Carole Merrill’s Famous Frosted Brownies are legendary in our neighborhood. My dear friend Carole has made these brownies for years! They are affectionately called “Carole Merrill Brownies” by all who live in our Bountiful neighborhood.

The Story Behind These Brownies

Carole has made these brownies over 1,000 times! For as long as we can remember, “Carole Merrell Brownies” have appeared at every funeral, graduation, birthday, wedding, new baby arrival, mission farewell, homecoming, and baptism. Carole stirred a lot of love into each batch she baked. Carole (or her dear husband Keith) appeared at the door with a plate or two of her famous brownies for every event. She never asked if she could bring something; she simply baked and delivered. We love Carole, and her famous frosted brownies are a sweet reminder of the generosity she shares with our neighborhood family. 

Best Tips to Make Rich Chocolate Brownies

  1. This recipe calls for melting the butter with cocoa before mixing with sugar. This produces a rich texture. 
  2. Using room temperature eggs helps incorporate the ingredients easily.
  3. It’s important to mix or fold ingredients just until combined. Over-stirring will add air to the batter and create a cake-like consistency. 
  4. Melting the butter with cocoa for the frosting produces a creamy, smooth texture – different from buttercream. It’s divine. 
  5. Don’t overbake. The brownie will continue to set as it cools. 

What Type of Cocoa do you Recommend?

Hershey’s Natural Unsweetened Cocoa Powder is recommended for this recipe, and we use it in many of our recipes, such as Fudge Brownie Pie, Chewy Chocolate Ginger Cookies, and Best German Chocolate Bundt Cake. Dutch process cocoa is also fantastic and gives a darker color and rich flavor without tasting bitter.

What Ingredients Do I Need? (They’re probably in your kitchen right now!) 

Butter

Sugar

Eggs

Milk

Powdered sugar

All-purpose flour

Walnuts

Plus baking powder, vanilla, and salt. 

We know you’ll love this recipe as much as our entire Bountiful neighborhood. Maybe you’ll start a new tradition in your neighborhood!

Carole Merrill’s Famous Frosted Brownies

Print Pin
Carole Merrell"s Famous Frosted Brownies, tray of brownies and a glass of milk with brownie.
Author: Si Foster
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 24
A classic, easy-to-make brownie with a rich, delicious frosting!

Ingredients 

Brownies

  • ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 ½ cups unsalted butter
  • 2 ½ cups sugar
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 ½ cups walnuts, chopped

Chocolate Frosting

  • ½ cup unsalted butter
  • ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ⅓ cup milk
  • 4 ¼ cups powdered sugar, divided
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Brownies:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place rack in the center of the oven. Grease a 9×13-inch pan.
  • In a medium saucepan, melt butter with cocoa and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula. Pour into a medium bowl, add sugar, and stir again.
  • Add flour, baking powder, salt, eggs, and vanilla. Stir just until ingredients are incorporated. Fold in chopped nuts.
  • Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20-30 minutes. Do not overbake. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out with a few moist crumbs.
  • While the brownies are baking, make the frosting.

Chocolate Frosting:

  • In a medium saucepan, melt butter with cocoa and milk. Bring to a boil while stirring. Remove from heat.
  • Pour melted mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add 2 cups powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix to combine.
  • While mixing, add up to 2 1/4 cups additional powdered sugar, until the frosting is smooth and creamy. Continue mixing until frosting is cool.
  • Spread frosting on cooled brownies and top with chopped walnuts.

Notes

We’ve made these brownies without nuts and they are delicious. No need to adjust the recipe, just leave out the nuts if desired. 
We also made this recipe with King Arthur’s Gluten Free flour and they turned out beautifully. After some research, we reduced the temperature to 330 degrees and let the batter sit for 20 minutes before baking. Baking time was about 30 minutes. 

Equipment

  • 1 9×13-inch pan

Did you make this recipe?

Be sure to leave a comment and rate this recipe! I’d love to see a photo, tag @abountifulkitchen on Instagram!