Starbucks Double Fudge Brownie

ByHeather Tullos
73 Comments
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This copycat recipe for Starbucks Double Fudge Brownies is EASILY my all-time favorite. I am notoriously fickle about brownies and these are the perfect blend of cakey and fudgey. They are rich, loaded with chocolate, and have just a hint of coffee. You'll love 'em. 

Copycat Starbucks Double Fudge Brownie Recipe

UPDATE January 2018. This brownie recipe has remained one of my favorites since I wrote it waaaay back in August 2012. It has remained one of your favorites, too! With the actual recipe I haven't changed a thing, but it was definitely time to update my hilariously bad photos so that maybe you guys can take me a little bit seriously. Thanks for reading here and loving me even when the pictures didn't reflect the quality of the recipe! If you'd like to see one of said terrible photos, just scroll on down past the recipe card. I saved you one. 

What had happened was...

I have this friend Michelle at I'm Not Hungry, I'm Addicted who lives out all her sugar cravings vicariously through this blog. If I'm being realistic here, there are probably other blogs, but!! They don't take requests. So Michelle was in desperate need of a brownie, but not just any brownie. She wanted a Starbucks Double Fudge Brownie duplicate.

Starbucks Double Fudge Brownies Copycat Recipe

I am ashamed to admit that I had never ever had a Starbucks brownie. [Update: I have now ABSOLUTELY had a Starbucks Double Fudge Brownie. They ARE amazing. But these are better.]

They have seduced me with Reduced Fat Blueberry Coffee Cake and Pumpkin Cream Cheese loaves to my heart's content, but typically when I make it to Starbucks I just consume an absurd amount of liquid calories. Hellooo Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino and Gingerbread Latte. But I take this kind of research seriously. Chad and I made our way to happy coffee mecca and I was totally prepared to order a very small (tall?) light mocha coconut thing with a side of 400 calorie brownie. You know, for educational purposes.

Except my Starbucks does not serve brownies.

Because they are mean focusing on sandwiches and banana bread for the drive-thru interstate traffic. Gah.

Copycat Starbucks Double Fudge Brownie Recipe

 

Just for that I ordered the biggest, full-fattiest, frozen coffee concoction I could think of. With whipped cream. Which may or may not have been a really great idea right before a beach trip.

I proceeded to read a bunch of substandard copycat recipes, look at a billion Starbucks Double Fudge Brownie photos, and read the ingredients provided on their website. Then I winged it.

Starbucks Double Fudge Brownies Recipe

FORTUNATELY, my momma's birthday that fell near the beginning of our beach trip provided me with a lovely excuse to bake brownies and not eat the whole pan.

But I could have eaten the whole pan.

Because these brownies are insanely awesome.

Which is an important quality, especially when the brownie needs to be worthy of my insanely awesome mom.

Starbucks Double Fudge Brownies
My mom still makes Easter baskets for all five of us kids. She still throws a family party for every one of our birthdays. She stuffs our stockings on Christmas and still hangs the ornaments we made in pre-school on the Christmas tree. She is thoughtful and adorable and so much fun. My mom stayed up late at night to help with school projects, played with us every summer in the pool, always made our Halloween costumes, and still worked more hours outside the home than anyone I have ever met in my entire life.

If I could be even a fraction of the mom that she is, I would consider that a complete success.

You can see why I needed these brownies to be phenomenal and amazing, right? Right.

Since I was unable to locate an ACTUAL Starbucks Double Fudge Brownie, this recipe is my guesstimation of what all the descriptions said it should be -- the perfect hybrid of fudgey and cake-like, moist, rich, dense, loaded with dark chocolate and just a hint of espresso flavor.

Amazing. Momma's-birthday-worthy. Brownies.

Totally worthy of Starbucks, too.

Starbucks Double Fudge Brownie
Yield: 15 big fat brownies

Starbucks Double Fudge Brownie

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

This copycat recipe for Starbucks Double Fudge Brownies is the perfect blend between cakey and fudgey. These brownies are dense and rich and have just a hint of coffee. You'll love 'em.

4.7 Stars (29 Reviews)

Ingredients

  • 1 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 12 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 8 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder OR instant coffee granules
  • 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chunks

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350. Butter a 9 X 13 baking dish, line it with parchment paper, and butter the parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
  4. Add in the chopped chocolate, remove the pan from the heat, and stir frequently, until melted. Set aside.
  5. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until frothy. Add the vanilla and espresso powder.
  6. Pour in the chocolate a little at a time. This will help to temper the eggs.
  7. When the chocolate is completely incorporated, dump in the flour mixture. Mix completely.
  8. Stir in the chocolate chunks.
  9. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes; a toothpick inserted into the center will come out clean.
  10. Let the brownies cool before cutting.

Notes

I cooled these completely in the pan and then lifted the parchment paper out to cut the brownies into 15 pieces. I wrapped them individually and then put them in a freezer bag and froze them a week before we left for the beach. The day we made sundaes I just set the freezer bag out on the counter and by the afternoon they were perfect.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

15

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 455Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 74mgSodium: 130mgCarbohydrates: 55gFiber: 4gSugar: 40gProtein: 6g
© Heather Tullos
Cuisine: American / Category: Brownies

THIS my version of how a brownie should be.

adapted from here, here, and here, but my FAVORITE source for this recipe is Joy the Baker's Dark Chocolate Brownies found HERE.

Pan of copycat Starbucks Double Fudge Brownies

Here we have one of the original images from my Starbucks Double Fudge Brownies post. I have not a clue in the world why I thought that not cropping out my toes was acceptable. Obviously feet and brownies don't really go together.

I mean... every food blogger I know has set up on the floor for overhead shots of things. We are a weird breed. But food bloggers with experience typically know better than to include toes in photos, with or without a pedicure. In 2012 I didn't have any experience. It's ok. You can laugh at me.

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73 Comments

  1. My husband could, seriously, eat a Starbucks Brownie (or two) every day of his life. He loves them! He is so picky about them, and nothing ever compares... until now. For him to say that this recipe produces a brownie that is better than Starbucks is the highest compliment ever! I followed it to a "T". Thank you!

    Reply

  2. I tried these and they are delicious, but I'm still looking for as an exact a copy of the Starbucks brownie as I can find, and these aren't it. The Starbucks one are far fudgy-er and... yeah, just different. I find it a bit weird you call them Starbucks brownies without ever having tasted a Starbucks brownie. <.<

    But you really should because if you actually tasted one then - with your baking skills that I don't have and thus can't do myself - you could probably tweak this recipe so they were a perfect copy. In the meantime you should probably change the title of this recipe, but also you probably won't, because I'm sure it gets you hits.

    Reply

    1. Hi Josie! Glad you liked these and sorry they weren't a match for you! In the post I state, " Since I was unable to locate an ACTUAL Starbucks Double Fudge Brownie, this recipe is my guesstimation of what all the descriptions said it should be — the perfect hybrid of fudgey and cake-like, moist, rich, dense, loaded with dark chocolate and just a hint of espresso flavor."
      Changing the title of the recipe would ding me in a negative way, unfortunately, but on your suggestion I will renew my brownie mission and work it out! I'm always up for brownies. I DO have several other brownie recipes posted if you'd like to try one of those! Let me know and I'll point you in the right direction.

      Reply

      1. No no no! No! I'm going to sit on my rage and be angry, damn you, don't you damn come here, coming here, all... gracefully taking my comment in stride and... and all, and telling me you'll try harder! It doesn't work that way! IT DOESN'T... YOU CAN'T... GRAAAGH!!

        *Head explodes*

        ...

        Ahem. But. Yours are I think the closest to the Starbucks one so far that I've tried. I just yesterday made a recipe that I knew must have too much flour and not enough cocoa. I knew in my heart of hearts it couldn't be fudgy, but all the reviewers went on and on about how fudgy they were... and they were super-cakey. D'oh! >.< I don't mind 'em, but my boyfriend's all, about cakey brownies, "If I wanted cake I'd eat cake!" and so I gotta keep looking for the perfect thing. XD

        Thank you for your efforts. 😉

        Reply

  3. Dear Heather ,

    Thanks a lot for this great recipe, now my husband has his best brownie ever cooked at home !
    Lots of love from Istanbul -Turkey ....

    Pinar

    Reply

    1. Hi Pinar! I'm so happy to hear that! Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment. Happy baking!

      Reply

  4. This is a great recipe. I tried 5 or 6 brownies recipes and they all didn't turn up right. I was ready to give up and said to myself I am going to give a chance just to one more recipe. I like Starbucks brownies a lot and this one turned up very very close.

    I should say that I used only 1 cup of sugar and it was still very sweet, though not too much but I might try even less sugar next time. I only used dark chocolate chips and no coffee - instead, I put 1 tbsp of Hershey's dark cocoa. Don't overbake it, I took it off the oven in 30 minutes and it was pretty moist, just the way I like it, but it also has this delicious crust.

    Thanks a lot for the recipe!

    Reply

  5. What kind of chocolate did you use for the semi-sweet chunks? About to go to the store to get the ingredients for this recipe. Looks AMAZING!

    Reply

    1. Nestle usually has semi-sweet chunks right where the bags of chocolate chips are. Those are in almost every store. Ghirardelli is also easy to gind and delicious!!! Happy baking Alicia!

      Reply

      1. Thanks for replying back so quickly! Unfortunately, my store sucks so had to stick with regular semi-sweet chocolate chips. But still turned out AMAZING! Next time i'm at Super Target, i'll check for the 'good stuff'. Thanks again for this amazing recipe! Pinned it for life 🙂

        Reply
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  8. This recipe did not work for me - I used the recommended 9"x13" pan, which seemed too small. Baked at 350, as directed (I have 2 thermometers in my oven, so I know the temp. is accurate), but after 30 minutes they were no way near "tooth pick comes out clean" doneness. Baked further, in 5 minute intervals, for about 10 0r 15 minutes longer - toothpick still not coming out clean, but removed brownies from oven at that point - they were burned on the bottom.

    Reply

    1. I'm so sorry this didn't work out for you! I'm confused about the 9 X 13 seeming too small though - what size pan would you use? I have made these successfully several times, as have many of my readers, and I would really like to help. If you have suggestions I'd love to hear them and will be happy to test them in my own kitchen! Thanks for the feedback 🙂

      Reply

      1. Hi Heather, and thanks for your reply. I realize I sounded more critical than I had in mind in my comment, and I appreciate you talking the time to assist. I used a 9x13 Pyrex baking dish, and the batter in the amount specified in the recipe really filled it up to the top. Nice, if you like really thick brownies, but the problem was that when baked at 350 the center remained underdone while the bottom & sides got over-baked. Next time, I’ll try a larger baking pan, so the brownies will be thinner and maybe bake more evenly, or maybe just bake them at a lower temperature until done.

        Reply

        1. Hey Tombo! This recipe is on my re-make list for the day, not only because this recipe needs new photos but because I want to make sure there are no kinks! I published this last summer but last time I made these was last Christmas so I just want to be sure. My Pyrex 9 X 13 is kind of shallow so you are probably right. I always use a super old metal baking dish for brownies and it IS deeper than my glass bakers so that might have made a difference. Metal bakes a little hotter, too. I will be re-testing using that metal pan (because I have a butterfingers and don't often use glass) and I'll let you know. I really do appreciate the feedback!

          Reply

  9. I love finding new blogs! Especially about food. This was thoroughly enjoyable to read and I look forward to making the brownies 🙂

    Reply

  10. I made these and I was wondering, if I wanted to tweak this recipe and make them less cake like and more fudgy, what would you do? I loooove the taste just prefer more fudgy brownies.

    Reply

    1. Hi, Nikki!
      These brownies ARE more cake-like than my usual recipe. I was trying to find that Starbucks balance between cake and fudge. I would HIGHLY recommend this recipe:
      https://www.sugardishme.com/2011/11/04/forgotten-homework-and-brownies-2/
      It is my MOST FAVORITE always go-to brownie recipe. The results are fudge-ey and awesome. They require only a little flour and butter and make an 8 X 8 pan. Let me know! And thanks so much for trying my recipe!

      Reply
  11. Pingback: S'mores Brownies | Sugar Dish MeSugar Dish Me

  12. These brownies are amazing! They came out almost exactly like Starbuck's brownies which are one of my major weaknesses :). Thanks so much for this!

    Reply

    1. I'm so glad! I adore these brownies-- the texture is always dense and fudgey. I'm thrilled you tried these out & loved 'em as much as me!

      Reply

      1. I hope you won't mind me asking (because your brownies are super), but do you know of a way that I can make them just a little cake-ier? I love the fudginess, but I've always enjoyed a cakey brownie too.

        Reply

        1. Hi, Liesl!
          I sent you an email with revised instructions for a cake-like brownie. Please let me know if you have any more questions and I'd love to know how they turn out!!

          Reply

          1. Hi Heather,
            Sorry it has taken me a while to let you know how things came out. With your helpful instructions and another tiny tweak, I have finally achieved the cakey brownies that I enjoy so much. I had my dad try them last night and he loved the cakiness of them as well. Thanks so much!

          2. That's great! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
            For my future brownie recipes-- what was your other little tweak?

          3. Hi Heather,
            I'm not sure if this will work every time, but I'll try to explain it anyway. Can't hurt to try it out, though, and I plan to do just that many times in the future :). What I did was I melted the 2 tbsp of butter in a double boiler and then set that aside to cool from 20-30 minutes while I got the rest of the ingredients together. I let the eggs sit out for around 15 mins to get a little closer to room temp and then beat them by themselves until they were just starting to froth in the bowl. I then added the eggs to the butter and sugar and whipped that until it looked creamy, incorporated the cooled chocolate mixture, followed by the flour and other dry ingredients. Just because I love the look of Starbucks brownies, I also add half the bag of chocolate chunks to the original mixture and hold the other half back to sprinkle as evenly over the top as possible. They came out beautifully this time, so I hope that I'll be able to duplicate it in the future :).

  14. hi i was just surfing wordpress blogs and came across urs. I have a sinful sweet tooth and ur brownies look really good...I'm gonna make them soon.

    I wanted to ask u if u've ever made chocolate ganache? if so do u have a tried & tested recipe that it's easy to make?

    hope u're having a good week.

    Iram, California

    Reply

    1. Hi, Iram! Hope you'll try these brownies... they are pretty amazing. I also have a pretty insatiable sweet tooth... life is no fun without dessert! How will you be using your ganache? It's a pretty simple process - if you can melt chocolate you can handle it! I've never been a fan of the chocolate ganache recipes that call for sour cream... the result is too rich and tart, but not sweet enough, so I'd stay away from those. I don't have a recipe for chocolate ganache posted here, but here is a link to Chocolate Ganache by Joy the Baker: http://joythebaker.com/2008/05/raspberry-almond-cupcakes-with-chocolate-ganache/ ; her recipes are delicious and simple and her instructions are always spot-on accurate. Best of luch with your baking project; hope you'll swing by here again soon!

      Reply

      1. i will def. be back to ur site...thanks for the info ( i wanted to put it on a choc. cake). hope ur summer isn't too hot yet! mine is unbearable- i live in socal and it's horrible here! t c 🙂

        Reply

    1. Ohhh girl, these were so good. They have replaced my favorite brownie recipe, hands down.

      Reply

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