Chocolate Brownie Pie
Chocolate Brownie Pie is the decadent mashup of two favorite desserts that you didn’t know you needed. Flaky, buttery crust is filled with dark chocolate brownie filling.
Brownies are my dessert-island, choose only one dessert for the rest of your life, last meal kind of thing. Brownies are MY THING.
Over the years, I’ve tried so many brownie recipes. A few have stood out from the pack, like Nigella Lawson’s iconic recipe and a batch from the Zingerman’s Bakehouse cookbook.
For this brownie pie, I’m taking what I’ve learned from the best recipes and doubling down on it. There’s lots of butter, lots of dark chocolate and a rich fudge flavor. And oh yeah, it’s baked in a flaky pie crust. And we’re not apologizing for any of it.
Brownie Pie Ingredients
- butter – of course this is the first ingredient, right? You’ll need it for both the brownie batter and the pie crust.
- flour – another ingredient that pulls double duty in both places in this brownie batter pie recipe.
- sugar – sweetens the brownie batter and tenderizes as well as sweetens the crust.
- light brown sugar – we also use a bit of brown sugar in the brownie batter for some caramel-y notes.
- eggs – whole eggs form the backbone of our brownie batter.
- dark chocolate – you will need 3 ounces of high quality dark chocolate for this chocolate brownie pie. We used Harvest Chocolate Costa Rica Snacking Chocolate (chocolate cut into small pieces perfect for easy snacking or baking). It is a rich 68% dark chocolate with bright notes of bruleed grapefruit. This chocolate is also perfect for a yogurt parfait bar.
- cocoa powder – using a high quality cocoa powder makes all the difference in brownies (and Black Forest cupcakes). We used Harvest Chocolate Organic Cocoa Powder. With tasting notes of fresh cocoa and creamy banana, this cocoa powder is all natural, never “dutched,” an industrial process which strips the powder of flavor through chemical washing. Not today, friends!
- salt – you won’t ever find a sweet recipe on this website that doesn’t also call for a pinch of salt. It’s essential to balance the flavors.
- cider vinegar – as King Arthur Flour explains, a little bit of vinegar in pie crust keeps it flaky and the color bright. Regular white vinegar also works great here.
Use The GOOD Chocolate For Chocolate Brownie Pie
You may remember from my dark chocolate creme brulee and chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting posts that I’ll be working together with my friends at Harvest Chocolate to bring you chocolate dessert recipes this year (something that is sorely lacking from this website).
They’ll be developing recipes using their chocolate, and I’ll be photographing them and publishing them for you here.
Elizabeth and Matt make their chocolate entirely from scratch, from purchasing the beans to packaging the bars. They run their business using fair-trade practices, supporting farmers, and using simple, organic ingredients.
Their products are simply the best chocolate I’ve ever tasted, and the quality of their chocolate and cocoa powder truly makes this brownie pie something very special.
While I mentioned above that we used their Costa Rica Snacking Chocolate to develop this recipe, any of their varieties (they also have Haiti, Ecuador and Ghana) would work great in this pie.
Some Options For The Pie Crust For Brownie Chocolate Pie
So, you have three options when it comes to pie crust for this brownie pie recipe, and I’ll present them in order of deliciousness:
- If you have the time, making homemade pie crust is the tastiest option. We make ours a little on the thicker side, so you get a nice flaky, buttery, crispy bite to go along with your brownie.
- Store-bought pie crust (the refrigerated kind sold in rolls). You might have to use a rolling pin to roll it out a bit, then just shape it into a pie pan and blind bake it before adding your brownie batter and baking that. Easy peasy and pretty tasty, too. I also love this option for short rib pot pie.
- Store-bought pie shell (the frozen kind that’s already shaped into a pan). Definitely the easiest option, although it may not be quite as buttery and flaky as the other options. Blind bake it according to package instructions before adding your brownie batter and baking that.
WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?
Enter your email below and we'll send it to your inbox.
How To Make Brownie Pie
- FREEZE. Start the pie crust by grating the butter and freezing it on a plate for at least 15 minutes.
- BEAT. In bowl of stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter and beat until incorporated, then slowly stream in the water and vinegar until incorporated.
- FORM. Pour the crust mixture onto your work surface and form into a dish. Wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or up to 1 day.
- ROLL. Place the dough on a floured work surface and roll into a circle, then press into your pie pan. Crimp the edges and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- BLIND BAKE. Fill the crust with parchment and pie weights and bake until the edges begin to brown. Remove the weights and bake until the crust is golden brown all over.
- MELT. Start the brownie filling by melting the butter and chocolate in a double boiler until smooth.
- MAKE FILLING. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs, sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the chocolate mixture, then add the flour, cocoa powder and salt.
- BAKE. Pour the brownie batter into the crust and bake until the brownie batter is just set. Cool before cutting into slices.
Brownie Recipe Variations
- PEANUT BUTTER SWIRL – Add dollops of peanut butter to the top of the batter before baking, and use a knife to swirl it into the brownie mixture.
- NUTTY BROWNIE PIE – Fold 1/2 cup of chopped peanuts, walnuts, pecans or hazelnuts into the brownie batter.
- MINT BROWNIE PIE – Add 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract and chopped Andes mints to the brownie batter.
How To Serve Brownie Pie
Homemade whipped cream is really a hero for topping this pie! If you’re just planning on two servings at a time, small batch whipped cream is what you’ll want. I’m no snob, though, and am definitely not opposed to the whipped cream that comes in a can. Love it!
I also like to chop up some of the snacking chocolate into shavings for sprinkling. And if it’s Valentine’s Day, don’t forget the festive sprinkles.
If you want to go to the next level, serve the brownie pie a la mode. And if you want to go BEYOND the next level, top it all off with microwave caramel sauce. That can probably just serve as your actual dinner on Valentine’s Day, and you can skip the salmon pasta.
How To Store This Fudge Brownie Pie Recipe
Maybe I’m weird, but I’ve ALWAYS loved cold brownies. If you think it sounds strange, promise me you’ll try it just once.
So on that note, I cover my brownie chocolate pie with foil and store it in the fridge. But, since the crust and brownie are both fully cooked, you can store it at room temperature too.
You can also tightly wrap and freeze this brownie pie for up to 3 months. My heart jam cookies are another Valentine’s Day treat that can be frozen.
More Foxes Love Lemons Favorites
Brownie Pie Recipe
Ingredients
For the Pie Crust:
- 2 sticks unsalted butter 1 cup
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons ice cold water plus additional if needed
- 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour plus additional for work surface
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
For the Brownie Filling:
- 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces 1/2 cup
- 3 ounces dark chocolate chopped
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Make the Pie Crust:
- Use a box grater to grate butter onto a large plate. Transfer to freezer for at least 15 minutes.
- In small glass, stir together ice water and vinegar. In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, blend flour, sugar and salt on low speed until well combined. Add butter and beat on medium speed 1 to 2 minutes or until butter is broken into smaller flakes and incorporated with the flour. With mixer on low speed, slowly stream in water and vinegar mixture until all water is incorporated.
- Pour mixture onto clean work surface and form into a disc. If mixture is still too crumbly to do this, gently fold in additional cold water with your hands, 1 tablespoon at a time, just until dough holds together. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.
- Place dough on lightly floured work surface and use floured rolling pin to roll dough into an 11-inch circle, rotating dough frequently. Gently press dough into 9-inch pie pan. Trim any excess dough, leaving about a 1-inch overhang, and then crimp the edge of the dough with your fingers. Return to refrigerator at least 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Remove pie crust from refrigerator and line crust with parchment paper. Fill with pie weights, dried beans, or rice. Transfer to oven and bake 25 to 30 minutes or until edges of crust just begin to brown. Remove the parchment and pie weights and continue to bake 10 to 20 minutes longer, or until crust is light golden brown all over. Remove crust from oven; reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
Make the Brownie Filling:
- Place butter and chocolate in a double boiler and cook until butter and chocolate are melted, combined and smooth, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.
- In bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat eggs, granulated sugar and brown sugar on high speed 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. With mixer on low speed, slowly add chocolate mixture until all of chocolate mixture is incorporated. Add flour, cocoa powder and salt and gently fold with a spatula until just combined.
- Pour brownie batter into pre-baked pie crust. Transfer to oven and bake 20 to 25 minutes or until brownie batter is just set. Transfer to cooling rack and allow pie to cool before cutting into slices.
Notes
- Top with ice cream or whipped cream to serve.
