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Spiced Sourdough Brownies

Name: Spiced Sourdough Brownies
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 150 g All Purpose Flour; 380 g White Sugar; 65 g Cocoa Powder; 3 g Salt; 3 g Baking Powder; 100 g Chocolate Chips ((I've used semi sweet but white work really well in this recipe too!)); 2 tsp Cinnamon; 1/2 tsp Nutmeg ((adjust to your taste)); 1 tsp Ginger ((ground)); 1/2 tsp All Spice ((adjust to your taste)); 120 g Butter ((melted)); 2 Eggs ((large eggs are best, if using small eggs add 3)); 5 g Vanilla Extract; 120 g Sourdough Starter ((can be unfed or active and bubbly)); 100 g Pecans ((chopped)); 30 g Butter ((melted)); 20 g Brown Sugar

ByThe Pantry Mama Published: May 13, 2025May 13, 2025

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These spiced sourdough brownies are a dessert that I've been making for years (mainly because they're so easy). They came about one night when I needed a dessert, but wanted something a little bit fancier than plain brownies. I played around with spices and had some pecans left in the pantry.

A dollop of vanilla ice cream on top and that's how these gorgeously spiced sourdough brownies were born. But the best thing is, they actually get better after a few days, the spices seem to mellow out and they're just extra special!

If you're looking for other quick and easy sourdough dessert recipes, then make sure you check out this sourdough cookie skillet or this sourdough blueberry buckle.

6 squares of spiced sourdough brownies topped with buttered pecans sitting on a sheet of parchment paper. There is a butter knife sitting next to the brownies.

Why You'll Love This Recipe!

A Little Bit Fancy - chocolate sourdough brownies are delicious, but these spiced sourdough brownies take delicious next level with warming spices and candied butter pecans. Seriously, what's not to love?

Incredible Texture – These brownies are perfectly fudgy from the chocolate and sourdough combo, with a satisfying crunch from the buttery, caramelized candied pecans on top.

A Deliciously Unique Twist – It’s a creative spin on classic brownies that feels both comforting and gourmet. They're perfect for impressing guests or treating yourself to something special. Everyone I've made them for has asked for the recipe!

2 spiced sourdough brownies stacked on top of each other.

Ingredients

All Purpose Flour - I've used all purpose flour to create this recipe and balanced out the amount needed to work alongside the flour in your sourdough starter.
White Sugar - using white sugar in brownies ensures you get the crackly edges everyone fights over. There is quite a bit of sugar in these brownies, but that's why they taste so good!
Cocoa Powder - nothing special here, I've just used supermarket brand cocoa powder. You can of course use fancier cocoa powder if you prefer.
Salt - gotta balance out the sugar, right?
Baking Powder - measure this out carefully, you don't want too much lift with brownies or you lose the fudgy texture.
Chocolate Chips - I've used semi sweet but white chocolate chips work really well in this recipe too!
Spices - I've added cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and all spice to these spiced sourdough brownies. You can adjust the spices to suit your own tastes.
Butter - melted butter is used to bind the brownie ingredients together, as well as to create the candied pecan topping. As always, I've used salted butter.
Eggs - I've used large eggs from my backyard chickens (weighing at least 60g each). If your eggs are smaller, I recommend using 3 eggs.
Vanilla Extract - just a little vanilla to build up the flavor profile of this dessert.
Sourdough Starter - can be unfed or active, bubbly sourdough starter, whatever you have on hand.
Pecans - chopped pecans create a lovely crunchy texture which work so well with the rich, fudgy centre of these spiced brownies. A fun alternative to pecans are Biscoff cookies broken up and sprinkled on top (you could even use these homemade sourdough Biscoff cookies).
Brown Sugar - I've added a little brown sugar to the butter and pecans to create the delicious sweet, crunchy topping.

How To Make Spiced Sourdough Brownies

This delightful spiced sourdough brownie recipe is based on my tried and tested sourdough chocolate brownies recipe. It's really so easy to pull together, but the end result is far from simple!

Preheat the oven to 160C/320F. Grab a 9" x 9" brownie pan - it's up to you whether you grease the pan with butter or line it with parchment paper.

In a bowl, add the all purpose flour, white sugar, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and all spice. Whisk the dry ingredients together until well combined.

A cream bowl filled with the dry ingredients necessary to make spiced sourdough brownies. The other ingredients are in the background of the photo.

Place the chocolate chips in the bowl and mix until they are all coated in the flour mixture.

On top of the dry ingredients, add the melted butter, 2 eggs, vanilla extract and sourdough starter. Using a spatula, gently mix all of the wet and dry ingredients together, ensuring that the sourdough starter is well combined. This is a thick brownie mixture - that’s ok, it’s meant to be like this.

Place the sourdough brownie mixture into your prepared pan and push it out to ensure it covers the whole base of the pan. Set this aside.

Now, in a separate bowl, combine the pecans, melted butter and brown sugar, ensuring the pecans are well coated. Spread the pecan mixture out over the top of the spiced sourdough brownie batter, gently pushing them in to ensure they bake into the batter.

4 process photos showing the process of adding the spiced sourdough brownie batter to the pan and topping with the buttered, sugared pecans.

Place the spiced sourdough brownies into the oven and bake at 160C/320F for around 35 minutes, you want the middle to still be molten when you remove them from the oven.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for around 30 minutes. Then remove from the pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack before slicing into squares.

These spiced sourdough brownies are best eaten the day after baking. I don't know why, but they taste richer and more fudgey the next day.

Spiced sourdough brownies that have just been baked and taken out of the oven to cool in the pan.

How To Store + Freeze

Spiced sourdough brownies will last for around 7 days in an airtight container. I've had better luck keeping them in a tin lined with parchment paper than plastic.

You can freeze them. Wrap in parchment paper and then in tin foil and freeze. It's better to freeze them as a whole "cake" rather than cut before freezing.

To defrost, allow them to sit on the counter until thawed through. Warm slightly before serving (microwave is fine).