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These Brownie Cupcakes are completely from scratch with a delicious chocolate frosting. Make these regular cupcakes size OR mini cupcakes (brownie bites) for easy portable brownies with or without frosting!
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.
This recipe makes about 11 regular size cupcakes which you can use with or without frosting. Want to make brownie bites? No problem – just bake these in a mini muffin pan and you’ll get about 33 of them (1 cupcake = approximately 3 mini cupcakes).
Essential Brownie Ingredients
- Why to use oil instead of butter: I go back and forth between using melted butter and oil in brownies. For the cupcakes, I find oil is best. Oil keeps them softer at room temperature than butter, which is vital for a cupcake.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Gives that chocolate flavor – you can use regular cocoa powder or Dutch process cocoa.
- The role of baking powder: I find that adding a bit of baking powder makes these more like cupcakes – that way they’ll rise a bit. It gives enough lift to make a cupcake but they stay fudgy.
- All-Purpose Flour – be sure to measure your flour correctly.
Storing and Freezing Brownies
- Brownie cupcakes will last in an airtight container for up to 3 days. They don’t need to be refrigerated unless the frosting you’re using requires it.
- Freeze cupcakes frosted in a single layer (or freeze unfrosted cupcakes) for up to 3 months.
Dorothy’s Expert Tips
- The #1 complaint with brownie cupcakes is that the brownie sticks to the paper liner, making them impossible to eat. Pro Tip: Even if you are using high-quality paper liners, give the inside of each liner a quick spritz of non-stick cooking spray before filling. This ensures the fudgy brownie slides right out, leaving you with a perfect, bakery-style cupcake.
- Be careful not to over bake the cupcakes – a toothpick right on the edge of the liner will come out with a few moist crumbs. If it’s completely clean they’ll be to hard to eat as a cupcake.
- You must cool these in the pan at least 10 minutes so they don’t collapse.
- 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.
Brownie Cupcakes from Scratch Recipe
Video
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 powder, 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.
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.
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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How to make Brownie Cupcakes Step-by-Step
- 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.
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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.
This from-scratch recipe is perfectly scaled for a rich, dense brownie texture. Because we aren’t using the chemical fillers found in box mixes, it yields exactly 11 standard cupcakes. To protect your pan and ensure even baking, fill the empty 12th cupcake cavity halfway with water before sliding the tray into the oven!
A brownie cupcake is a rich, fudgy chocolate brownie baked in a cupcake pan for easy portioning and extra chewy edges.
Always spray the inside of your cupcake liners with non-stick cooking spray before adding the batter.
Yes, you can use a box mix, but this from-scratch recipe uses oil and a touch of baking powder to ensure a superior moist crumb.
Bake at 350°F for 20–25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center has just a few moist crumbs.
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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