Milk Chocolate Brownies with Almonds

5 from 1 vote

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Not everyone is a bittersweet chocolate person, right? If that’s you then you have to make these easy milk chocolate brownies. They will give you wonderful chocolate flavor with a touch of almond extract and chopped almonds. They’re the perfect combination of chocolate and nuts in a classic baking recipe.

Don’t like nuts in your brownies? Try these sea salt fudge brownies instead.

16 brownies cut into squares in 4 rows.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Brownies are a simple one-bowl dessert recipe. There’s nothing complicated about the prep, and this also limits the amount of dishes you have to clean up. These brownies turn out fudgy even though they call for milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate.

They have almonds and are also sprinkled with sea salt before they bake. It doesn’t get better than the trio of sweet, salty and nutty. I always think flaky salt makes brownies seem more fancy.

Homemade brownies are freezable. You don’t have to risk your leftover brownies drying out because you can freeze them. Then you can thaw them at room temperature, and they will taste like they did when you first baked them.

The Ingredients

Ingredients including butter, sugars, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, flour, salt and eggs.

This is what you need:

  • Milk chocolate: The recipe calls for 6 ounces of roughly chopped chocolate. This is equivalent to 1 cup of jumbo milk chocolate chips.
  • Butter: To help the butter melt evenly with the chocolate, cut it into cubes. Butter adds more flavor to brownies than oil does.
  • Granulated sugar and light brown sugar: I use both sugars for a balance of flavors. Brown sugar gives the brownies some chewiness while also making the sweetness more complex and interesting.
  • Eggs: You will need 3 large eggs.
  • Vanilla extract is even important in chocolate desserts.
  • Almond extract: A little goes a long way. That nuttiness will come through.
  • Almonds: I prefer roasted unsalted almonds. They have toasty flavor without being too salty.
  • Cocoa powder: With both unsweetened cocoa powder and melted chocolate you end up with a good fudgy consistency and lots of chocolate flavor.
  • Flour: I use all-purpose flour for these brownies.
  • Flaky sea salt: Maldon is my favorite kind of sea salt because each box has a mix of flakes in different sizes.

How To Make Milk Chocolate Brownies

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper and grease it with butter.

1. Melt the butter and chocolate. The best way to do this is the double-boiler method. Bring 1 inch of water to a simmer in a large saucepan over low heat. Put the butter and chocolate in a bowl that fits on top of the pot without the bottom of the bowl touching the water. Stir occasionally to help it melt.

2. Stir the granulated sugar, light brown sugar, cocoa powder, kosher salt, vanilla extract and almond extract into the chocolate-melted butter mixture. Remove the bowl from the heat before you do this.

Chocolate chips and butter melting in a bowl over a double boiler. Cocoa powder, sugars and other ingredients stirred into melted chocolate mixture.

3. Beat in the eggs one at a time.

4. Fold in the flour and chopped nuts.

Eggs beaten into brownie batter. Flour and almonds added to bowl.

5. Spread the brownie batter into the prepared pan in an even layer. Sprinkle the top with almonds and flaky sea salt.

6. Bake the brownies until they are just set. The bake time is about 35 minutes. When you insert a toothpick, it will come out with moist crumbs on it. It’s better for them to be slightly underbaked than over baked. The top should have some cracks.

Brownies in pan before and after they are baked.

How To Cut Brownies

Wait to cut the brownies until they have fully cooled, which gives them time to set. Do not use a serrated knife to make cuts. Take a chef’s knife and make straight down cutting motions. Never saw back and forth. It helps to wipe off the knife in between cuts. Also, a metal ruler is handy for a straightedge to get equal squares.

Serving

Brownies and bar cookies are incredibly easy to make. They’re always great for sharing at cookie exchanges, potlucks, bake sales and Super Bowl Sunday. If you want this recipe to go farther and serve more people, cut them into smaller squares. Then you will end up with more than 16 servings out of a single batch.

Leftovers, Storage & Freezing

Brownies will stay good for 3 days covered in the pan at room temperature. Cover the cut edges directly with plastic wrap, so they stay moist. Wait to slice the brownies until right before you’re going to eat them instead of cutting them all at once. If you do have leftover brownies that are cut, put them in an airtight container.

To store brownies longer, freeze them. Wrap the brownies individually, and they will stay good in the freezer up to 1 month. Let them sit at room temperature still wrapped to thaw them.

10 brownies on an oval plate.

Recipe Tips

Don’t over mix the batter. Unlike cakes, brownies are very forgiving, but still think while you’re stirring. Be slow and thoughtful with your strokes. Stop stirring right when an ingredient is mixed in and before you go to the next step. 

Don’t over bake your brownies. They’re ready when they have just set. There will be some cracks on top. 

Use a metal baking pan. Metal is a better conductor of heat than glass, so it bakes more evenly.

Wait for the brownies to cool completely before cutting them. If you cut warm brownies, it will get messy.

Recipe FAQs

Can you use dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate?

The recipe is written to be baked with milk chocolate, so please do not make any substitutions.

Is it ok to leave out the nuts?

You can skip the nuts if you want. You could add chopped chocolate chunks or chips instead.

Can you melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave?

Instead of the double boiler method on the stove, you can microwave them in 30-second blasts, stirring after each time. Be careful not to burn the chocolate. Always do this in a microwave-safe bowl.

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Milk Chocolate Brownies with Almonds

5 from 1 vote
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 35 minutes
Total: 50 minutes
Servings: 16 brownies
These milk chocolate brownies have a touch of almond extract, chopped almonds and sea salt. They are the right combination of sweet, salty and nutty.

Ingredients 

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cubed, plus more for greasing pan
  • 6 ounces milk chocolate, roughly chopped (about 1 cup jumbo milk chocolate chips)
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup roughly chopped roasted unsalted almonds
  • 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil and lightly grease with butter.
  • For the brownies, place the butter and chocolate in a large heatproof bowl over a saucepan with 1 inch of simmering water on the stove. Use a spatula to stir occasionally until the butter and chocolate have melted. Remove the bowl from the heat.
  • Stir in the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, kosher salt, vanilla extract and almond extract.
  • Beat in the eggs 1 at a time.
  • Stir in the flour and the chopped almonds except for about 2 tablespoons of nuts.
  • Spread the brownie batter into the pan. Sprinkle the top with flaky sea salt and the reserved almonds.
  • Bake for 35 minutes until the brownies are just set in the middle. Start checking the brownies’ doneness after they have been in the oven for 32 minutes. There should be some cracks on top.
  • Let the brownies cool completely before removing them from the pan and cutting them into squares using a chef’s knife.

Notes

You can substitute the almonds with chopped pecans or walnuts. 
Store brownies up to 3 days covered in the pan at room temperature. Put plastic wrap on the cut edges, so they stay moist. Keep brownies that are already cut into squares in an airtight container.
You can freeze brownies up to 1 month. Cut them and wrap them individually, so they don’t stick together. Thaw at room temperature, still wrapped.

Nutrition

Calories: 209kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 233mg | Potassium: 100mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 222IU | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Cookies & Bars
Cuisine: American
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Hi, I'm Paige.

Welcome to Last Ingredient where you will find simple seasonal recipes with plenty of fruits and vegetables, all for the home cook.

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