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.
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.
Zea Chua says
Hi Amanda, I made these today. Although the taste was good, the texture was like a pudding.. What might I have done wrong? Did you use a whisk to mix the batter?
Amanda says
Hi Zea, it sounds like the brownies were maybe not baked long enough. If you did bake for the full 50 minutes, it could be that your oven runs a little cold. (Or if you are using a glass baking pan, it would take longer) Is it possible that you forgot an egg or all of the cocoa powder/flour? Another possibility is that the cranberries did not soak up enough of the wine. I used a spatula and whisk to make my brownies.
Zea says
Maybe the cranberries did not soak up enough.. Will try to bake 'em again soon and will let you know how it turns out. Thanks! 🙂
Amanda says
What you can do is heat up the cranberries and wine together in the microwave for 45-60 seconds and then let them sit. The heat will help encourage the cranberries to soak up more wine. You can also try reducing the amount of wine by a few tablespoons
Zea says
Gotcha! Also, which steps did you use the whisk? Might be the way I mixed the ingredients..
Robin says
These were fabulous. I used a cheap merlot and added white chocolate chips to the recipe instead of the nuts. Fabulous!
Janet says
These look and sound amazing. Just wondering did you ever go back and try them with dried cherries? I'm thinking the combo would be fantastic but hate to change a recipe the first time I give it a try
Amanda says
Hi Janet!
I have not tried them with dried cherries, but a lot of people who have tried the recipe and have used dried cherries said they really liked it - some have preferred it to the cranberries, so while I can't speak to it personally, I do think trying them will be worth it!
Rita says
Question, if u use chocolate covered dried fruit, how will the wine absorb during step one? [email protected]
Amanda says
Hi Rita, it won't absorb into the fruit of it is chocolate covered. The only way to use them would be to remove the chocolate first.
Kay says
Made this last night.
While the flavours are good together (wine and chocolate with the nuts are superb), it was far, far too sweet with dried cranberries. Next time I think id either take most of the sugar out, or perhaps soak some morello cherries instead. In all a good recipe of flavours.
Robyn says
These look amazing! Is there a particular type of red wine that would taste best, does anyone think? (Although really, with wine you can't really go wrong...)
So excited to make these!
Shannon says
I made these the other night and had high hopes. The flavor was delish, but they did not cook through. I rebaked several times to no avail. Should baking powder have been an ingredient to help them rise? I followed the recipe exactly.
Amanda says
Hi Shannon, I'm so sorry the recipe did not meet your expectations! The brownies are meant to be quite dense, moist, and fudgy. There shouldn't be much rise to them at all, so I don't typically add baking powder to my brownies, but you can certainly try it if you prefer something less dense. You may also try omitting 2-3 tablespoons of the wine (or adding 2-3 tablespoons of flour) which will result in a less dense/moist. If they are still wiggly and not set, then it may be an issue with oven calibration. If you make them again with any of the changes, I would love to hear how it turns out for you!
Alexandra says
I made these brownies last night and they are delicious but they are super sticky. They are so sticky that when I tried to take them out of the pan after completely cooling they stuck to each other and fell a part. I greased the pan as instructed. Any suggestions to keep this from happening?
Amanda says
Hi Alexandra, I am terribly sorry that they stuck! You can try using parchment paper instead of greasing the pan next time. If you leave extra parchment paper hanging on the sides of the baking pan (I use binder clips to hold them down while baking) you can easily lift up the brownies from the pan with ease. That should help immensely with taking them out of the pan. If they feel too soft and sticky to cut nicely, you can also try increasing the amount of flour by a few tablespoons. I hope this helps!
Alexandra says
If I make them again I think I'll add more flour. They weren't sticking to the pan- just a little too dense to move. Thanks for the advice!
Little L says
I made these today.. absolutely beautiful! Thank you for a recipe I will be using over and over! 🙂
Amanda says
I am so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for trying the recipe and sharing your thoughts!
Jen says
I made them election night (last night). I didn't realize that I was out of cranberries until I started making them, but I did have sour cherries. I made them with the sour cherries and they were AMAZING! All my co-workers are enjoying the leftovers today. Chocolate - good.
Susan White says
I made these and I think the recipe needs some work. They were so gooey they did not cut nicely and took about 10 minutes longer to cook than indicated. I bake all the time, so I know my oven is correct. I question if a 9x9 pan might be better and I question three eggs and 3/4 cups of wine! The batter was so runny. I need to P,any with this recipe. They tasted good, but impossible to cut I tosquares!
Amanda says
Hi Susan, I am so sorry the recipe was not successful for you! It is a very runny batter, almost like crepe batter. The eggs are used as a binding agent, but you are always welcome to either add a few more tablespoons of flour, or remove a couple of tablespoons of the wine from the batter (or both!). They do also work in a 9 x 9 baking pan. Hopefully if you get a chance to make these brownies again, they will turn out better for you! Thank you for trying my recipe and for sharing you valuable feedback! 🙂
Vanae says
Do I HAVE to use cranberries?
Amanda says
No you don't! Please refer to the tips above the recipe for what to do if you don't want to use cranberries
Shannon says
We are having a work Thanksgiving celebration and I will be making these! All of the girls were crowded around the computer when I mentioned finding this recipe and we are SO excited to try! I'll report back (we're going to do this with cherries instead of the cranberries).
Dianna says
These look amazing!! Adding them to my Thanksgiving menu. One question - have you tried them using dried cherries? I like the idea of the tartness of cranberries but was wondering about dried cherries instead.
Amanda says
Hi Dianna, I know I already addressed your question, but in case anyone else has the same question, I thought I would answer it again here. I have not made the brownies with dried cherries, but in my experience, I believe they would taste just as amazing!
Dianna says
Very excited about this recipe!!
Jacinta says
Did you mean 50 seconds or 5 minutes, with respect to allowing the hot bowl of chocolate butter to cool?
Amanda says
5 minutes! Thank you for pointing that out!