Chocolate Orange Brownies
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These chocolate orange brownies are fudgy, rich and packed with real orange flavor! They have the perfect crinkly top and are made in just one bowl with no mixer required!
I absolutely love holiday dessserts, and chocolate orange is one of my top favorite Christmas flavors. I love making my chocolate orange cake and these chocolate orange brownies around the holiday season for holiday parties or sometimes I will also wrap the brownies and give them as gifts!
Featured Reader Review
“Chocolate oranges are a holiday staple in my family and these brownies were a game changer! Everyone who tried them kept going around telling everyone else they had to go give them a try. They were a huge hit and will be in my recipe collection for the rest of time! Thank you so much!”
Hannah
I will never get tired of developing new brownie recipes. They are just such a low effort, high reward dessert and I cannot get enough. Part of what makes this particular recipe so easy is that these brownies are made with just cocoa powder. No need to melt any chocolate, and fewer dishes is always a win for me!
These orange chocolate brownies use a generous amount of orange zest. I did test them with orange extract while developing the recipe but the naturally flavored version was much better. Plus adding chocolate chips makes these brownies are extra chocolatey!
Ingredient Notes
- Orange Zest: feel free to use whatever type of oranges you have on hand! Just make sure when you’re zesting the orange you don’t get any pith in the brownie batter (the white part) since that part will add a bitter taste to them.
- Butter: you can use regular butter or dairy free butter, the recipe has been tested both ways.
- Chocolate Chips: I like using semisweet chocolate chips but you can use whatever type of chocolate you like! You can also chop up a chocolate bar, or you can leave the chocolate out entirely.
How To Make These Brownies
Whisk wet ingredients together.
Add dry ingredients!
Bake!
Recipe Developer Expert Tips
- If you want to amp up the orange flavor, you can chop up a Terry’s chocolate orange and use that instead of chocolate chips! You can also sprinkle extra orange zest on top of the brownies before eating.
- When whisking the butter with the sugars, make sure you whisk until it forms a thick paste! This is going to help give you that gorgeous crinkly top that we want!
More Recipes You’ll Love
If you make this recipe, let me know how it went in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you! You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can check it out!
Baking FAQ
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You can get these answers and more in my frequently asked questions post!
Fudgy Chocolate Orange Brownies
Video
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (158 g) butter, melted, (regular or dairy free)
- 3/4 cup (150 g) light brown sugar
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons orange zest
- 3/4 cup (64.5 g) cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons (79 g) all-purpose flour, SEE NOTES
- ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips, or chopped chocolate, (regular or vegan)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line an 8×8 square baking pan with parchment paper. Leave parchment paper hanging over the sides of the pan so that you can easily remove the brownies from the pan later.
- Melt the butter in the microwave or in a small pan over the stove. Transfer the melted butter to a medium sized bowl.
- Add in both the sugars and use a whisk to whisk the butter and sugars together. Keep whisking until the mixture resembles a paste that pulls away cleanly from the side of the bowl when you mix it. (this contributes to the crinkly top in the brownies)
- Add the eggs and vanilla and mix again. Mix in the orange zest.
- Pour the dry ingredients (cocoa powder, salt, and flour) into the bowl and mix with the whisk until just combined (it should only take about a minute). Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into the lined baking pan using a spatula to scrape all the batter out of the bowl.
- Bake for 28-40 minutes*. Begin checking the brownies at 28 minutes by inserting a toothpick in the middle. The top of the brownies should be crinkly and the toothpick should not come out clean (over-baking the brownies will make them tough). The brownies are ready when the toothpick has a few wet crumbs, but not wet batter.
- Let the brownies cool completely before slicing (they need time to set and if you cut them too early they will make a gooey mess). Sprinkle more orange zest on top if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
The calorie information provided for this recipe is an estimate. The accuracy of the calories listed is not guaranteed.
Hi Gabby,
Thank you for this recipe l!  Since I think chocolate and orange are a magical combination, I’m sure I will love these.  However, I’m trying to cut back on sugar.  Will it adversely affect the recipe if I cut back on the white sugar? Â
Yes, I developed this recipe with those exact sugar measurements so I can’t recommend changing it, but if you give it try, let us know how it worked for you!
When you write, “Store un-sliced in the pan, covered tightly with tinfoil 3-4 days,” store where? On the counter? In the refrigerator? Thanks.
Room temperature 🙂
Chocolate oranges are a holiday staple in my family and these brownies were a game changer! Everyone who tried them kept going around telling everyone else they had to go give them a try. They were a huge hit and will be in my recipe collection for the rest of time! Thank you so much!
Love to hear this! Thank you Hannah!
Great!
This looks very yummy! I wonder if I could freeze it for later? If so, how to serve it after freezing? TIA
Hi Anna! You can freeze them, yes. To freeze, wrap the them tightly in plastic wrap, then wrap again in tinfoil and place in a large freezer ziploc bag. Bring to room temperature to thaw before serving. Enjoy!