Chewy Chocolate Orange Brownies
Chocolate orange brownies are chewy on the edges and soft in the center with a crackly top. The zesty orange glaze pairs beautifully with the chocolate and helps brighten up the flavor. This sweet treat is dairy free, can easily be made gluten free.
Next, try my matcha brownies, lime blondies, or lemon blondies.
Ingredient Notes
- Light brown sugar – adds a chewy texture.
- Orange zest and orange juice – the zest is where the orange flavor in the brownie comes from.
- Melted butter – I used dairy free butter for dairy free chocolate orange brownies.
- Large eggs – use room temperature so they mix easier with the other ingredients. One whole egg and one yolk.
- Vanilla extract
- All purpose flour
- Cocoa powder
- Baking powder – using just a little bit makes them not too dense.
- Pinch of salt – to balance out the sweetness.
- Orange glaze – powdered sugar, orange zest, and orange juice.
Make It Your Way: Substitutions & Variations
Please remember that recipes are just a starting point.
How can you make this chocolate orange brownies recipe using what you already have? Here are some ideas…
- Not dairy free? – use unsalted butter.
- No brown sugar? – you can also use organic cane sugar or white granulated sugar, but your brownies will be slightly less chewy.
- Make gluten free chocolate orange brownies – use a gluten-free all purpose flour that has xanthan gum for the best results. I like Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Baking Flour or King Arthur Measure for Measure GF Flour.
Helpful Tips
- Mix until just combined, but don’t over-mix the batter! This will result in tough brownies.
- Remove the brownies from the oven when they’re still a little soft in the middle. Otherwise, they will be too dry. They’ll continue to cook as they cool.
Storage
Store brownies in an airtight container or plastic bag on the counter for up to 1 week. If you don’t think you’ll eat them in that time, you can also freeze them for up to 2 months.
More Dessert Recipes
Did you try these chocolate orange brownies? If so, please leave a comment & a star rating below. Thank you!
Chewy Chocolate Orange Brownies
Chocolate orange brownies are chewy on the edges and soft in the center with a crackly top. The zesty orange glaze pairs beautifully with the chocolate and helps brighten up the flavor. This sweet treat is dairy free, can easily be made gluten free.
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown sugar light or dark
- zest of 1 orange
- ½ cup dairy free or unsalted butter melted
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour, spooned and leveled use GF if needed, see notes below
- ¼ cup dutch processed cocoa powder spooned and leveled
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- pinch of kosher salt
Orange Glaze
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 tablespoon orange juice plus a squeeze more if needed to thin
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line an 8×8″ baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Infuse zest into sugar. In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar and orange zest. Massage the zest into the sugar with your fingers until fragrant.
- Add wet ingredients. Add melted butter, egg, egg yolk, fresh orange juice and vanilla extract to the orange infused sugar. Whisk well to combine.
- Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt until combined.
- Pour wet into dry. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined, making sure not to over mix.
- Bake. Pour the brownie batter into the prepared baking pan, spreading it into an even layer. Bake for 25-27 minutes (checking after 25 minutes). It's done when the top is crinkly and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean (a couple wet crumbs are fine, just not wet batter). It'll continue to cook as it cools.
- Make glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, orange zest and orange juice until smooth. Add a squeeze more orange juice if needed (just don't use 2 tablespoons as it will be too runny).
- Cool and glaze. Once cool, poor the orange glaze on top. Let set before cutting into squares. Enjoy!
Notes
See the blog post for helpful tips, a ‘make it your way’ section to use what you already have on hand, and storage.