This fudgy brownie pie is always a crowd-pleaser, whether you serve it warm with a scoop of ice cream, dress it up with whipped cream and a caramel drizzle, or slice it plain for a simple, indulgent treat. It’s a versatile dessert that works year-round at pot lucks, bake sales, and holidays. It’s especially perfect for Halloween and chocolate lovers.
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What is Brownie Pie?
Brownie pie is exactly what it sounds like: a rich, fudgy brownie baked inside of a flaky pie crust. The result is a decadent chocolate dessert with a gooey, fudgy center and crisp, buttery edges. Because it’s so indulgent, a small slice is usually all you need. It pairs perfectly with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.
History of Brownie Pie
Origins of Brownies:
To understand the history of brownie pie, we first have to look at the history of brownies themselves. While there are many competing origin stories, food historians agree on one thing: brownies are a distinctly American invention and a beloved chocolate dessert.
Key Milestones in Brownie History:
- 1893, Chicago: The Palmer House Hotel created a dense chocolate cake-adjacent dessert topped with walnuts and apricot glaze sold at the 1893 World’s Fair. Though now called “brownies” at the time, these treats closely resembled what we now call brownies.
- 1890s, Bangor, Maine: Local legend claims a housewife accidentally left baking powder out of her chocolate cake, giving birth to a fudgy new dessert. Many early 20th-century cookbooks have recipes for “Bangor Brownies.”
- 1904: The first published “Brownies” recipe resembling modern brownies appeared in The Service Club Cook Book
The most famous origin story remains the Palmer House Hotel’s creation for the World’s Fair. According to accounts from the time, the hotel wanted a portable, indulgent dessert for the women working on the Women’s Pavilion. Their chocolate squares were so popular that they stayed on the menu long after the fair ended. Palmer House brownies are still baked there to this day.
At the same time, Bangor, Maine puts forth its own claim to brownie origin fame. Local lore tells of a housewife who forgot to add baking powder to a chocolate cake recipe. Instead of a fluffy cake, she pulled a fudgy, dense creation from the oven, accidentally birthing a national phenomenon. While simply skipping baking powder in chocolate cake doesn’t necessarily make a brownie, many cookbooks in the early 1900s do list recipes for brownies under the name “Bangor Brownies.”
No matter which story you believe (or even if both played a role), one fact is clear: by the early 20th century, brownies were appearing in cookbooks all across the United States. The first published recipe under the name of “brownies” that resembles the brownies today came out in The Service Club Cook Book in 1904.
Brownies became even more mainstream in 1954 when Betty Crocker introduced the famous boxed brownie mix that you can still find on shelves today. Suddenly, anyone could whip up a pan of brownies with just a few pantry staples. Brownies exploded in popularity, paving the way for new variations like brownie pie.
Tasting History has a great in-depth video on the history of brownies.
The Emergence of Brownie Pie
One of the first published recipes for brownie pie appears to trace back to a 1950 cookbook published by Pillsbury called 100 Prize-Winning Recipes. The recipe in the 1950 cookbook is shockingly similar to today’s brownie pie recipes, calling for butter, sugar, chocolate, vanilla, salt, flour, and pecans.
However, this 1950 recipe seems to have been ahead of its time. Although recipes labeled “brownie pie” began appearing in cookbooks with some frequency from the 1950s onward, most early versions of the pie looked quite different from today’s renditions. Instead of fudgy brownies baked into a crust, the early brownie pie recipes more closely resembled what we would call chocolate pecan pie today. They typically included corn syrup and called for no flour at all. Even in Betty Crocker’s Picture Cookbook from 1956, the brownie pie recipe is this nut-pie style, despite the fact that their boxed brownie mix had already been on store shelves for over two years.
It wasn’t until decades later that the concept of brownie pies shifted to that of today. By the 1990s, most published brownie pie recipes involved baking a brownie batter in a pie shell, although the older chocolate pecan pie versions still appeared occasionally. By the 2000s, brownie pie had become synonymous with what we recognize today – a rich, fudgy brownie baked inside a flaky crust.
How to Make Extra Fudgy Brownies for Brownie Pie
Brownies fall on a spectrum from super cakey to ultra fudgy. For brownie pie, fudgy brownies usually work best. Our brains expect a rich, dense filling when we bite into a slice of warm pie.
Brownie Texture: Fat vs. Flour Ratio
Cakey brownies use more flour, while fudgy brownies up the fat content. This recipe uses melted chocolate for extra fudginess and deep chocolate flavor. In contrast, cakier brownies often omit melted chocolate and use more cocoa powder to keep the batter drier and lighter. The balance between fat and flour is one of the most important factors that determines whether your brownies come out dense and gooey or light and cake-like.
How Eggs Affect Brownies
When making boxed brownie mix, there’s a famous rule of thumb: add an egg for cakier brownies. The same rule holds true here. Adding an egg would create more structure and loft, creating cakier brownies. For a pie filling that’s soft and fudgy, it’s best to stick towards fewer eggs so the texture stays rich and moist rather than fluffy.
Baking Powder in Brownie Recipes
Fudgy brownies like these ones don’t use baking powder. This helps keep the brownies extra dense and rich. Cake-like brownie recipes, on the other hand, do often include a small amount of baking powder to create extra lift.
Why Blooming Cocoa Powder Matters
Blooming cocoa powder means mixing it into a warm liquid or melted fat so it can release its full flavor and aroma. In this recipe, the cocoa powder is bloomed in melted butter, deepening the chocolate flavor. This quick step enhances the overall flavor and richness of the filling, helping the chocolate flavor stand out against the buttery pie crust.
How to Get a Glossy, Crackly Top on Brownies
That shiny, crackly brownie top everyone loves comes from fully dissolving the sugar into the batter. Here, we whip the sugar and eggs together until they reach the ribbon stage (pale in color and thicker in texture) before mixing it into the chocolate mixture.
Step-By-Step Brownie Pie Recipe:
To honor the original “brownie pie” recipes described above in the history section, this version includes toasted pecans. Feel free to swap them for your favorite brownie mix-in or leave them out entirely for a classic fudgy brownie pie.
Crust:
You’ll need a dark, blind-baked pie shell for this recipe. If you’d like a detailed walkthrough, check out my guide to making perfect pie crust.
Brownie Pie Recipe:
Ingredients
- 3/4c butter (6oz)
- 3/4cT cocoa powder (60g)
- 3oz dark chocolate
- 1/2t instant espresso
- 1/4c brown sugar
- 1.25c granulated sugar
- 2.5t vanilla
- 3 eggs
- 3/4c flour (95g)
- 1/2t salt
- 3/4c chopped toasted pecans (optional)
- 2T heavy whipping cream (optional for step 9)
1.
Preheat the oven to 350F° (175C°)
2.
Melt the butter in a double boiler.
To create a double boiler, fill a small pot with 1-2 inches of water, and place a heatproof bowl on top. The bowl should rest above the water without touching the bottom of the pot. Bring the water in the pot to a boil and leave on a burner on low until you’re done with step 4.
3.
Whisk in cocoa powder.
Adding the cocoa powder to the melted butter allows the cocoa powder to bloom, intensifying the chocolate flavor.
4.
Add the chopped chocolate, espresso powder, and salt in the double boiler and let the chocolate melt.
Separating steps 2-4 ensures the cocoa powder fully blooms. If you’re short on time, you can melt the butter, cocoa powder, espresso, and chocolate together in one step.
5.
While the chocolate melts, whip the sugar and eggs.
In a stand mixer, whip the eggs, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together for about 3 minutes until it reaches the ribbon stage. The batter will get paler and thicker and color. This helps the sugar dissolve fully and helps create a glossy, crackly brownie top.
6.
Add the vanilla extract to the chocolate mixture.
Whisk together the melted chocolate, butter, cocoa powder, espresso powder, salt, and vanilla extract.
7.
Stream the chocolate mixture into the whipped eggs and sugar with the stand mixer on low.
8.
Sift your flour, and fold it into the batter with a spatula.
Because there isn’t that much flour in these brownies, it’s important to sift your flour so you don’t get clumps. Gently fold the flour into the batter by hand using a spatula.
9.
Add mix-ins until incorporated.
Fold in toasted pecan pieces (or your preferred mix-in). I use pecans as a nod to the historical pecan-based brownie pies, but this is optional.
10.
Brush pie crust edges with cream.
Brushing cream onto the edges of your crust gives the crust a golden finish, although it won’t affect the flavor of your pie if you skip this step.
11.
Assemble the pie and bake
Spoon the brownie batter into the prepared pie shell. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the filling puffs up and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out mostly clean. For an extra fudgy texture, pull the pie from the oven just before the toothpick comes out clean.
12.
Serve!
Enjoy warm or cooled, topped with ice cream, whipped cream, caramel sauce, or on its own.
Brownie Pie Variations:
Brownie pie, just like brownies, is an extremely versatile recipe. Adapt the mix-ins to match your preferences!
- Nutty: Swap the pecans for walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, macadamia nuts, or your nut of choice.
- Swirled Flavors: Add a caramel, cream cheese, or peanut butter swirl to the batter before baking.
- Festive Twists: Stir in crushed candy canes for Christmas.
- Extra Choclatey: Fold in chocolate chips or chocolate chunks for even more chocolatey goodness.
- Campfire Style: Top with marshmallows after baking, toasting them under the broiler for a s’mores-inspired pie.
How to Serve Brownie Pie:
Brownie pie is a dessert that adapts to almost any occasion. A small slice is plenty because of how rich and indulgent it is, but there are countless ways to dress it up.
- Brownie Sundae Pie: Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a little caramel drizzle.
- Whipped Cream & Drizzles: Add a dollop of whipped cream and drizzle of caramel of hot fudge.
- Seasonal Garnishes: Add crushed peppermint around the holidays, or dust with powdered sugar for a simple but elegant look.
For storage, cover tightly and keep at room temperature for up to 2 days, or refrigerate for 4-5 days. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months, thawing the pie before serving.
Tips for a Perfectly Baked Brownie Pie:
For a super dense, fudgy brownie pie, getting the bake just right is key. Here are a few tips:
- Watch for Doneness: The pie is ready when the filling puffs slightly around the edges and in the center. A toothpick inserted near the center should come out with just a few moist crumbs.
- Avoid Overbaking: Baking a brownie pie well past doneness can lead to a dry and cakey pie.
- Let It Cool Before Slicing: Even if you want to serve the pie warm, give the pie at least a few minutes (20-30 minutes) to set after baking for clean slices.
- Troubleshooting: If the center of the pie sinks after cooling, it may be underbaked or overmixed.
Fudgy Brownie Pie
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 pie crust of your preference dark pre-bake if using a pastry crust
Brownie Filling
- ¾ cup unsalted butter (6oz)
- ¾ cup cocoa powder (60g)
- 3 oz dark chocolate, chopped Dutch-processed
- ½ tsp instant espresso powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 2½ tsp vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup brown sugar (50g)
- 1¼ cup granulated sugar (250g)
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour (95g)
- ¾ cup toasted pecan pieces* (optional)
- 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉.
- Melt the unsalted butter in a double boiler.
- Once the butter is fully melted, whisk in the cocoa powder.
- Add the chopped chocolate, instant espresso powder, and salt to the double boiler and let the chocolate melt.
- Once the chocolate has melted, remove the mixture from heat, and add in the vanilla extract. Whisk everything together until smooth.
- In a stand mixer, whip together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and eggs until they reach the ribbon stage.
- With the stand mixer running on low, stream the chocolate mixture into the whipped eggs and sugar.
- Sift your flour, and fold it into your batter by hand using a spatula.
- Fold your mix-ins in until incoporated.
- (Optional) If using a pastry crust, brush the edges of your dark pre-bake with cream.
- Spoon the brownie batter into the prepared pie shell.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes at 350℉, or until the filling puffs up and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out mostly clean.
- Let cool and serve!
4 Comments
Two of my favorite things are brownies and pie. I don’t know why I never thought to combine them. I will most definitely have to give this a try. Thank you for sharing!
This recipe looks great, can’t wait to try it out!
This looks amazing, great tips for making the perfect brownie. I’ll be making this at home.
This looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it!