Fudgy brownie bites filled with an (optional) chocolate ganache filling! These are chocolatey, soft, and chewy treats that can be made in a mini muffin tin!
I adapted my popular from-scratch Brownie recipe to make these brownie bites. While they taste great by themselves without any filling, I love making indents in the centers and filling them with chocolate ganache or piping on a swirl of chocolate frosting.
Today’s brownie bite recipe is an adaptation of my favorite one bowl brownie recipe.
While I love that recipe (and so many of you have commented that you do, too!) and its simplicity and rich, fudgy results, I knew I didn’t want to just drop that batter into a mini muffin pan and call it a day. A few alterations were in order.
A bit of extra flour and a pinch of baking powder were added to give these brownie bites just a slight rise in the oven. My original brownie recipe is deliciously dense with very little rise, but since I knew I wanted to indent these and fill them with ganache, some levity was in order.
These additions make them puff just enough for you to be able to indent them for your ganache once they come out of the oven, but not so much that they end up dry or crumbly if you decide you don’t want to fill them after all.
Brownie Bite Fillings
Good news for anyone not in the mood for extra recipe steps, these brownie bites taste great on their own, no filling required!
However, if you do decide to turn things up a (chocolatey) notch I’ve included instructions for filling your brownie bites with a simple ganache. This firms up as it cools and has a smooth, fudgy texture.
I’ve made these brownie bites plenty of times with lots of different fillings, here are a few of my favorites:
- Chocolate frosting
- Peanut Butter Frosting (this pairs SO well with the chocolate brownie bottoms!)
- Cream cheese frosting (Great for coloring and getting creative, I used this technique to make my Halloween Brownie Bites).
- Whipped Cream
- Salted Caramel
Can Brownie Bites Be Frozen?
Yes! These Brownie Bites can be frozen and they store very well (with or without the ganache filling).
Let your brownie bites cool completely (if you have added the ganache topping, make sure that has cooled completely, too). Place in an airtight, freezer-proof container and they will keep for several months. Be sure to let them thaw completely before enjoying!
While brownie bites freeze well, I don’t recommend refrigerating them. Refrigerating will make them dry and crumbly. If you’re not freezing, store them at room temperature in an airtight container for up to one week.
I just realized I shared two “bites” recipes in a row. First my healthy-ish energy bites, now these brownie bites. The name might be similar but I probably don’t have to tell you how different the two actually are 😉
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Enjoy!
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Recipe video at the bottom of the post! If you enjoy watching my cooking videos, I’d love it if you would consider subscribing to my YouTube channel <3
Brownie Bites
Ingredients
- 12 Tablespoons unsalted butter cut into Tablespoon-sized pieces
- ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips (100g)
- ½ cup natural cocoa powder (50g)
- ½ teaspoon instant coffee grounds optional
- 1 cup tightly packed light or dark brown sugar (200g)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 2 large eggs + 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour (140g)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Ganache filling (optional)
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (170g)
- ¼ cup heavy cream (60ml)
- ½ Tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon bourbon optional
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F and spray a 24-count mini muffin tin with baking spray*
- Combine butter and chocolate chips in a large, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds. Stir well, microwave for another 15 seconds and then stir well again. Repeat for 15 seconds until chocolate and butter are completely melted and well-combined.
- Stir in cocoa powder and instant coffee (if using).
- Add sugars and stir again until combined.
- Add eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Stir in vanilla extract.
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until well-combined.
- Drop batter by about 1 ½ Tablespoon into prepared mini muffin tin (I like to use a cookie dough scoop to do this, just makes the process cleaner and easier).
- Transfer to 350F (175C) oven and bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few fudgy crumbs (not wet batter!).
- If filling with ganache, immediately take a rounded teaspoon or Tablespoon and press into each brownie bite to make a well (if not filling, then simply allow brownie bites to cool and then enjoy!).
- Allow brownies to cool for about 10 minutes before removing from muffin tin and placing on cooling rack. Prepare ganache.
Ganache
- Combine chocolate chips, heavy cream, and butter in a small saucepan over medium-heat.
- Stir frequently until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth.
- Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract, bourbon (if using), and salt. Stir well.
- Allow mixture to cool slightly at room temperature, about 10 minutes.
- Use a small spoon to pour ganache into the indent of each brownie.
- Allow ganache to firm up before eating (about 1-2 hours -- or you can enjoy them warm, it'll just be a bit messier).
Nutrition
Bruce
Wonderfully intense brownies, and every bite is like a corner piece. I filled them with Hershey’s fudge frosting, because I knew the ganache would be too intense for the people I made them for. Next time, I’ll try your peanut butter frosting as a filling.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Bruce! 🙂
Elfi Juvrud
Do you have a conversion for regular-sized muffin pans? I want to make these for a bake sale. Thanks
Sam
You can just bake these in a regular sized muffin pan. I haven’t done it so I’m not sure what the bake time would need to be. 🙂
ANNA
Hi Sam,
you forgot to write the amount of butter in gramms. I’m really in fear of using spoonmeasurement, groeing up only using gramms etc., because what does that mean with butter? It could mean a spoonful of liquid butter, means to heat it first. Or a mountain of butter on the spoon? Well, you see my confusion and why I think better not try it out, because it could lead to a whole lot more butter than desired. I would appreciate it a lot if you could write the grams too. Then i’m would be of … To bake this cake and ganache … Filling … Sorry for the pauses … Just needed to swallow some excess eh saliva
Sam
I’m so sorry about the confusion. I am working on going through and updating anything that doesn’t have the gram measurements. I hope to have this one fixed shortly, but 8 tablespoons is 1 stick of butter which weighs 113g. For the brownies you will need 170g and for the filling you will need about 7g. I hope you love these! 🙂
Joan
This is going to sound silly, but I made these yesterday only because I had treated myself to a beautiful new ceramic mixing bowl and I wanted to try it out. Little did I know I would end up in chocolate heaven an hour later! This is my new go-to brownie recipe. The ganache filling really makes these extra special, and one day, after COVID19 when we can all do potlucks again, these mini brownie bites will be what I show up with. I’m thinking about giving them a dusting of powdered sugar or maybe colorful sprinkles on the ganache next time. Because OH YES there will be a next time (probably tomorrow because my mom went home with more than a dozen of them when she visited today!) 😋
One thing about this recipe that I really appreciated was that it was the PERFECT amount of batter to make the 24 mini-bites. I didn’t have to go crazy scraping the bowl to get enough, yet there wasn’t enough batter left that I felt obligated to lick the bowl. 😁
Thanks for another great recipe, Sam. xoxo
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy that you enjoyed every bite of them, Joan! Thank you so much for trying my recipe. I am glad you treated yourself. 🙂
Dave McClain
Samantha,
I made these tonight and talk about delicious!!!! Off the charts!!!
Thank you for posting your wonderful recipes!!!
Dave
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Dave! 🙂
Grace
Hi Sam these look delicious! I have two questions. First, do I have to microwave my butter and chocolate for the brownies Because I don’t have a microwave? Should I do it over stovetop? Second, is there a replacement for the heavy cream that is in the garnish because I don’t have heavy cream? Thank you!
Sam
Hi Grace! You can definitely melt everything together on the stove top. I wouldn’t recommend a substitution for the heavy cream. You could use my favorite chocolate frosting instead. 🙂
Jen
I have made these twice now – once with the chocolate ganache filling and once with your peanut butter frosting for filling. Both were HITS! I’m not even usually big on brownies myself, so the little bite size was perfect! Great recipe!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed them, Jen! Thank you for trying my recipe. 🙂
Ritu dr
Hiii ..Could you give me a substitute for the eggs ….eggless version
Sam
Unfortunately I do not have a good egg substitute here, maybe someone else can chime in with an answer. 🙁
Celi
I subbed olive oil for the butter (3/4 cup) and it turned out PERFECT! Great consistency and flavor. I found them a little hard to drop at first, but found that the batter firmed up a bit after sitting for about 30 mins, making them easier to spoon out. 18 minutes was perfect! My new go-to for brownie bites! Thank you ❤❤
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed, Celi! Thank you so much for commenting! 🙂
Shaz
Hi Sam, my brownies turned out a wee bit hard. Not sure whether it’s oven or the weather or something. What can I do to rectify this? Should I cut down a little on the flour, or shorten the baking time…?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Shaz! Unfortunately, humidity could have caused this. You can try reducing the bake time to see if this helps next time. Sorry that you experienced this. 🙁
Nita
Do you know the temp/ time if using a convection oven?
Sam
I’m sorry, unfortunately I don’t know. 🙁
Nita
No problem!! I couldn’t sleep
So I just experimented 🙂. 300 degrees for still about 18 minutes for me. I think my mini muffin tin is mini/mini because this made 46! I appreciate this recipe, perfect. Thanks!
Sam
Thanks for the feedback! 🙂
Elsie
Made these today. They were so good! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe 🙂
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Elsie! 🙂