Brownies come in many forms and flavors and these chocolate chip brownies are truly a treat. A decadent brownie base is covered with semisweet and white or vanilla chips, along with chopped walnuts. There’s no frosting, so there’s no worry about smearing the inside of your lunch box or having to refrigerate the brownies.
All the ingredients used in this recipe are easy to find and if you bake frequently, you may even already have them in your cupboard. They bake up relatively quickly and store well, especially if you freeze them. These are tasty snacks and convenient classroom party or bake-sale brownies, too!
Chocolate Chip Brownies Ingredients
- Butter: Use unsalted butter in this recipe. Salted butter tastes great when spread on toast, but when mixed into a baking recipe, it can make the brownies taste a little saltier and increase the sodium content.
- Sugar: When you cream the butter and sugar, ensure you mix them for at least five minutes. The less time you spend creaming the two, the flatter the final mixture because creaming adds air to the batter.
- Eggs: Eggs serve as binding and leavening agents for the ingredients. Beaten eggs add more air to the batter.
- Vanilla extract: Vanilla extract adds flavor; you might not taste it outright in the baked brownies, but if you leave it out, the brownies’ flavor will seem less full.
- All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour is your go-to for brownies. It is strong enough to provide structure but not strong enough to make the brownies tough.
- Baking cocoa: Unsweetened baking cocoa lets you control the sweetness of the brownies instead of adding more sugar to the recipe.
- Baking powder: Baking powder is the primary raising agent. It contains both baking soda and cream of tartar
- Semisweet chocolate chips: Use semisweet for the best control over the sweetness of the brownies. Semisweet chips have some sugar, so they won’t be too bitter to eat. But they also don’t have a lot of sugar, so the baked brownies won’t taste too sweet, either.
- Vanilla or white chips: These add flavor and make the brownies look more attractive.
- Chopped walnuts: Walnuts give the brownies a nice bit of crunch.
Directions
Step 1: Mix the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl for five to seven minutes, until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs and vanilla and make sure they’re combined well. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt into another bowl. Carefully add the dry ingredients to the butter, sugar and egg mixture and blend everything carefully. The batter should not be overmixed.
Step 2: Add the chips and bake the brownies
Grease two 9-inch square baking pans. Pour the batter into each pan and sprinkle the chips and nuts over the top of the brownie batter. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. You can test doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center (it should come out clean). Let the brownies cool.
Chocolate Chip Brownies Variations
- Make this recipe nut-free: If you want to make this recipe nut-free, leave out the walnuts and add an equal amount of extra chocolate chips instead.
- Try other nuts: If you can have nuts but don’t like walnuts, use other chopped nuts like peanuts, almonds or pecans. Or, swirl in some sweetened peanut butter, as seen in this layered peanut butter brownies recipe.
- Change the chip flavor: Semisweet chocolate chips and vanilla or white chips are a good combination that will be sweet but not too sweet for most people. But you can change the flavors of the chips if you want to experiment. Try combinations like semisweet and strawberry chips, semisweet and mint chips or dark chocolate and white chips. You can also chop up candy and sprinkle it over the top, like in these mint brownies.
How to Store Chocolate Chip Brownies
These brownies with chocolate chips refrigerate and freeze well. You can also leave them on the counter if you prefer. However, you’ll need to wrap them properly and eat them quickly. For counter storage, wrap the brownies in plastic wrap once they’re completely cool and then add another layer of foil for extra protection. Place them in an airtight container and eat these brownies within five days. For refrigerator storage, wrap the brownies in plastic wrap and optional foil, place in the airtight container and eat them within a couple of weeks. For freezer storage, wrap the brownies in plastic wrap and a foil layer. Place them in a freezer-friendly storage container and store for up to two months.
Can you reheat Chocolate Chip Brownies?
If you want to heat up frozen brownies, either warm up a couple in the microwave for about 20 seconds (you may need another five or 10 seconds after the initial 20), or warm up the brownies in the oven for five to 15 minutes at 350°. The larger the amount of brownies you’re reheating, the longer the time you’ll need to leave them in the oven.
Chocolate Chip Brownies Tips
What can you do if you don’t have baking powder?
If you can’t get to the store to buy baking powder, you can make your own baking powder with baking soda and cream of tartar. Combine two parts cream of tartar with one part baking soda. That means that if you have 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar, you’d mix them with 1 tablespoon of baking soda. Mix thoroughly and measure the amount needed for the recipe.
Can you use baking chocolate instead of cocoa powder?
Don’t use baking chocolate in this recipe. You’d have to melt the chocolate, which would add unnecessary moisture and affect the final texture of the brownies.
Can you use cake or pastry flour instead of all-purpose?
It’s really much better to use all-purpose flour for these brownies. Cake flour and pastry flour don’t really have enough protein and gluten to make the brownies as chewy as they should be. Gluten adds structure. Too much can make a baked good too tough and too little means the baked good will be too delicate and flat. Sometimes you can get away with using pastry flour if you have one that’s got more protein, which is usually expressed as a range of percentages, like 11% to 12%. Higher protein means there’s more of the protein that forms gluten.
