The Cutest Little Brownie Bites

I could eat 100 of these homemade brownie bites! With just a handful of pantry staple ingredients, they’re ridiculously chewy, chocolatey, simple to make, and the batter comes together in minutes. Truly the easiest party dessert ever!

It’s not that we really needed to do anything to brownies. We already have chocolate and chewiness and fudginess. But, if I could be a little selfish here? Sometimes, I’m not in the mood for slicing a bunch of bars and making them look pretty. Sometimes, I just want to scoop, bake, and throw everything on a platter.

And that’s what we get with these little bite-sized treats. Brownies have been my go-to party dessert since, oh I don’t know, high school? I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love a brownie. But these are even better because all you have to do is sprinkle them with flaky salt and let the people party.

This dessert is based on the triple chocolate brownies I’ve been making since I was in pastry school. They are uber chocolatey, the chewiest, and have a pretty shiny top. Better than store-bought every time.

If you want even more bite-size party desserts, make sure to check out these mini chocolate chip cookies and mini chocolate cupcakes. They’re some of my favorites!

A one-bowl party dessert

I think brownies get overlooked as a party dessert because they’ve been around for ages. But why mess with a good thing? Serve them as-is for casual parties, game nights, or holidays. If you want to make them extra fancy, add a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream. You can’t go wrong.

• These brownies are made in one-bowl with pantry staple ingredients.
• They have gorgeous, caramelized edges and perfectly chewy centers.
• This recipe makes 36 bites, so they’re amazing for a crowd!

Butter vs. oil

You can use oil or butter in brownies, but I typically use butter. It honestly just tastes better. And butter is key for a shiny top and soft brownies! Oil has crunchier edges and more of a ‘boxed’ taste which isn’t bad, it’s just not really what I personally want out of a brownie.

So needless to say, you will need 10 Tablespoons of unsalted butter for this recipe. You’ll also want to pick up bittersweet chocolate, sugar, cocoa powder, eggs, vanilla extract, flour, espresso powder, Morton’s Kosher salt, and flaky salt.

The espresso powder and flaky salt are optional but definitely recommended. The espresso powder helps the brownies taste more chocolatey and the flaky salt sprinkle offsets the sweetness. So good!

Grease the pan

First thing’s first, you have to spray the mini muffin tin really, really well. I swear, it’s key for making sure the brownies come out nice and pretty (and not smushed). I tried a few different methods when I was testing this recipe: brushing the muffin tins with avocado oil, using regular cooking spray, and using baking spray.

The avocado oil worked ok, but I had a hard time getting the brownies out. The cooking spray was also fine but not ideal – some of the brownies still stuck to the pan. But the baking spray worked perfectly! Baking spray has flour mixed in with the oil and it’s so helpful for getting those brownies out.

You can find baking spray in the baking aisle of the grocery store or online. Just make sure it has flour in it!

Mix the batter

1. Add the butter and chopped chocolate to a large, microwave-safe mixing bowl.
2. Then, microwave the butter and chocolate until it’s completely melted and very warm. Stir well.
3. Add the sugar and mix for 2-3 minutes, until the sugar is mostly dissolved.

Be careful not to overheat the butter-chocolate mixture or the chocolate will seize and have a grainy texture. You want it to be very warm but not crazy hot.

4. Sift the cocoa powder into the bowl and mix it until it’s smooth.
5. Add the vanilla and the eggs one at a time.
6. Next, beat the mixture for 3-4 minutes, until it’s very thick.

7. Tip the flour, espresso powder, and salt into the batter.
8. Use a rubber spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the batter just until there are no more streaks.

Don’t over-mix the batter! Over-mixing the batter can cause the brownies to come out dense and dry.

Scoop & bake

1. Using a #60 cookie scoop, divide the batter into the mini muffin tin. You want the cups to be about 3/4 of the way full – just don’t add too much batter or it will overflow!
2. Bake the brownies at 350°F (177°C) for 10-12 minutes, until an inserted toothpick has just a few moist crumbs. Cool, sprinkle with flaky salt, and enjoy!

It can be hard to tell when brownies are done, so use this little pastry school trick! Insert a toothpick in-between the center and the edges of the bites. If there’s a few moist crumbs, they’re ready to go. If the batter is still wet, keep baking.

Getting the brownies out of the pan

Before you try to get miniature brownies out of the pan, make sure they’re completely set and cool. They don’t have to be 100% cool, but they need to be room temp. If the brownies are too hot, they will totally crumble apart.

Then, you’ll want to use something long and thin like a butter knife to carefully release the edges of the brownies from the muffin cups. At that point, they should just pop out of the cups. If not, give the edges another quick once-over!

Shiny top

If you love a brownie with a shiny top (who doesn’t?) there are a few easy ways to get the look! First of all, you want to mix the sugar into the hot butter-chocolate mixture until it’s mostly dissolved. Give it a good 2-3 minutes with a hand mixer.

Then, after you add the eggs, mix the chocolate mixture for another 3-4 minutes. This creates sort of a ‘meringue’ which gives the brownies that shiny, crackly top.

Freezing & storing brownies

Place leftover brownies in an airtight container and store them at room temperature for up to 3 days.

If you need to store them for longer than 3 days, go ahead and freeze the leftovers. Just place them in a freezer bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months.

Add-in ideas

If you want to take these two-bite brownies up a notch, feel free to add about 3/4 cup (130 grams) of add-ins! Just make sure they’re small – about the size of mini chocolate chips. Here’s a few ideas.

• Finely chopped walnuts or pecans
• Mini chocolate chips
• Mini M&Ms
• Chopped mini Oreos
• Top with sprinkles!
• Drizzle them with caramel sauce

For chewy brownies, I definitely recommend weighing the ingredients with a kitchen scale instead of measuring cups! But if you don’t have a scale, make sure you use the fluff-scoop-and-level flour method. Fluff the flour with a whisk, scoop the fluffed flour into a measuring cup, and level it off.

If you make this recipe, I would love it if you left a star rating and review! I read every single comment and love hearing what you think about my recipes. Thank you for supporting Sunday Table!

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