We love brownies! The Amish Friendship Bread brownie was one of the early recipes in my arsenal when I had tons of starter on hand. People were so used to receiving loaves of the classic sugar-cinnamon Amish Friendship Bread from me that they were shocked when I showed up with these chewy, chocolate squares. Another way to share what we have with others and pass it on? Yes, please!
There are lots of ways you can tweak this recipe. Here are a few brownie basics:
- Up the chocolate ante by adding a cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted, or stir them into the batter before pouring them into the pan.
- Metal pans cook brownies faster than glass, so adjust baking/cooling times for your ideal texture–remember that the brownies will continue to cook a little longer while cooling in the pan.
- The goal is a moist brownie, not a wet one, so always test to the center of pan with a toothpick. You want to see some moist crumb on the toothpick–if it comes out clean, your brownies may be overcooked.
- Line the baking pan with parchment paper for easy lift off–I mean, lift out–of your brownies. Let the brownies cool in the pan for a couple of minutes then lift them out and place on a cooling rack.
Chocolate Amish Friendship Bread Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 cup Amish Friendship Bread Starter
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup oil
- ½ cup milk
- 1½ cups sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups flour
- ¼ cup of cocoa
- 1 small box chocolate instant pudding
- 1 cup nuts chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325° F (165° C).
- In a large mixing bowl, add ingredients as listed.
- Grease one 9″ x 13″ cake pan.
- Dust the greased pan with 2 tablespoons of sugar.
- Pour the batter evenly into cake pan and sprinkle with another 1 tablespoon of sugar.
- Bake for one hour or when a toothpick inserted in the center of the brownies comes out with light crumbs clinging to the toothpick. Wait until cool before cutting.
- ENJOY!
Kitchen Friend Emily Joseph says, “I used Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa for the brownies. Can be kinda hard to find, but well worth it if you do. I made it in a mini-Bundt cake pan–it baked in about 25-30 min. Drizzled with Bailey’s Vanilla Cinnamon glaze. Heavenly!” Kitchen Friend Nancy L. Hubbard tops hers with homemade chocolate frosting (or try this chocolate icing recipe or a richer chocolate ganache if you prefer).
Let your brownies cool in the pan before cutting. I have been known to take a spoon and go straight for it, but if you like your brownies in squares and not mushed up, you’ll want to give them time to cool down.
>> Have you tried this recipe? Share your best pic with us or leave a comment below and let us know how it worked for you!
Can you leave out the oil and add butter instead
I have been looking at this recipe for awhile now. I didn’t want a brownie to be cake-like so have not made it until now. I made a bunch of changes and it was wonderful, fudgy, and just the way I like brownies.
Microwave for 4 to 5 minutes (or until bubby) stirring once: 1-1/2 c sugar, 1/2 c butter, 2Tbsp water. Add 2 unsweetened chocolate baking bars, stirring until melted. Stir in 2 eggs, one at a time. Stir in 1-1/2 tsp vanilla. Stir in 1/2 c starter. Add 1-1/3 c flour, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt. Mix together until well incorporated. Stir in 1/2 c nuts,optional. Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake in preheated 325 oven for approximately 40 minutes. The toothpick should come out slightly sticky. Be sure to let these cool before you dive in!
This is awesome, Tina! Thanks for the great tips. If you took any pictures of these brownies, we’d love to see them! You can post them on our group Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/amishfriendshipbread
Your recipe sounds delicious and I’d like to give it a try. Could you please be more specific about the “2 unsweetened chocolate baking bars?” Do you mean two 4-oz bars or two 8-oz bars of baking chocolate – either which would be a whole package? Or do you mean two of the small cubes, which range in size from 1/4 oz to 1 oz, depending upon the brand?
I baked the brownies to sell at a local farmer’s market. These brownies were absolutely scrumptious. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
So glad that you (and others) got to enjoy them, Jackie! If you took any pictures, we’d love to see them, as well! Feel free to post them on our Facebook group page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/amishfriendshipbread/
I have been getting together with a brother and 2 of his friends and we have dinner and then one place keyboard and 2 play guitar and I just sing along with the others to 60’s and 70’s goodies! We sing for about 2 hours. This is our Covid release. I’d make them the brownies but one LOVES chocolate but if diabetic….. so I can’t do that in good faith… my family that lives with me is on weight watchers so I can’t make for them… I’m overweight… seriously so… but I’ll find SOMEONE to make them for so I can have one or two… THANKS for the recipe, they look so darn good!!!
I absolutely love, love, love these brownies. I ALWAYS have a batch on hand. I’ve made them and frozen them for up to 2 months with no ill affects. Once thawed, they always taste the same as they did the day I made them. My question is; how can I add peanut butter to the recipe? I don’t want to use PB chips.
Hi Janet! So glad you love these brownies! You can definitely add peanut butter to the recipe. We would probably recommend you stir it in after you have added all the ingredients and mixed the batter. Then just add to taste and mix before you bake it!
I absolutely loved these Brownies. This was my first try at a recipe using the AFB starter. I can’t wait to try more recipes. How long will these be good for after baking?
Can I make these in a smaller square glass instead of a large 13×9 rectangle, or will it explode over the side? I also was going to do this using just 2 eggs to make them more fudgy.
If you’re using an active starter, Tiffany, as long as you fill it no more than 1/2, any size pan will work. If you’re using discard, or quiet starter (that’s ready to be fed in 1-2 days), then you can fill to 3/4.
Thank you for the recipe. Excited to try it. I’m interested in more recipes with starter.j
Happy to have you here, Jan! 🙂
I only have vanilla pudding on hand and can’t run to the store like normal if i add more cocoa or chocolate chips will tnis compensate?
I have the same question! Thanks.
Did you try it? I am wk seeing the same thing and am going to do this tonight.
Couldn’t figure out how to edit my comment…suppose to read “I am wondering the same thing”
We haven’t tried it in this recipe, but vanilla instant pudding should work fine! It will add another layer of flavor, but if you are looking for a more chocolatey flavor, you can always add more chocolate chips or cocoa. You can also try our recipe for homemade chocolate instant pudding here: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/chocolate-instant-pudding/
Let us know how it goes!
Brownies!!! I would have never thought of this!!
On day 10 of processing my starter, I fed it, mixed it well, divided it and used 1 cup to bake these brownies. I only used 1/2 cup of homemade pudding mix and I added a cup each of nuts and chocolate chips. I baked them in a 13 x 9 inch pan. The brownies rose nicely to the edge of the pan. After 50 min they were getting very brown, so I used my cake tester and it came out clean when I tested the center. Within 15 minutes of taking the pan out of the oven, the center collapsed! So I had about a 2 inch perimeter of cake-like brownies and a large center of fudgey brownies. I must admit, I actually had the “best of both worlds”.
Any idea why this happened?
Hi Linda! This is actually a really common problem with brownies in general, and it’s usually due to the amount of air in the batter. When you mix your brownie batter, lots of little air bubbles get trapped inside. When the brownies go in the oven, these bubble expand, causing the brownies to rise significantly. However, when these pockets of air are exposed to cooler temperatures, they shrink, causing the brownies to collapse. A way to keep this from happening is to add your eggs one at a time, mixing in each egg before adding the next one. Also try to avoid over-mixing your batter. This will keep your bubbles to a minimum and should keep your brownies from collapsing. Hope this helps!
Made these with 2 eggs, 2 boxes chocolate pudding, and 2 squares semi sweet chocolate, melted, instead of cocoa. They were not bad, but not as chocolat-y/ fudgy as I would prefer. Ended up making a boiled chocolate frosting to go over them which helped immensely. Frosting recipe was- bring 4 tablespoons Butter, 3 tablespoons each milk and cocoa to boil over med high heat. Boil for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add 1 teaspoon vanilla and 2 cups powdered sugar. Stir until smooth. Immediately pour over cooled brownies and spread quickly as it hardens fast.
I made these last night and it tasted like the starter. I guess i did something wrong?
Hi Tonja! Most Amish Friendship Bread recipes have that signature, tangy Amish Friendship Bread taste. However, if your brownies taste like raw starter or batter it could be that they were not fully baked or that your starter is not healthy. To make sure that your Amish Friendship Bread starter is still healthy, check out our tutorial: Good vs. Not-So-Good Amish Friendship Bread Starter.
Hi, I have made these brownies a couple of times with wonderful results. My family loves them. I did reduce the eggs to 2, however, and sprinkle with mini chocolate chips prior to baking. They are indeed even better the next day.
I made these according to the recipe in a 9×13 pan. They are very cake like. Does anyone have a good frosting recipe that would go well on them??
Hi Julie! I’d top with powdered sugar or even try making it into a chocolate lava cake by making some chocolate ganache (https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/chocolate-ganache/) and spreading it over the top before serving!
I would make this recipe for my husband and son.
I made these tonight. I also reduced the eggs down to 2 used the big box of chocolate pudding mix and used 2tsp of vanilla. I added dark chocolate chips after I poured the batter in my 9×13 pan. Absolutely awesome.
I made these as muffins and added 1/2 c peanut butter, 1/2 c choc and butterscotch chips. Very nummy, I also started my own starter and am keeping it gluten-free
How did you make a gluten free starter??
Just made this, and it is great. I wanted a less cake like brownie so only used 2 eggs, a large box of pudding instead of a small, and 2tsp of vanilla, added some chocolate chips to the batter, and dropped tsp. of Mrs. Richardsons Caramel ice cream topping on top then smoothed over the tops of the ” puddles” to streak them across the top of the brownies, baked about 30 min. It is heavy and moist and thick and good.