Brownie Pie

I can’t believe that my last blog post was back in November. How time flies! I had big plans to bake and share a whole host of Christmas recipes in December and healthy recipes in January, but none of that happened.

Shortly after my last post in November, Andrew and I bought our first house—an old 1920s bungalow so cute and charming that it was truly love at first sight. Between the move, visiting family over Christmas, working on the house, and a couple of weekend getaways, my time in the kitchen has been limited. It also hasn’t helped that my usual obsession with making food has been overtaken by my instinct to nest.

Thanks to a lot of good old-fashioned elbow grease and what is hopefully an artful eye, the place is coming together quite nicely. Even with tools and paint cans scattered about, belongings without a place yet, and tentative plans for bathroom and kitchen renovations, the house feels like a home now and my little family feels settled.

With things calming down, I’m finally getting back into the kitchen and back into a baking routine. To Andrew’s delight, so far all I’ve wanted to bake are cookies and brownies.

This brownie pie is basically a batch of classic brownies baked in a pie plate. The recipe is simple, but it may take a second batch to nail down the baking time in your oven. Under-bake the brownies and you’ll get an amazing fudgy mess. Over-bake the brownies and they will remind you more of chocolate cake. Somewhere in the middle are the perfect brownies and a chocolate lover’s dream come true.

Brownie Pie

Unsalted butter for the pan
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1/3 cup (5-6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup hot water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (optional)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)
Confectioners sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and generously butter a 9-inch pie plate. Whisk together the flour, espresso powder, baking soda, and salt, and set aside.

In a stand mixer, beat the sugar and egg on high speed for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix the melted butter, cocoa powder, and hot water until nice and thick.

Once the sugar and egg are finished beating, turn the mixer on low and add the cocoa mixture and mix until smooth. Stir in the vanilla extract.

If using chocolate chips and walnuts, dust them with a tiny bit of the reserved flour mixture to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the batter. With the mixer still on low, add in the rest of the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts, if using.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pie plate and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs, but is still a little gooey. Cool completely before dusting with confectioners sugar and cutting. Cover and store any leftovers in the fridge.

Makes one 9-inch brownie pie.

See more: Brownies • Chocolate