These chocolatey, chewy butter Mochi Brownies are the perfect blend of the classic brownie mix with a Hawaiian butter mochi cake. They might look very similar to traditional brownies, but they have the texture of mochi with a chocolate kick.

Since these Mochi Brownies are made using a sweet glutinous rice flour, this sweet treat is a gluten-free dessert! If there are folks that need to make other kinds of substitutions to this recipe, you can sub out the granulated white sugar for a fake sweetener such as Swerve to make this a Keto brownie.
What is Mochi?
Mochi is a traditional Japanese rice cake that consists of a short grain glutinous rice, water, sugar and sometimes cornstarch. The rice is mixed and pounded into a dough and the other ingredients are added.
While you will hear mochi as it refers just to the sticky rice dough, you will often see mochi doughnuts, mochi covered ice cream and other desserts where mochi is a main ingredient.
Cocoa Powder or Melted Chocolate
Should you use a cocoa powder or unsweetened melted chocolate for your brownies?
Truthfully, either will give your butter mochi a rich chocolate flavor. I like using a baking cocoa powder for my mochi since it’s easy to bake with (and easy to clean up!).
Another option is to add chunks of bittersweet chocolate into the mix or on top of the baking pan as the pan is going into the oven. This will give your brownies a contrast of texture.
Making Mochi Brownies
Making these mochi brownies is just like making regular brownies.
The biggest difference is that this recipe uses a different kind of flour. Instead of using all-purpose flour, you will need to use a glutinous flour.
When you’re making the batter for your brownies, pull out two different bowls. One for dry ingredients and one for wet ingredients. Mix all of the dry ingredients together: the rice flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder.
Then, in the other bowl, lightly beat the eggs and then add in the vanilla extract. Then add in the half and half, water, and melted butter. Whisk the ingredients together well. Then start adding in the dry ingredients about half a cup at a time and whisk each half cup until combined. Continue adding and whisking until all the ingredients are added together and you have a smooth brownie batter.
Bake your mochi brownies in the oven at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, or until the center is set.
Allow the brownies to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing.

What to Serve with your Mochi Brownies
Now that your brownies are cut up and ready to serve, you might be asking the best sides or accompaniments for them. They are best served warm from the oven with vanilla ice cream, but they will also keep well in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Butter Mochi Brownies are the perfect treat to bring to a potluck or even just to work if you want to bring a sweet treat for the team.