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These Brownie Cupcakes are completely from scratch with a delicious chocolate frosting. You can use any flavor frosting on these but the fact they’re homemade brownies in cupcake form – genius!
Best Brownie Cupcakes From Scratch
Making these Brownie Cupcakes will give you a rich, chocolatey, and fudgy brownie in cupcake form, which makes them even more fun. This recipe is very similar to my regular brownie recipe, but a bit easier.
The greatest thing is that brownies go with so many flavors, therefore when it comes to topping the cupcakes–your favorite frosting is sure to go great with the brownie taste! At the end, you’ll be left with 11 cupcakes…seems like just enough to try out multiple new frostings!
Ingredients Needed
- Vegetable Oil – I go back and forth between using melted butter and oil in brownies. For the cupcakes, I find oil is best.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Gives that chocolate flavor – you can use regular cocoa powder or Dutch process cocoa.
- Baking Powder: I find that adding a bit of baking powder makes these more like cupcakes – that way they’ll rise a bit.
- All-Purpose Flour – be sure to measure your flour correctly.
How to make Brownie Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pan with liners.
- Stir together oil, sugar, and cocoa. Stir in eggs, vanilla extract, baking soda, and salt. Carefully stir in flour.
- Fill liners about ⅔ full (about 3 tablespoons of batter each).
- Bake for 20-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from right along the edge of the liner. Cool completely before frosting.
- Store in refrigerator loosely covered, serve at room temperature.
Expert Tips
- Be careful not to over bake the cupcakes – a toothpick right on the edge of the liner will come out with a few crumbs.
- If you don’t want brownie cupcakes, you can make traditional brownies in a 9×9 pan and then frost them.
- If you decide to make Mint Chip Frosting, be sure that you are using peppermint extract and not mint extract. Mint Extract gives a different taste that isn’t right for this frosting.
FAQs
Baking brownies at 350° will take around 20-30 minutes. In that window, do the toothpick trick, where you’ll know it’s done when a toothpick comes out clean from right along the edge of the liner.
You can! In an airtight container for up to two months.
Brownie Cupcakes from Scratch Recipe
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (40g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (109g) all-purpose flour
Frosting:
- Mint Chip Frosting (see notes)
- Ganache Frosting
- Vanilla Buttercream
- Chocolate Buttercream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pan with liners.
- Stir together oil, sugar, and cocoa. Stir in eggs, vanilla extract, baking soda, and salt. Carefully stir in flour.
- Fill liners about ⅔ full (about 3 tablespoons of batter each).
- Bake for 20-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from right along the edge of the liner. Cool completely before frosting.
- Store in refrigerator loosely covered, serve at room temperature.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- Mint Chip Frosting: beat 1/2 cup unsalted butter and pinch of salt until smooth. Slowly mix in 4 cups (452g) powdered sugar until crumbly. Add 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Beat until smooth, adding more cream as needed to get the consistency desired. Add a few drops of green food coloring and mix in, if desired. Stir in 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips.
- You can frost these with any frosting you like.
- Be careful not to over bake the cupcakes – a toothpick right on the edge of the liner will come out with a few crumbs.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze cupcakes for up to 2 months.
Recipe Nutrition
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Last Updated on August 23, 2023
Wowza these look amazing! Love that big generous scoop of mint frosting on top!
btw Leprechaun Trap??? What the heck… never had to do those when I was in school thank goodness!
What does a leprechaun trap have to do with education? It makes no sense. Really, what are the kids taking away from this whole project. I say you send in one of these cupcakes with a note that says leprechaun bait. It has three enticing parts: brownie, frosting, chocolate drizzle. I mean, there’s no way a leprechaun can resist a brownie, right? Love these. Pinned. Good luck with the trap.
RIGHT? I guess science, but the machines don’t even work. So…. ??? 🙂
Thank you Jennie!
That is the thickest most delicious frosting that I have ever seen! I need these brownie cupcakes in my life. They are ADORBS!
Thanks Taylor!
I would love a big bite of that frosting right now!! Yummy!
Thanks Kristi!
Ugh. I am so not looking forward to all of the homework in my future :/
And, uh, these cupcakes are awesome. You read my mind 🙂
we’ve been blessed with never having to make a trap 🙂 but I;ll take the brownies for sure
These cupcakes are killing me. I love EVERYTHING about these. So jealous I’ve never thought about turning brownies into cupcakes, especially since I have brownies on my mind basically 24/7. Hope you’re having a wonderful Sunday!
Dorothy, your photos are killing me! That giant scoop of frosting on top is calling my name. These are absolutely glorious! As for the school assignment, my parents NEVER helped me with anything growing up. Seriously. They were too busy working and it was totally up to me to do homework, assignments, projects, etc. I have NO idea how you’re going to make that trap (I’m not scientific or logical or engineering minded whatsoever). Good luck, girl! Will a noose tied to a branch work? Y’know, like in old school Bugs Bunny cartoons? Take a cue from Wile E. Coyote…although I don’t think his traps ever worked. Maybe just eat a few of these delicious cupcakes while you think about it!
WOW, that frosting looks amazing, I just want to eat it with a spoon! I love that you made these brownies into cupcakes, pinned 🙂
I have a very vague recollection of having a similar assignment as a child…it’s too bad you can’t just say that these ingenous brownie cupcakes are the trap, and that a mixer was involved in their creation (and everyone knows a mixer is far more complex than pulleys, wheels, or wedges, so the mixer alone more than fulfills the machine requirement)! Good luck!
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