If you're a fan of gooey, fudgy goodness, these Sweetened Condensed Milk Brownies are about to become your new favorite brownie.
Looking for more desserts made with sweetened condensed milk? Check out these Condensed Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies or one of these other delicious Condensed Milk Desserts.
Using both melted chocolate and cocoa powder, plus a minimal amount of flour, plus sweetened condensed milk makes these brownies unbelievably moist and fudgy.
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Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Sweetened Condensed Milk Brownies are easy to make with a handful of ingredients and a straightforward baking process.
- You can mix this brownie batter by hand. No need to get out an electric mixer.
- These brownies are rich and super fudgy. All you need is a small piece
- Throw in some nuts, chocolate chips, or even caramel swirls to personalize your brownie experience.
Do you really love brownies? Check out these Nutella Brownies, Fresh Mint Brownies, Creme Brulee Brownies, Nutella Raspberry Brownies, or these Cheesecake Hazelnut Brownies.
Recipe Ingredients
All you need are a few simple ingredients to make these rich and fudgy Sweetened Condensed Milk Brownies.
Sweetened Condensed Milk: Sweetened condensed milk adds additional fat, sweetness, and moisture. Keeping these brownies moist and fudgy.
Tip: If you don't have sweetened condensed milk? You can make your own at home with just sugar and milk. Double this recipe for sweetened condensed milk from Bigger Bolder Baking to ensure you have enough for the brownies.
Butter: Room temperature butter is easier to cream together with the sugar. I use unsalted butter. If you only have salted butter you reduce the salt in the recipe to ¼ teaspoon. There is about ¼ teaspoon of salt per stick of salted butter.
Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: Semi-sweet chocolate gives the best balance between bitter chocolate flavor and sweetness.
Brown and White Sugar: Both brown and white sugar are used. Brown sugar adds moisture along with some delicious caramel notes. White sugar ensures a crunchy shiny crust.
Whole Large Eggs + an Extra Egg Yolk: Eggs act as a binding agent and also add structure and leavening. There are no chemical leaveners in these brownies ensuring that they remain thick and fudgy rather than cakey. The extra fat from the additional egg yolk adds extra richness to the brownie.
Save the extra egg white to make this Lemon Swiss Meringue.
All-Purpose Flour: There isn't much flour in these brownies and all-purpose flour adds just enough structure. For accuracy, the best way to measure the flour is by using a digital kitchen scale.
Tip: If you don't have a digital scale, spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it with the back of a butter knife. Try not to compress the flour into the measuring cup. Too much flour creates dense cookies.
Dutch Process Cocoa Powder: Cocoa powder has more cocoa solids and therefore more chocolate flavor than any other type of chocolate. By adding just a little cocoa powder we are able to bump up the chocolate flavor without drying out the brownies. You could use regular cocoa powder but I prefer the smooth flavor and dark color of Dutch process cocoa powder. This is my favorite Dutch-processed cocoa powder.
Salt: I add at least a pinch of salt to all of my recipes. Salt complements and intensifies the other flavors. For all of my recipes, I use Morton Kosher Salt which packs more densely than Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. If you are using Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt you will want to double the amount of salt you add.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
- For a sweeter brownie use milk chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet chocolate chips.
- If you don't have Dutch-processed cocoa powder you can use regular cocoa powder but the brownies coloring won't be as dark and rich.
- Add two tablespoons of espresso powder to the batter along with the dry ingredients to make mocha brownies.
- Try adding your favorite combination of add-ins. The amount of add-ins you add should total about one cup.
- chocolate chips (dark, semi-sweet, milk, white, etc.)
- crushed nuts (peanuts, walnuts, pecans, almonds, etc)
- dried fruits (dates, cherries, blueberries, cranberries, raisins)
- shredded coconut
- chopped candy (M&Ms, Snickers, Reeses, Butterfinger, Peppermints, Heath, etc.)
- caramel
- chopped marshmallows
- peanut butter
- crushed pretzels or potato chips
- If you don't have a 9x9 pan you can bake these brownies in an 8x8 pan. The brownies will be thicker so the bake time will be a bit longer.
- Add a sprinkle of flaky sea salt to the top of these brownies to bring out the chocolate flavor!
Step by Step Directions
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and position an oven rack at the top of the oven. Line a 9 x 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper allowing the ends to extend over two of the sides to create a sling.
Step 2: In a medium saucepan, melt the condensed milk and butter together over medium heat, stirring frequently.
Tip: It is important to bake the brownies on the top rack of the oven. These brownies have a high sugar content and could burn if they are baked too close to the heating element.
Step 3: Once the butter has melted, remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate chips. Continue stirring until all of the chocolate chips have melted.
Step 4: In a large bowl, whisk the brown sugar, sugar, eggs, and egg yolk together. Whisk in the vanilla extract.
Tip: Allow the chocolate mixture to cool slightly to avoid scrambling the eggs.
Step 5: Stir in the cooled chocolate mixture with a rubber spatula.
Step 6: Add the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Stir until just combined.
Step 7: Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with very moist crumbs clinging to it. Remember the brownies will continue to bake as they cool.
Step 8: Cool completely before using the parchment paper sling to lift the brownies from the pan and cut them into equal pieces.
Tip: Make these brownies even better by serving them with a scoop of your favorite ice cream and a drizzle of hot fudge. Try this Peanut Butter Swirl Chocolate Ice Cream.
Make-Ahead, Storage, and Freezing Instructions
If you are planning to store the brownies rather than eating them right away it is best to wait to cut them until you are ready to eat them. Cutting the brownies exposes them to air causing them to dry out more quickly.
Tightly wrap the brownies in plastic wrap or place them in an airtight container.
Brownies should be stored at room temperature and will stay fresh for at least 3-4 days. If you must store them for longer place them in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Tip: The brownie will have a better flavor if you allow it to return to room temperature before eating it.
To freeze brownies: Wrap the brownies tightly in plastic wrap and then place them in a zip-top bag. Label the bag with the date and contents. Frozen brownies will stay fresh for up to three months.
Allow the brownies to thaw at room temperature before eating.
Recipe FAQs
Evaporated milk and condensed milk are distinctly different. Condensed milk, with 60% of its water removed, is notably thicker than evaporated milk. Additionally, it contains 40% sugar. In contrast, evaporated milk is free of added sugar.
Light-colored metal pans make the best brownies. Glass or dark-colored metal pans heat unevenly and can cause the edges to overbake or even burn.
If a glass or dark pan is all you have, reduce the oven temperature by 25°F (4°C) and keep an eye on the brownies as they bake.
Always grease the pan thoroughly with shortening, softened butter, or cooking spray. To make brownie removal easy, after greasing the pan, line it with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Cut the pieces longer than the pan so that the sides hang over the edge of the pan creating a sling. Grease the lining to make sure it will easily peel away from the brownies.
When fully baked the brownies will puff slightly, and have a shiny slightly cracked top. Insert a toothpick into the center of the brownies. When you remove the toothpick there should only be a few crumbs clinging to the toothpick.
If you have an instant-read thermometer the center of the brownies should be cooked to 165°F (74°C).
For neater slices, allow the brownies to cool for at least an hour before cutting. This will allow the chocolate and fat to set. Use a large serrated knife to easily cut even pieces. Clean the knife between each cut to minimize sticking.
Expert Tips
- Use good quality chocolate. It will make a big difference in the flavor of these brownies.
- For accuracy, use a kitchen scale and measure ingredients in grams. Weight measurements are more accurate than volume and will give you the most consistent results. This is my favorite kitchen scale because the display pulls out so that is easy to view when measuring in large bowls.
- Do not overbeat the batter once the flour and cocoa powder has been added. Over mixing traps more air creating a lighter less fudgy brownie.
- Bake the brownies on the top rack. They have a very high sugar content and can burn on the bottom if the pan is too close to the heat.
- Err on the side of underbaked brownies rather than overbaked brownies. Brownies will continue to bake even after they have been pulled out of the oven. After they have cooled for about 15 minutes use the ends of the parchment paper to lift them out of the pan and place them on a cooling rack to continue cooling down.
- Do not slice the brownies until they have cooled completely. These brownies can be sticky so allowing them to cool before cutting will create neater slices.
- Double the recipe and bake in a 13 x 9-inch pan. The baking time may need to be adjusted. Start by baking the brownies for 35 minutes before checking for doneness.
Comment below and let me know do you prefer fudgy or cakey brownies?
More Chocolate Desserts
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📖 Recipe
Sweetened Condensed Milk Brownies
Equipment
- medium saucepan
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter
- 2 ⅓ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated white sugar
- 2 whole large eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup Dutch process cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and position an oven rack at the top of the oven. Line a 9 x 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper allowing the ends to extend over two of the sides to create a sling.
- In a medium saucepan, melt the 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk and ⅓ cup unsalted butter together over medium heat, stirring frequently.
- Once the butter has melted, remove from the heat and stir in the 2 ⅓ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips. Continue stirring until all of the chocolate chips have melted.
- In a large bowl, whisk the ¼ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup granulated white sugar, 2 whole large eggs, and 1 egg yolk together. Whisk in the 1 tablespoon vanilla extract.
- Stir in the cooled chocolate mixture with a rubber spatula.
- Add the ½ cup all-purpose flour, ¼ cup Dutch process cocoa powder, and ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Stir until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with very moist crumbs clinging to it. Remember the brownies will continue to bake as they cool.
- Cool completely before using the parchment paper sling to lift the brownies from the pan and then cut into equal pieces.
Notes
- Use good quality chocolate. It will make a big difference in the flavor of these brownies.
- Do not overbeat the batter once the flour and cocoa powder has been added. Over mixing traps more air creating a lighter less fudgy brownie.
- Bake the brownies on the top rack. They have a very high sugar content and can burn on the bottom if the pan is too close to the heat.
- Err on the side of underbaked brownies rather than overbaked brownies. Brownies will continue to bake even after they have been pulled out of the oven. After they have cooled for about 15 minutes use the ends of the parchment paper to lift them out of the pan and place them on a cooling rack to continue cooling down.
- When fully baked the brownies will puff slightly, and have a shiny slightly cracked top. Insert a toothpick into the center of the brownies. When you remove the toothpick there should only be a few crumbs clinging to the toothpick. If you have an instant-read thermometer the center of the brownies should be cooked to 165°F.
- Do not slice the brownies until they have cooled completely. These brownies can be sticky so allowing them to cool before cutting will create neater slices.
Heather says
These brownies are amazing!!! If you like a fudgy brownie, these are perfect. I use dark chocolate, and they are so rich and decadent. Sometimes the edges dry out when you accidentally bake it for longer than instructed (but even crunchy edges are good). I have also used gluten free flour (bob's red mill), and there is absolutely no difference. Because of the minimal flour, these are super easy to make for your non-glutenous pals 🙂
Erica Schramek says
I am so glad you liked them and thank you for the tip on gluten-free flour. I don't have much experience with gluten-free baking so really appreciate when readers can be a source of information for others.
Jackie K Miller says
Question: top middle oven rack or very top rack?
Erica Schramek says
Very top. The goal is to have the pan as far away from the heating element as possible so that the bottom of the brownies don't burn before they have fully cooked.
Diane Stock says
The best fudgy brownies I’ve ever eaten. It’s now my go-to recipe for this style of brownie. I have passed this recipe on to so many people. Thanks for sharing it!
Erica Schramek says
I am so glad you liked them.
Connie Coulter says
When doubling or tripling the recipe your directions still say to use 9 by 9 pan. Shouldn’t the pan be bigger to hold a double or triple recipe?
Erica Schramek says
I would size up to a 9x13 pan.
Duck says
Do these brownies have a flaky top or the dull,flat top? The pictures are showing both tops!
Erica Schramek says
There is a thin flaky layer.