If they seem too good to be true, just stay with me and trust me, please! A few months ago, I stumbled across a 3 ingredient healthy brownie recipe that had a vegetable in it, and my first thought was just ’no.’ But I suppose the ick was worth it, because it really got me thinking about just how few ingredients we can use to get fudgy brownies. If we boil down the science of brownies, it’s basically an excess of sugar (which is why they’re dense and not fluffy like cake), a protein binder for chewiness (usually eggs), and cocoa powder, which is very high in fat. So, lots of sugar, a protein and fat makes the perfect brownie? I think we can tweak this formula. First, I grabbed a jar of Nutella because it has sugar and cocoa powder combined, already saving one ingredient! I kept the eggs because the only eggless brownies recipe I have ever liked is my own. I also left in the flour because stirring brownie batter excessively is what activates the gluten in the flour and makes a chewy brownie! In my expert brownie-eating opinion, brownie recipes do not need baking soda or baking powder. The eggs provide enough fluff and lift; plus, we want brownies to settle into dense fudgy bites, never anything cake-like.
The Ingredients
Nutella. The small 13-ounce jar of Nutella is what we’re looking for here. If you have the bigger jar, use a food scale to weigh out 13 ounces. Eggs. Two large eggs at room temperature. To quickly bring them to temperature, place them in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes. Flour. We need ¾ cup (6 ounces by weight) of all-purpose regular plain flour. Optional: If you want to balance the sweetness of the brownies, I recommend a big pinch of large-flake sea salt on top right when they come out of the oven.
How to Make 3 Ingredient Brownies
First, preheat the oven to 350-degrees Fahrenheit, and have an 8-inch square brownie pan ready. You can spray the pan with cooking spray or line it in one direction with parchment paper (with enough excess on one side to use as handles for lifting out the brownies) If you love Nutella as much as I do, try my nutella cupcakes with buttercream and my peanut butter nutella cookies.
