Have you ever craved the ultimate chocolate indulgence that fits right in the palm of your hand? Well, these Brownie Bites are the bite-sized wonders that pack all the chewy goodness of a classic brownie into a pop-able petite package.
From this homemade brownie recipe from scratch, you’ll get 24 mini bite-sized (okay, maybe two bites) brownie rounds that bring decadent chocolate flavor. They’re so great for sharing and for on the go!
In this recipe, you’ll learn how to whip up a brownie batter in less than ten minutes, and how to perfectly bake the batter in a mini muffin tin. Plus, you’ll learn how to properly store them to keep them fresh and avoid food waste.
As an environmental scientist, I try to eat higher-environmental-impact ingredients in moderation. This means, when I eat chocolate, I really try to make it count!
Green tip: Make sure your chocolate is sustainably sourced. Look for Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance, or UTZ certifications as opposed to self-proclaimed sustainability labels that sometimes falsely advertise “sustainably sourced”.
Brownie Bites Ingredients
Here’s everything you need:
- Unsalted butter. Make sure it’s softened for the best batter consistency.
- Granulated sugar. You can also opt to substitute date or coconut sugar.
- Eggs. For leavening.
- Vanilla extract. For flavor.
- All-purpose flour. The base of your brownie batter.
- Cocoa powder. Unsweetened is best. You can use dark, I used 100%.
- Baking powder. For a little bit of rise.
- Salt. To elevate all of the other flavors.
- Chocolate chips. Semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips are best!
Brownie Bites Tips and Tricks
Set Yourself Up for Brownie Baking Success
Start by preheating your oven to 350°F and lining and spraying your mini muffin tin. You can use little muffin liners or just simply spray it with any cooking oil.
It’s imperative that you prep your muffin tin so that your brownie bites don’t get stuck!
Green tip: Consider filling your own reusable oil sprayer to avoid extra pesky aerosol cans, that aren’t always recyclable.
Make Sure Your Butter Is Softened
Though salted butter will definitely work in a pinch, I recommend using unsalted butter in this brownie recipe so that you can control the amount of salt you are adding to your brownie batter.
But most importantly, your butter absolutely must be softened—not melted, and not too solid. This is the true trick to getting the perfect consistency for your brownie batter.
The simplest way to soften your butter is to just allow it to rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes before you start baking.
But if you’re hit with a brownie craving or a sudden urge to bake—I totally got you! There are several other quicker ways to soften your butter. I usually just do so in the microwave. Start with 15 seconds on high, then drop down to 5-second intervals if it’s still too solid.
You’ll know your butter is softened when your finger leaves an imprint in it when you poke it.
Green tip: Look for organic and palm oil-free butter if you can. Buying organic means you are supporting farms that do not use damaging pesticides and fertilizers, and palm oil production is a huge driver behind deforestation.
Combine the Butter and Sugar Together
We don’t want to overbeat our batter here, so we’re not going to cream the butter and sugar as you would, say in a chewy cookie. However, with a one-bowl batter, we have to strategically combine things to get that best result.
That means we want to start by combining the butter and the sugar together until they are integrated.
use a hand mixer to combine the softened butter and granulated sugar until its smooth. This should only take 1-2 minutes with the hand mixer on high.
Beat in Your Eggs and Vanilla Extract
Once you’ve combined your butter and sugar, you’re ready to add your vanilla extract and eggs.
As a general rule of thumb, it’s safest to crack your eggs into a separate dish first, rather than adding them directly into your batter. It’s the best way to avoid eggshells or a rare (but gross) bloody egg.
But let’s be real, I often “live on the edge” and crack ’em right in! Just consider yourself warned. 😉
Use your hand mixer again to combine the eggs and vanilla extract into your batter until it is once again nice and smooth!
Add the Dry Ingredients Next
Time for your flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder. I bet you can guess what comes next. Yup! Grab that hand mixer again.
Use it to integrate those dry ingredients, mixing until there are no visible clumps. Biting into a lump of cocoa powder or baking powder makes for a bitter, unpleasant taste.
Use a rubber spatula to scrape any dry ingredients hanging on to the sides of the bowl right into your batter. No ingredients left behind!
Fold Your Chocolate Chips in Last
Once your dry ingredients are integrated, all that’s left to do is to add in your chocolate chips.
Pour the chocolate chips into the dough and use a rubber spatula to fold them in, until they are evenly distributed throughout the bite-sized brownies batter.
Folding just means gently turning the batter over from the bottom to the top.
Add Your Brownie Batter to the Muffin Tin
Use a heaping tablespoon of batter to fill your prepped mini muffin tin with the brownie batter. Each little muffin cup should be filled about 3/4 of the way.
This brownie recipe makes enough batter for 24 equal-sized brownie rounds.
How to Perfectly Bake Brownie Bites
Bake the brownie bites on the top rack for 15-17 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Remember there are chocolate chips in these bite-sized brownies, so when I say “clean” I mean free from raw batter.
You may get some melted chocolate on your testing toothpick but you should be able to tell the difference between that and raw batter because of the color and consistency.
Make sure to allow your brownie rounds to cool completely before trying to remove them from the muffin tin. Typically, I just flip my muffin tin over. Sometimes the bottom of the tin needs a little bang from the palm of your hand to encourage the brownie bites out!
If you try to remove them too early, before they’ve had a chance to cool and solidify, the top half may fall out and the bottom half may remain in the muffin tin which of course is not ideal.
Also noteworthy: as they cool, you may notice a little dip in the center of your brownie bites (though not always). This just means the center is slightly undercooked. They will still taste absolutely delicious, so no worries there!
How to Properly Store Your Brownie Bites
Keep your brownie bites in an airtight container or cover them up to keep them fresh. At room temperature, these delicious fudgy rounds will stay delicious for 3-4 days. You can also store them in the refrigerator for about a week.
If you want to extend the life of your brownies, you can freeze them for up to 4 months in an airtight container. Of course, make sure to allow them to thaw at room temperature before biting into them.
And here’s a trick I learned from my mom that sounds kinda crazy but actually works! To keep the chewy, delicious texture, store your brownies with a piece of bread.
The moisture from the bread keeps the brownies from getting stale. Plus, this is a such a great use for stale bread or the ends of your loaves.
Green tip: Of the billions of tons of food wasted annually, 50% of food waste happens at home. Reduce your contribution to food waste by properly storing baked goods!
Brownie Bites Frequently Asked Questions
How do you keep brownie bites from sticking to the pan?
It’s absolutely imperative that you spray or line your muffin tin before adding the brownie batter to avoid the brownies sticking to the pan. Additionally, make sure your brownie bites are completely cooled before trying to remove them from the pan.
When the brownies cool they solidify and will come out in one piece. If you try to remove them while they’re still hot, they will likely break apart and the bottom will stick.
Can I bake brownie batter in a muffin tin?
Absolutely, yes! However, since the brownie batter will have more exposure to heat, the baking time will be significantly less. When baking in a mini muffin tin, bake them for 15-17 minutes.
For regular-sized muffins, bake for 20-25 minutes.
Why You Should Make these Bite-Sized Brownies
- They’re so chocolatey! Between the cocoa powder and chocolate chips, you get chocolatey goodness in each and every bite.
- The texture. The perfect chewy exterior and fudgy center.
- They’re fun! There’s something about bite-sized that’s so fun to snack on.
If you’re loving these Brownie Bites and want more chocolatey deliciousness, check out this 5-Minute Chocolate Chip Mug Cake and Gideon’s Copycat Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Chewy Chocolate Brownie Bites
Print Save RateEquipment
Ingredients
- cooking spray for muffin tin (or mini muffin tin liners)
- ½ cup unsalted butter (½ cup = 1 stick)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
- ¼ teaspoon flaky sea salt (optional )
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line or spray a mini muffin tin.
- To a large bowl, use a hand mixer on high to mix together softened butter and sugar until well-combined (about 2-3 minutes).
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix on low to combine.
- Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt, and mix again on low. Use a rubber spatula to scrape any dry ingredients stuck on the inside of the bowl into the batter.
- Fold the chocolate chips into your batter and fill each muffin cup about 3/4 of the way.
- Bake on the top rack for 15-17 minutes. Allow to cool completely before turning the brownie bites out of the muffin tin.
- Option to add flaky sea salt on top. Enjoy!
Pro Tips
- You can add nuts to this recipe if you like them in your brownies! Just add about 1/2 cup when you add your chocolate chips.
- If you love brownies as much as I do, you’ll love this collection of my greatest brownie recipes!
- Chocolate lover? Me too! You’ll love the collection of my best chocolate recipes!
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