly fluffy, cake-like interior. Fudgy brownies are moist, dense and gooey, with almost the texture of fudge, but not quite as compact.

What's the difference between chocolate brownies and cocoa brownies? ›

Cocoa and chocolate brownies differ the most from an ingredient standpoint when it comes to the type of fat used: cocoa brownies often use oil, and chocolate brownies use butter. This, partnered with the flavor that cocoa and chocolate each give their brownies, is the biggest difference in the texture of either type.

Why are they called blonde brownies? ›

The name 'blondies' comes from their light color, which contrasts with the dark color of traditional brownies.

What are the Little Debbie brownies called? ›

FUDGE BROWNIES. In January of 1969, Fudge Brownies are introduced to the Little Debbie Family Pack line up. Featuring a classic fudgey brownie with English walnuts, these popular snacks were around for over 50 years! Fudge Brownies. It's a classic!

What makes brownies fudgy instead of cakey? ›

Fudgy brownies have a higher fat-to-flour ratio than cakey ones. So add more fat—in this case, butter and chocolate. A cakey batch has more flour and relies on baking powder for leavening. The amount of sugar and eggs does not change whether you're going fudgy or cakey.

Which piece of brownie is best? ›

But, when it comes down to it, edge pieces are the real stars of the show. Often overlooked, edge pieces are a happy medium between the moist center and the crispy corners, adding just a little bit of crunch to the warm, chocolaty goodness.

Are brownies better with butter or oil? ›

In brownies, both butter and oil will offer a moist, tender texture, but only butter will give the dish the aeration needed for rising brownies well. If you use a cake brownie, butter is a better option because it helps rise the batter. For denser, fudge type brownies, oil is permissable.

What is the old version of brownies? ›

Did you know that Brownies were originally called 'Rosebuds'? Rosebuds was established in 1914 for girls to join before they became Guides. Just one year later, the name was changed to Brownies. Brownies are the second-youngest members of the Girlguiding family, for girls aged between 7 and 10.

Should you sift cocoa powder for brownies? ›

If you don't get rid of them, they can bake up into dry spots in your brownies. Take the extra few seconds to sift the amount of cocoa powder called for in the recipe with a sifter or a fine mesh strainer.

Which cocoa powder is best for brownies? ›

“When it comes to baking, I prefer Dutch process cocoa powder,” says former BA food editor Claire Saffitz. “The alkalizing process darkens the color and typically deepens the flavor.” Dutch process cocoa powder produces baked goods that taste more intensely chocolatey.

What are brownies in folklore? ›

brownie, in English and Scottish folklore, a small, industrious fairy or hobgoblin believed to inhabit houses and barns. Rarely seen, he was often heard at night, cleaning and doing housework; he also sometimes mischievously disarranged rooms.

What is in brownies on the moon? ›

Description. The most delicious brownies are combined with premium high-quality chocolate cream and vanilla ice cream to give you an experience that is out of this world!

Why is brownies changing their name? ›

Girl Guides of Canada announced Wednesday it's changing the name of its Brownies branch to Embers in an effort to be more inclusive. The organization said in November it wanted to change the name of its program for seven- and eight-year-old girls to remove barriers for those who are racialized.

Is an elf a brownie? ›

House elves also resemble brownies in appearance, being small, but they have larger heads and large, bat-like ears. Rowling's books also include boggarts, which are sometimes traditionally described as brownies turned malevolent.

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