Step 1: Prepare Your Pan and Preheat Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides for easy removal. Spray lightly with cooking spray or brush with butter. This preparation step is crucial for achieving clean edges and easy removal!

Step 2: Mix Dry Ingredients In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, cocoa powder, erythritol, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder (if using). Make sure to break up any lumps in the almond flour or cocoa powder. Whisk thoroughly for about 30 seconds until everything is evenly combined and uniform in color. This ensures your sweetener and leavening agent are evenly distributed.

Step 3: Combine Wet Ingredients In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter (make sure it’s not too hot), eggs, and vanilla extract. Whisk vigorously for about 1 minute until the mixture is smooth, slightly thickened, and well emulsified. The mixture should look glossy and cohesive, not separated.

Step 4: Combine Wet and Dry Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, fold everything together gently but thoroughly. Mix until just combined and no dry streaks remain – the batter should be thick, glossy, and smooth. Don’t overmix, but make sure there are no pockets of dry flour. The batter will be thicker than traditional brownie batter – this is exactly what you want!

Step 5: Add Optional Mix-ins If using chocolate chips or nuts, fold them into the batter now, reserving a small handful to sprinkle on top for a prettier presentation.

Step 6: Transfer to Pan Pour the batter into your prepared pan. Use your spatula to spread it evenly into all corners and smooth the top. The batter will be quite thick, so take your time spreading it evenly – this ensures even baking. Tap the pan gently on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles. If you reserved some chocolate chips or nuts, sprinkle them on top now.

Step 7: Bake Bake in the preheated oven for 23-27 minutes. The brownies are done when the edges are set and pulling away slightly from the pan, the top has a beautiful crackly appearance, and a toothpick inserted 1-2 inches from the edge comes out with a few moist crumbs (but not wet batter). The very center might look slightly underdone – that’s perfect! Remember, brownies continue cooking as they cool. For fudgier brownies, err on the side of underbaking slightly.

Step 8: Cool Completely This is the hardest step – waiting! Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. Let the brownies cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before attempting to remove them. For the fudgiest texture and cleanest cuts, allow them to cool completely (about 2 hours) or even refrigerate for 1 hour. The longer they cool, the easier they are to cut cleanly.

Step 9: Cut and Serve Using the parchment paper overhang, carefully lift the entire brownie slab out of the pan and place it on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife (wipe it clean between cuts for the neatest squares), cut into 16 equal squares. For the cleanest cuts, you can also use a plastic knife, which prevents sticking!