Red Wine brownies are an incredibly decadent and delicious adults-only dessert! This rich, fudgy brownie recipe is the best way to have your wine and eat it too!!
Not to sound like a raging alcoholic overly excited wine enthusiast, but I love me some wine. I mean, I really love wine. I've even looked into opening my own winery, but quickly ruled it out when I realized I'd rather just drink it. And cook with it of course, because wine-flavored food is also good. Especially chocolate. Mmmm... wine and chocolate.
My only problem in cooking with wine is that most people recommend using wine that you enjoy drinking. But it's wine I enjoy drinking! How can I possibly cook with the wine if I am also busy drinking it? Buying two bottles seems a little excessive, but I suppose for the sake of good food... 😉
I was first inspired to make red wine brownies when I encountered brownies made with powdered red wine skins from my Orange Glad dessert subscription box. I thought it would be even better to make brownies with actual wine, because real wine is always better. I decided to re-hydrate my cranberries in the wine to intensify the wine flavor and give you a nice alcoholic berry burst when you bite down. We only had the pomegranate infused cranberries around so I used those and they were soooo good with the wine. Highly recommend.
Normally, I am not really a nuts-in-brownies kind of gal, but with these red wine brownies, I like the contrast of sweet cranberries and walnuts. If you really want to get into it, I recommend finding chocolate covered nuts. The chocolate melts while baking, of course, but just adds to the extreme fudginess of the brownies, making them much more decadent.
To spare you the agony at the thought of using all your wine in this dessert, rest assured, this recipe only calls for ¾ cup of red wine. Phew! The rest you can enjoy while you wait for your brownies to finish baking - I promise I won't tell!
This brownie recipe is perfect for you if you enjoy a really fudgy, chocolate brownie with a crisp, slightly chewy top.
This is basically the perfect brownie for adults. You need to make these brownies.
Tips for baking the BEST red wine brownies:
I used to recommend all full-bodied wines, or any red wine that you love to drink. After a bit more research and experimentation, I realize that it is best to go with sweet reds and dessert wines. They are still amazing with any red wine and I still recommend this recipe to use up any leftover wine you may have around, but for the best experience, go for something sweet.
Many people ask if they can substitute the dried cranberries for other dried fruit. I haven't tried the recipe with anything besides dried cranberries, but I believe some dried fruits like dried cherries would work really well here. If you want to get a little crazy with it, try dried strawberries and report back on how that tastes!
I've also had a few bakers ask if they can omit the fruit and nuts altogether. The answer is yes! I know not everyone enjoys mix-ins in their brownies so feel free to take them out. My only warning is this: if you are taking out the dried fruit, you have to reduce the amount of wine in the brownies because the fruit soaks up and retains some of the wine. Without reducing the amount of wine, the brownie batter will be too liquidy and affect the end texture and baking time. I recommend using just ½ cup of wine in the brownies if you are not using the dried fruit.
I know there are a lot of people who can only eat gluten-free. I am not a gluten-free baker. I tend to look to The Bojon Gourmet and Snixy Kitchen for that. I can say that if you use an all-purpose gluten-free flour, you should be able to follow the recipe exactly the same. I have used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour and have never been able to tell the difference from traditional all-purpose flour.
Recipe Card
Red Wine Brownies Recipe with Drunken Cranberries
Ingredients
- ¾ cup 177 mL red wine
- ½ cup 60 g dried cranberries
- 1 ¼ 156 g cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup 115 g salted butter, plus extra for greasing
- 6 oz 180 g dark or semi-sweet chocolate
- 3 large eggs
- 1 ¼ cups 250 g sugar
- ½ cup 41 g unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup 63 g chopped walnuts (optional)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix the red wine and cranberries together and allow to sit for 30 minutes to an hour or until the cranberries look plump. You can gently heat the wine and cranberries on the stove or in the microwave to speed up the process.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and grease and flour an 8 by 8 inch pan.
- Mix flour and sea salt in a bowl and set aside.
- In a bowl over boiling water, heat the butter and chocolate until just melted and mixed together.
- Remove the bowl from heat and beat in the eggs one at a time. (If the bowl seems very hot, you may want to let it cool for about 5 minutes before adding the eggs).
- Add the sugar and cocoa powder and mix, then add the flour and mix well.
- Mix in the red wine and cranberries. Fold in walnuts, if using.
- Pour the mixture in the baking pan and bake for about 50 - 55 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out with only crumbs.
- Allow the brownies to cool in the pan about about 25 - 30 minutes, then remove to cool completely on a wire rack.
Carolyn says
This looks so good I decided today would be the day to whip up a batch! I monitor a foodie group on Facebook and shared with my everyone! Thanks for the wonderful recipe and clever ideas to incorporate yummy red wine into this browny recipe. I will be making these for my holiday get ttogether, too.
Amanda says
I hope you really enjoy! Thanks for taking the time to stop by and comment!
Carolyn says
Made them this evening, the recipe was easy to follow, the brownies were nice and fudgy, not too sweet, decadently chocolaty and best of all, liked by my boyfriend who is NOT a wine drinker. I will make these again for the holidays. Thanks again or a great recipe.
Amanda says
I am so glad you enjoyed them. Maybe we can convert your boyfriend one brownie at a time? haha
Pat Nasco says
Can you use boxed brownie mix
Amanda says
Hi Pat, I've never tried it using boxed brownie mix so I honestly cannot say! If you do try it, please let me know how it turns out!
Melissa says
I am (unfortunately) newly gluten-free, so I'm wondering if you think an even swap of all purpose flour with gluten-free flour would yield similar results. Any insights would be lovely since these sound and look delightful!
Amanda says
Hi Melissa, If you are using a 1 to 1 gluten free flour blend (a blend that you can replace equal amounts of AP Flour with GF Flour) you should be fine. I particularly love Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free flour. I've used it for a few recipes on the blog (the gingerbread cake is really good) and it's turned out amazing!
Melissa says
Thank you! I just bought Bob's Red Mill and I'm giddy to try these!
Jenna says
Is this 350 degree Fahrenheit or Celsius ??
Amanda says
Fahrenheit - all my recipes are written using American measurements and temperatures except for macarons and some bread recipes which are written by weight!
Tammy says
Looks delicious! Any recommendations for what wine to use?
Amanda says
I don't have any specific wines that I recommend, but I do think a sweeter wine works best!
Staci says
my husband loathes nuts....will they still taste good without them??
Amanda says
I think they will still be very good without the nuts - they are only a suggestion to contrast the cranberries!
Karla says
A question.... At how many degrees the oven should be to bake the brownies? Thanks!
Amanda says
350 degrees F 🙂
Zay says
hi can i leave out the red wine in this recipe? or substitute it with something else?
Amanda says
You can replace it with something else (I recommend cranberry juice or cherry juice) with the same exact method as with the wine.
Christine says
These look truly delectable- who would have thought you could not only pair chocolate with wine but also put the wine in the chocolate! I love wine, too...we just moved from France to China, and it was one of the saddest parts of the move (besides the whole saying good-bye to friends thing). I'd give these a try though!
Amanda says
What part of France were you in? And what part of China are you in now? I have a few friends around France and loved to visit them. I never had the chance to visit China which is one of my regrets because a friend lived there for a year and taught English there so I had the perfect opportunity to do it.
Cynthia L says
Oh My! I think I would really love these. I love a good glass of red wine and lately I am a bit crazy about cranberries. Great combination!
Melissa says
I made these (with my own mods) and they are my all time favorite brownies now. I've sent the recipe to maybe 50 people. Good lawd they are good. Here are my mods:
I used cherries, not cranberries. I added 2 tablespoons of cognac to the wine/cherry mixture, to increase the intensity of the wine flavor in the fruit. I did heat it all up together to make the cherries really plump up (just did it in a microwave for 2 30 second intervals). I reduced the sugar down to just under 1.25 cups since I like my chocolate anything a little less sweet. After mixing it all together, I was nervous about how liquidy the batter was and added another couple tablespoons of flour, this was probably not needed. If you like your brownies a little more cakey-crumbly, add a couple extra tablespoons of flour with the rest of it, if you want them gooier and fudgier, don't and don't worry that the batter looks like you're going to make a very chocolatey pancake. Oh yeah and I exchanged the nuts for dark chocolate chips because my decadence knows no bounds.
<3 Thanks for the amazing recipe!
Amanda says
Oh yum! These changes sound marvelous. I especially like the addition of the cognac. I like my brownies very fudgy which is why I keep the flour low. I will have to add some chocolate chips to mine the next time I make this. I usually do add chocolate chips, but I was afraid it would be too much. I'm glad to hear its not! I also tried this with different types of dried fruit and it seems to work with them all.
I'll stop rambling on about brownies now. Thank you again for trying out my recipe and sharing your experiences with it! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Angela Gilmore says
These look and sound so delicious! I've never used wine in baking but I love cooking with it. I am pinning these for later, thanks for sharing! Stopping by from #SITSBlogging.
Deana says
You had me at red wine! Making today! Love the blog- stopping by from #SITSblogging
The Winey Mom says
Oh wow! These are the perfect brownies for me! Cannot wait to try them!
Allison B says
I am making these for my husband's birthday this weekend. He LOVES chocolate and wine, how cold these not be a huge hit? Thanks for sharing!