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Sometimes a thick, cake-y brownie covered in icing is the only thing that will hit the spot. Fudge-like desserts have their place, but these buttermilk brownies combine the best of both worlds with an airy brownie and a rich, sweet icing on top. Thanks to buttermilk in the batter these not only taste delicious, but they really rise quite a bit in the oven. These are brownies you can really sink your teeth into.
To make this batter you melt butter in a saucepan along with cocoa powder with both granulated sugar and brown sugar. This creates a rich syrup that will form the base of the brownie.
Combine this with the remaining dry ingredients and then add in the vanilla, eggs, and the secret ingredient: buttermilk. This ingredient has been adding height and creating wonderful texture in baked goods for centuries. Before modern leavening agents buttermilk was one of the few reliable ways to get a bit of lift in cookies, cakes, and biscuits.
While that brownies are baking you get started on the frosting. This simple combination is made from butter, cocoa powder, more buttermilk, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. It’s important that this goes on the brownies while they are fresh out of the oven so that it can really soak in.
Then all that’s left to do is to let them cool off a bit and then cut them into squares before serving.
These are some of the best cake-y brownies you’ll come across and are perfect with a cup of milk for a nostalgic treat.
Buttermilk Brownies
Yield(s): Makes 36 brownies
55m prep time
30m cook time
30m inactive
162 calories
Diet: Vegetarian
you're making mealtime meaningful.
For the brownies:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks butter
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the frosting:
- 1/4 (1/2 stick) cup butter
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons buttermilk
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the brownies:
- Preheat oven to 350˚F. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a large large bowl. Set aside. Over medium-low heat melt butter in a saucepan. Add to this sugars, cocoa, and water. Bring to a boil and then remove from heat.
- Combine buttermilk, eggs and vanilla in a small bowl and whisk together. Slowly add this to the butter-cocoa mixture, stirring constantly. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until uniform in color.
- Pour batter into a greased 10”x15” pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
For the frosting:
- In a saucepan combine butter, cocoa powder and buttermilk until melted. Remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Spread frosting over warm brownies and allow to cool for 30 minutes. Cut into 36 small squares.
Recipe adapted from Cookies and Cups.