Coffee Brownies

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Rich scratch brownies flavored with concentrated coffee and topped with a creamy mocha frosting.

Another month, another brownie recipe! And this one has “Lynn” written all over it.

It is no secret that I am a gigantic coffee fan. In fact, just a couple weeks ago, I posted a drool-worthy mocha cake, which is a dark chocolate and coffee flavored cake topped with buttercream that also has coffee in it.

It was suuuuuch a hit at our house and with taste-testers!

Today’s brownie is similar. We’re taking my recipe for classic homemade fudgy brownies and simply flavoring it with super concentrated coffee and then topping all of it with a spin on my chocolate fudge frosting where we have, you guessed it, more concentrated coffee.

If you attended my Facebook LIVE where we made my basic brownies, you’ll know I added a “secret” extract while you added vanilla. While I wouldn’t exactly call this “coffee extract,” it’s sort of similar but there’s no alcohol involved and we’re making it ourselves on the stove.

See my homemade fudgy brownies, which is the trusted base recipe for all of my brownies.

Just like I’ve done many times (see my champagne layer cake or glazed mimosa muffins, both with champagne reduction), we’re making a coffee reduction to add to the brownie batter and also to thin out the mocha frosting.

And I mean we are really concentrating this stuff.

You’re going to start with one cup of coffee (about 8 ounces) and you’re going to boil it down to just 2 Tablespoons.

This won’t take much time, but you’ll have to make sure you keep an eye on it so that you don’t boil it down to nothing and then wind up with coffee flavored crumbly bits and hot air.

This concentrated coffee will take the place of the vanilla extract completely in the brownies, so you’ll be left with a robust coffee favor hidden deep inside the chocolate flavor.

The thing that takes these coffee brownies from wow to POW, though, is most certainly the easy mocha frosting.

I’ve used this chocolate fudge frosting several times, and it’s a fan favorite among readers! It’s made with unsweetened baking chocolate and butter as the base, which is similar to how we start our chocolate brownies.

We’ll sweeten it with powdered sugar, as any frosting recipe does, and then thin it out with the remaining concentrated coffee and a little milk or cream.

If you want the mocha frosting thinner, feel free to use more coffee, or you can go straight to the milk or cream.

You’ll of course have to wait until your brownies are completely cool before topping them with frosting, but it will be totally worth the wait in the end. If you’re antsy, you can totally throw the brownies into the fridge to allow them to cool there!

Once frosted and cut and ready to eat, you’ll find these brownies are decadent and rich and not overly sweet.

The mocha frosting is a wonderful complement to all the gooey coffee brownie business happening under it, and we enjoyed our brownies alongside a scoop of vanilla a few times. That was totally a killer combo.

These might be my favorite brownie recipe of my monthly lineup so far… And I’m so excited we still have eight to go!!

If you love brownies and you love coffee, coffee brownies are where it’s at. The perfect balance of chocolate flavor and coffee notes that make a decadent treat.

And since there’s coffee, you can totally have one for breakfast. There’s truly no judgment.

4.87 from 22 votes

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Coffee Brownies

Rich scratch brownies flavored with concentrated coffee and topped with a creamy mocha frosting.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Bake Time25 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Recipe Author Lynn April

Servings: 16 brownies

Ingredients

• ▢ 8 ounces (240mL) strong coffee

COFFEE BROWNIES

• ▢ ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter cut into 6-8 slices
• ▢ 8 ounces (227g) semi-sweet chocolate coarsely chopped
• ▢ ¾ cup (150g) firmly packed light brown sugar
• ▢ ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
• ▢ 3 large eggs room temperature preferred¹
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon (15mL) concentrated coffee
• ▢ ¾ cup (90g) all-purpose flour be sure to measure properly
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt

MOCHA FROSTING

• ▢ 2 ounces (40g) unsweetened baking chocolate coarsely chopped
• ▢ 4 Tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon (15mL) concentrated coffee
• ▢ 1 to 2 Tablespoons (15-30mL) milk or cream
• ▢ 2 cups (240g) powdered sugar
• ▢ pinch of salt

Need to keep track of your ingredients?Check out my Printable Ingredient List!

Instructions

• Pour the brewed coffee into a small saucepan.
  8 ounces (240mL) strong coffee
• Heat over medium heat until boiling.
• Reduce coffee down to 2 Tablespoons, remove from heat, and set aside.

COFFEE BROWNIES

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Line an 8" or 9" square baking pan with foil and spray with nonstick spray. Set aside.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and chopped chocolate, stirring frequently until completely smooth. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes.
  ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, 8 ounces (227g) semi-sweet chocolate
• Whisk both sugars into cooled chocolate mixture until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking after each addition until smooth. Whisk in 1 Tablespoon of the concentrated coffee. Add the flour and salt and stir gently until completely combined.
  ¾ cup (150g) firmly packed light brown sugar, ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar, 3 large eggs, 1 Tablespoon (15mL) concentrated coffee, ¾ cup (90g) all-purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon salt
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake brownies for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Allow brownies to cool completely before frosting.

MOCHA FROSTING

• In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the unsweetened baking chocolate and the butter. Allow to cool for 15 minutes.
  2 ounces (40g) unsweetened baking chocolate, 4 Tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter
• In a medium bowl with a handheld mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine cooled chocolate/butter mixture, concentrated coffee, and milk or cream (start with 1 Tablespoon). Turn the mixer onto low and slowly add the powdered sugar. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat until completely combined, scraping down sides as needed. Add salt to taste.
  1 Tablespoon (15mL) concentrated coffee, 1 to 2 Tablespoons (15-30mL) milk or cream, 2 cups (240g) powdered sugar, pinch of salt
• When you are ready to frost the brownies, remove the brownies by lifting the foil overhang straight up. Peel back remaining foil and place brownie block onto a large cutting board or safe-to-cut surface.
• Spread frosting evenly over the top of the brownies, then cut into individual servings. Store leftover brownies at room temperature up to 1 week. Brownies freeze well, up to 3 months. Thaw in refrigerator overnight.

Notes

1. Room temperature eggs: these incorporate into batter much more easily than cold eggs, although this is not absolutely necessary.

Nutrition Disclosure

All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.

Serving: 1brownie | Calories: 319kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 55mg | Potassium: 153mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 318IU | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 2mg