Copycat Starbucks Double Chocolate Brownies — The brownies are rich, fudgy, not cakey, perfectly chewy, and so easy to make. One bowl, no mixer, and studded with chocolate chunks!
Copycat Starbucks Double Chocolate Brownies
Recently, I was waiting in a long Starbucks line, peering into their bakery case, studying it actually, to see what I could remake at home. Remaking restaurant recipes and coming up with homemade copycat versions is what I do for fun.
‘Fun’ may not be the right word, but after 8+ years blogging about food, self-imposed challenges like this inspire me. In fact, my copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf is one of the most popular recipes on my site.
I personally have been partial to this brownie recipe I created in 2014. I’ve remade it umpteen times, but it relies solely on melted chocolate.
However, when I was reading the Starbucks site it says their brownies are made exclusively of cocoa powder, which is a twist I wasn’t expecting. So I turned to a brownie recipe I made in 2013, courtesy of Alice Medrich, doctored it up, and voila we have copycat Starbucks Double Chocolate Brownies. My family raved about these.
They’re rich, fudgy, not cakey, perfectly chewy, and so easy to make. One bowl, no mixer, and studded with chocolate chunks.
You can save yourself the $2.45 per brownie and when it’s homemade the calories don’t count either.
iPhone photo of the real thing that inspired this recipe
What’s in These Double Chocolate Brownies?
These cocoa powder brownies require very few ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need to make copycat Starbucks brownies:
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Salt
- Semi-sweet chocolate chunks
How to Make Chocolate Brownies
To make this brownie recipe with cocoa powder, you’ll first need to whisk together melted butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Then, stir in the dry ingredients before folding in the chocolate chunks.
Turn the batter into a greased 8×8-inch baking dish that’s been lined with foil. Sprinkle more chocolate chunks on top, then bake the double chocolate brownies until the edges are set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
These chocolate chip brownies will need to cool for 2 hours before you can slice and serve them. Trust me, the wait is worth it!
Can I Double This Recipe?
Yes, you can double the ingredients for these copycat Starbucks chocolate brownies and bake them in a 9×13-inch pan.
Can I Make These Gluten-Free?
I haven’t tried it myself, but if you have a gluten-free flour blend that you trust, I say go ahead and try it in this chocolate brownie recipe!
Tips for Making the Best Chocolate Brownies
If your cocoa powder is lumpy, you may want to sift it before adding it to the brownie batter. You don’t want lumps in your chocolate brownies!
Also, if you don’t have chocolate chunks on hand you’re welcome to use chocolate chips instead. Stick with semi-sweet though so these brownies aren’t too sweet.
I haven’t been able to make perfectly fudgy, chewy brownies with canola oil, which is why I always use melted butter. As such, I don’t recommend subbing oil for the butter in this recipe.
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Starbucks Double Chocolate Brownies {Copycat Recipe}
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chunks, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line an 8×8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil for easier cleanup and spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- To a large, microwave-safe bowl add the butter and heat on high power to melt, about 1 minute.
- Add the sugar, eggs, vanilla, and whisk to combine.
- Add the cocoa powder and stir to combine (Note – If your cocoa powder is particularly lumpy, you may wish to sift it before adding it).
- Add the flour, salt, and stir to combine.
- Add 1 1/2 cups chocolate chunks and stir to combine.
- Turn batter out into prepared pan (it will be thick) and smooth the top lightly with a spatula.
- Evenly sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chunks on top, lightly tapping them down so they adhere.
- Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until the edges are set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
- Allow brownies to cool in pan on a wire rack for about 2 hours before slicing and serving. I sliced them into 8 generous rectangles similar to how Starbucks does it. Store in an airtight container at room temp or in the fridge if you like your brownies chilled.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Originally posted February 24, 2017 and reposted January 28, 2022 with updated text.
I make these all the time! The recipe is super quick and easy and I always seem to have the ingredients! Sometimes I add peanut butter chips instead of chocolate chunks.
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad you make these all the time! The peanut butter chips sound great!
OMG!! this are the best brownies, everyone raves about them, thank you for the recipe
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you love the brownies!
A great recipe! I love that it is made solely with cocoa powder in one bowl and doesn’t require melting chocolate. Very quick and easy and it has become my go-to brownie recipe! I have made these brownies a few times and always get lots of compliments.
I have tried several recipes from avericooks.com and they always turn out very well!
Thanks for the 5 star rating and glad these have become your go-to recipe! Thanks for the compliments that my other recipes always turn out well for you!
This is my first time making brownies from scratch. Holy moly, these are SO good!! My husband LOVED them as well and said they were the best brownies he’s ever had. Thank you for the best blog!
Thanks for LMK it was your first time ever making scratch brownies and glad they turned out amazingly well for you! And that hubby said they were the best brownies he’s ever had – I love hearing that!!
It was truly amazing & totally satisfying!!! but, what can we use instead of eggs for veg brownies????
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad that they were amazing!
Try an egg replacer, check on Amazon, there are tons.
I made these the other night, my family loved them. i think i still prefer Starbucks brownies personally though. I added too many chocolate chunks for my own preference. If I make them again I’ll add a bit less, and i’ll try adding the espresso powder as the other comments have mentioned above! These were also my first go at making brownies from scratch and they did turn out great! Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
If you have never made homemade brownies before, it’s hard to compare that to Starbucks…baking takes some practice to perfect over time :) But overall glad your family loved them! And yes, add the espresso powder, it really helps a ton.
Made this recipe tonight for a bake off at Work. Brownies turned out just wonderful I added a teaspoon of espresso powder to bring out flavor more and also added half a cup of macadamia nuts. Y’all really have to let these cool down before cutting!! Just wondeful!!
I almost always add a tsp of espresso powder because I totally agree that it really brings out the flavor but for whatever reason, I didn’t mention it in this recipe, but yes great thinking and glad you loved these!
Amazing recipe. I’m a fan of. SB Brownies and this was better. Just didn’t like it in the fridge.. It became too hard.
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad you think they’re better than Starbucks!
At the bottom of the recipe, the nutrition is for 12 brownies, and yours says 8. Can you clarify? I’m diabetic and the nutrition numbers matter for me, especially the carbs.
THANK you!
I cut them into eight pieces to mimic how Starbucks cuts them but if you want the stats listed, then I would cut them into 12.
Brownies are still gooey batter after 25-30 minutes cooking. They have to cook for 40 minutes. Then you’ll still need to let them cool and put them in the refrigerator to firm. Starbucks sells them cold for a reason. Follow these 2 important adjustments and you’ll have brownie gold. Modify again by using 1/2 cup gran. sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar instead of just 1 cup of gran sugar and your brownies will be better than Starbucks.
I actually don’t need to cook them for 40 minutes in my oven – they would be burnt, dry, and not enjoyable. All ovens and climates vary but that would be far too long in my situation.
I love the brownies chilled and yes there’s a reason SB’s sells them chilled!
Do these brownies freeze and thaw well? Visiting a friend om Tuesday and want to bake these on Saturday for her.
Honestly if you’re baking them on Saturday and plan to give them to her on Tuesday, I wouldn’t even bother freezing them. I would under bake them by a few minutes, you definitely want to err on the side of fudgy and gooey rather than dry, wrap them very well, put them in a gallon sized Ziploc bag and you should be all set. Let me know how it goes!
These brownies were fantastic! My husband said they were too chocolate-y. What??
Haha! No such thing as too chocolaty! Glad you enjoyed them!
Hi, first time to try your recipe and finally found the perfect brownie recipe I’ve been looking for.
Thank you for sharing your time and talent. Keep it up!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
I made these today. They are FABULOUS! My family agrees. Do you think they can be frozen?
So glad you enjoyed the brownies and yes I think they will freeze just fine. Fresh is always best of course, but as desserts go, brownies freeze very well.
I made these today and they are amazing!!! One bowl + no mixer + super yummy = total winner!! I cut them into 16 pieces so I could have more to share. :) Thanks so much for this recipe!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! And nice of you to share :)
Saw your reply. That’s good to know. I’m always on the lookout for good and easy recipes. Some of my family just has to have their chocolate or they act like it’s an emergency. It’s interesting to see the post for the lemon bread. I actually made it quite awhile ago. Someone had posted it from another site and it was yummy. The site used the same recipe.
Glad you enjoyed my lemon loaf recipe (that another site reprinted) and hope you make the brownies!
I think these were the quickest brownies I’ve ever made! And they really are good! The lack of melted chocolate in the batter did not compromise the fudge-y, chocolate-y texture a good chewy brownie should have. Win-win. :)
Mine didn’t look anything like the photos, though, on the exterior at least. I couldn’t achieve that beautiful crackly top. :( Buuuuut… That may be my oven’s fault, that damn troll doesn’t hold its temperature, and the dial (mine isn’t one of the fancy ones with digital controls, sadly) never reflects the real temperature. It’s quite frustrating, and it makes me wanna throw that thing out of the window.
Okay, this wasn’t supposed to be a rant.
The brownies are delicious, quick and easy to make, and troll-oven-proof to boot. Thank you so much for sharing!
Thanks for making me laugh with your comment…I totally understand about wonky ovens. I have a super fancy 1 year old oven that doesn’t always hold its temperature and I can totally relate to the frustration!
Glad you loved these brownies and that they were the quickest you’ve ever made to boot!