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These Bourbon Pecan Brownies are going to blow your mind! They’re thick, insanely chewy, and loaded with crunchy pecans, a pinch of cinnamon, and flavorful bourbon! The ultimate special occasion brownie recipe!
Bourbon Brownies
I love a classic brownie as much as the next person! So most days when a craving strikes, I whip out my recipe for the best cocoa fudge brownies and get baking. But some days… I need something extra decadent!
Something with a little crunch. And a little kick. And a little BOURBON! Basically, something to make day 83 of quarantine life feel a little more bearable and exciting!
And that, my friend, is where these Bourbon Pecan Brownies come in! As you know, I’m a sucker for the combination of bourbon and pecans. They’re a flavor match made in heaven! In the past, I’ve shared bourbon pecan chocolate chunk cookies and bourbon pecan blondies… and now, we have a brownie version! And this is definitely the most sinfully decadent version yet!
Can I leave the bourbon out?
Short answer: no. This recipe was specifically developed to include bourbon and is for my bourbon lovers out there! But I totally understand not everyone consumes alcohol. Don’t worry – I have plenty of brownie recipes for you, too! And I suggest baking my Baked Brownies and tossing in a pinch of cinnamon and some toasted pecans. Trust me, you won’t regret it!
In terms of what kind of bourbon to use, the world is your oyster! We love Bulleit bourbon, so that’s what we went with!
Cocoa Powder AND Chocolate
Unlike a lot of brownie recipes that use chocolate or cocoa powder, this recipes uses BOTH! This ensures an insanely decadent base that’s exploding with rich chocolate fudge flavor! Because this recipe doesn’t use any chemical leaving agents, you can technically use unsweetened cocoa powder or Dutch-process cocoa powder. But I strongly suggest using Dutch-process if you can. It’s going to give you that midnight dark chocolate color and flavor!
For the melted chocolate, I suggest using a quality-chocolate brand you know and trust. I used Lindt 80% Excellence bar, but you can use a slightly less intense dark chocolate. But I don’t suggest going below 60% cocoa. This will make the brownies overly sweet! I also don’t suggest using chocolate chips for the melted chocolate. They don’t melt smoothly and can make your brownie batter seize.
Tips and Tricks
- To ensure an even bake, you’ll bake these brownies at 325 (F). Which is just slightly lower than the traditional 350 degrees most recipes call for. And because you’re using a lower temperature, you’ll bake them for a little longer. About 34 minutes. But always remember bake times are just estimates! Every oven runs a little different, so your brownies may be ready a few minutes sooner or later.
- Use the right baking pan! I suggest using a reflective metal baking pan, like this one.
- If you’re using a glass or ceramic baking pan, you’ll need to increase the bake time by about 10 minutes.
- Don’t over mix your batter! This is what causes CAKEY brownies. And no one wants that!!!
- Pro tip: stop mixing when you still see the tiniest trace of dry ingredients. Then fold in your chocolate chips. You should only need 3 or 4 stirs to incorporate those final ingredients. It’s better to under mix than over mix!
- Bake your brownies on the middle rack. I get a lot of questions about this, so just wanted to point out that unless otherwise stated, I always suggest baking on the middle rack.
- And maybe most importantly, be sure not to over bake your brownies! They should still be a little jiggly in the center, and a few moist crumbs will come out when a toothpick is inserted.
- Place your brownies on a cooling rack and cool completely in the pan! You’ll be amazed at how much they firm up as they cool.
- If you want a warm & gooey brownie, simply reheat in the microwave for a few seconds and serve right away.
In my opinion, the hardest part of this whole recipe is the COOLING phase! Because I suggest letting the brownies cool completely (in the baking pan), which takes about 2 hours. Can you cut into them before that? Yes… but at your own risk! Because they won’t have settled fully, so you might be disappointed in their shape and texture. Waiting 2 hours is tough, but worth it!
Serving a crowd?
You can totally double this recipe by doubling all of the ingredients and baking in a 9 x 13 pan. But if you do this, you’ll want to increase the baking time by a few minutes!
More Brownie Recipes:
If you try this recipe for Pecan Bourbon Brownies, please let me know! Leave a comment below and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it #bakerbynature on instagram! Seeing your kitchen creations makes my day.
Bourbon Pecan Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (120 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (43 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3.5 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 3/4 cup (170 grams) unsalted butter
- 2 Tablespoons (25 grams) oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 Tablespoons (43 grams) bourbon
- 1 cup (198 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (106 grams) dark brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (57 grams) toasted pecans, roughly chopped
- 3/4 cup (128 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F). Line an 9x9-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper, allowing two of the sides of slightly overlap. Spray with non-stick spray and set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon (if using), and salt, set aside.
- In a large, microwave safe bowl, combine the chocolate, butter, and oil. Heat them in the microwave, on low power, in 15 second increments, mixing in between each, until mixture is HOT and butter and chocolate are completely melted. Whisk smooth.
- Whisk in the vanilla and bourbon, then whisk in both sugars, beating until well combined.
- Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Fold in the dry ingredients, stirring just until combined.
- Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the pecans and chocolate chips.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle a few extra pecans on top of of the batter, if desired.
- Bake for 34 to 36 minutes, or until the edges are firm and the top is shiny and slightly cracked.
- Place pan on a cooling rack and cool completely, about 2 hours, before slicing.
- Sprinkle with sea salt, if using, right before serving.
Notes
- For the oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, or melted coconut may be used.
- If you'd like extra chocolate chips on top, press them on top of the baked brownies right when they comes out of the oven.
I just made these and they are great! One correction: in the directions you don’t indicate when to add the dry ingredients to the wet…I almost forgot this step.
So glad you enjoyed them!!! P.S. It is indicated in step 6! I hope that helps.
Just made these and they are fantastic! So rich and fudgy. Definitely worth the 2 hour wait! 5 stars for sure!
Hi, if i dont have bourbon at home, can i substitute with another alcohol – maybe bailey’s irish cream?
Hello, could you please give some example of the bourbon? I never listed about this licor.
Thanks 🙂
Bourbon is a type of American whiskey, similar to rye. Some examples are Makers Mark, Bulleit, Wild Turkey, Jim Bean
Can I leave bourbon from the recipe?
Made these but i didnt have bourbon so i used rum but it was still great! Super moist, dense as it should be and was a hit for everyone. Managed to make people who were not pecan fans to believers ❤️ Awesome recipe! Thank you!
OMG AMAZING! Best brownies I’ve ever had.
Would these brownies be good iced?
These came out perfect. Just the right amount of…everything.
Your instructions mention Oreo cookies in a few places but there are none in the ingredients?
Just made these. They look Beautiful! I can’t wait for them to cool. Don’t know if I can resist from eating one before dessert tonight. Lol
Made these today and they are A-mazing!!!
Oh my goodness! I feel like I can almost taste these. What an amazing combo of flavors!
I am making these Bourbon Pecan Brownies tomorrow. You say 3.5 oz. dark chocolate. Is it a semi-sweet or just a regular chocolate., unsweetened chocolate or just regular chocolate. Thank you.
Dark chocolate or semi-sweet would work fine! I use Lindt 70% cocoa bars.
Made these last night and after 2 hours of cooling I thought they were very oily and was a bit disappointed but after being stored in a Tupperware overnight they were much better. Would recommend baking these the night before serving to give them extra solidifying time. The flavour is very nice, the bourbon really comes through and the hint of cinnamon is lovely.
Thanks for the recipe, I appreciate the weights of ingredients when given. If possible, I would appreciate if these could be included more (especially for flour – I find it much simpler and less messy to just weigh flour instead of spooning and levelling it off in a measuring cup)
Also, any tips on toasting pecans?
Just finished my first batch, LOVE them. I added small hearts on the top for Valentine’s day. I’m going to try and freeze them, hope it works! Thanks again. I’ll let you know how the freezing goes.
I’m so happy they were a hit, Marsha! The small hearts on top sound so cute – let us know how it turns out!
Absolutely everyone who ate these went BONKERS for them. They demanded that I make more IMMEDIATELY. So so so yummy. Will definitely be making again.
I finally got the chance to make these today, and they were DELICIOUS. By far some of the best brownies I’ve ever had. They’re chocolate-y but not too sweet (I like my chocolate dark as sin, and these fit the bill perfectly), and the pecans and bourbon and cinnamon add the tiniest hints of decadence. This shot to the top of my go-to recipes. Thank you!
made these yesterday and they are just yummmm !!!! since I live in the Middle East can I leave this out for ppl who dont consume foods with alcohol, do let me know, perhaps maybe a non-alcoholic substitute if possible, thx
It is not an exaggeration to say that these are the best brownies I have ever made OR eaten. They are just ridiculously good. The only changes I made was to reduce the white sugar (2/3 cup instead of 1) and added some instant coffee for an extra depth of flavor. I’m a pretty good cookie-baker but have never felt confident about baking brownies from scratch, but this will be my go-to from now on. So so delicious!
Would this recipe benefit from instant espresso powder.
I made your Espresso Chocolate Chunk Brownies and they were absolutely fabulous.
EVERYONE who tasted them loved them.
Ashley, you certainly have some exquisite recipes here.
Have you ever doubled this recipe? I see you say 9 x 13 pan and cook longer.
What would be the total baking time for a 9 x 13 pan ?
I am making two batches but I only have one 9×9 if I do it in an 8×8 should I just cook it longer?
Also what if it’s glad not metal
These came out amazing! I doubled the recipe, did half with pecans and half without. They were a big hit!
Excellent fudge brownie w/ a twist. Next time I’ll put more pecans on top, as they toasted beautifully.
I didn’t know that bourbon could be infused with sweets. My wife wants to try more alcohol cooking. I’ll have to pick up some bourbon from the store.