Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, line a 9x9” baking dish with parchment paper or lightly grease, set aside.
Mix flour, cocoa powder and sea salt together in a small bowl; set aside.
Melt chocolate and butter together in a microwave safe bowl, or on the stovetop over low heat. Stir until smooth and glossy. Set aside.
In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat eggs for 1 minute or until pale and thick.
Add sugar and beat for an additional 30-60 seconds, until sugar is dissolved.
Add melted chocolate/butter mixture and vanilla and stir on low speed until batter is smooth and homogenous (uniform throughout).
Add dry ingredients, mix on low speed until just incorporated and there are no lumps.
Gently stir in the M & Ms by hand.
Pour the batter into prepared pan. If desired, press additional M&Ms into the top of the batter gently.
Bake in the preheated oven until the top is set and the brownies are only very slightly “jiggly”, 25-30 minutes.**
Place brownie pan on a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Cut into squares and serve.
Video
Notes
Ingredient Substitutions
Salted butter. Unsalted butter and coconut oil work well.
Chopped chocolate. Use high-quality chocolate for the best results. Chips, chopped bars, discs, etc. all work equally well because it's being melted. However the quality and cocoa content of your chocolate will affect the final outcome. I typically use Ghirardelli 60% dark chocolate chips.
Granulated sugar. white sugar or organic cane sugar are both good choices.
Cocoa powder. regular unsweetened cocoa powder. You can use extra dark cocoa powder for an even more intense chocolate flavor.
All-purpose flour. For a gluten-free version, substitute a 1:1 gluten-free all purpose flour blend.
Sea Salt. If you use iodized table salt decrease the amount of salt by half.
M&Ms. I prefer these unreal chocolate candies to the M&M brand. They taste even better and have no food dyes! You can use any flavor of M&Ms you'd like - peanut butter, caramel, etc. there is no wrong choice when it comes to M&Ms used in this recipe.
StoreStore the M and M brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to a week. FreezeTo freeze, cool the M & M brownies completely, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap or vacuum seal them, then store the wrapped brownies in an airtight container in the freezer.