I can confidently say that this is the best brownie recipe I’ve ever made! These are easy to make, incredibly fudgy, and way better than boxed mixes.
I bet you have everything you need sitting in your kitchen to make these incredible brownies from scratch. Plus, you’ll make the batter right in the saucepan, so you won’t even have that many dirty dishes to clean when you are done.
Our readers repeatedly tell us that these are their favorite homemade brownies. They taste like rich dark chocolate, have fudgy middles, and have a gorgeous crinkly top. If you reach for darker chocolate over milk, these brownies are for you. For slightly sweeter brownies, that are thicker and chewier around the edges, see our easy brownie recipe.
Key Ingredients
- Cocoa Powder: Cocoa powder makes these easy, reliable, and ridiculously delicious. I’ve tried recipes with melted chocolate and always come back to this cocoa brownies recipe. For the richest, most classic chocolate flavor, use natural cocoa powder (like Hershey’s or Ghirardelli). For a more mellow chocolate flavor similar to Oreo cookies, use Dutch-processed cocoa. I’ve successfully used a variety of natural, Dutch-processed, and even raw cacao to make these brownies, so use what you have.
- Butter: We use 100% butter for this recipe. If you use salted butter, leave out the salt called for in our recipe below.
- Granulated Sugar: This helps with our shiny top and balances the bitterness of unsweetened cocoa powder. Brown sugar works, but you might lose the crinkly top.
- Eggs: These add richness and provide structure to brownies. I add them cold, so there is no need to take them out of the fridge in advance!
- Flour: You need a small amount of all-purpose flour for structure. We want extra fudgy brownies, so keeping the flour to a minimum helps. As a side note, many of our readers have had success with gluten-free flour blends like Bob’s Red Mill.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make the Best Homemade Brownies
Tip 1: Make your batter in a saucepan. Instead of dirtying an extra bowl, make your batter directly in the saucepan you used to melt the butter. The key is to mix the hot, melted butter with the sugar and cocoa powder.
The hot butter brings out a richer chocolate flavor from the cocoa and starts to dissolve the sugar, which is how you get that beautiful shiny top. I use the same trick when making my favorite chocolate cake recipe!
Tip 2: Vigorously mix in the flour. It’s okay to really stir the flour into this brownie batter. Use a wooden spoon and mix until the batter is thick and glossy. This helps emulsify the butter into the batter, which prevents it from separating and creating a greasy layer on top of your brownies. This tip also applies to blondies!
Tip 3: Don’t overbake. The biggest mistake you can make is baking your brownies for too long. For extra fudgy brownies, remove them from the oven when the edges are set but the center still looks slightly wet. The brownies will continue to set as they cool, so trust me that they will be perfect.
Tip 4: Read through reader comments. These brownies are a true family favorite, and based on the comments, they’ve become a favorite for many of our readers, too! We highly encourage you to read through the comments to see why so many people have fallen in love with this recipe.
More Brownie Recipes
For more brownie inspiration, check out our salted almond brownies (which use this recipe as a base) or our slightly sweeter, thicker one-bowl brownies. And if you need a quick treat for one or two, you have to try this quick brownie in a mug! Or, see all of our chocolate desserts on Inspired Taste!
The Best Fudgy Brownies
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Say hello to our favorite homemade brownie recipe! If you reach for darker chocolate over milk chocolate, these bittersweet brownies are for you. For slightly sweeter, thicker brownies, see our one bowl brownie recipe.
I bake my brownies until the edges look set and the middle slightly underdone. A toothpick helps tell when they are ready to come out of the oven. Look for a small amount of batter left on the toothpick. Brownies firm up as they cool, so even though they may look underdone, they will be perfect when cooled to room temperature (trust me).
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
10 tablespoons (145g) unsalted butter
1 ¼ cups (250g) granulated sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (75g) unsweetened cocoa powder, spooned and leveled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 large cold eggs
1/2 cup (65g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
2/3 cup (80g) chopped walnuts, pecans, or chocolate chips, optional
Directions
1Preheat oven and prep pan: Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 325°F (162°C). Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on opposite sides to help remove the baked brownies from the pan.
2Melt the butter: Add the butter to a medium saucepan. Place over medium-low heat and cook until the butter melts completely, then turn off the heat. Stay close, and do not let it brown.
3Stir in the sugar and cocoa: While the butter is hot, stir in the sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt. Stir well until blended. Don’t worry if the batter looks gritty. Once you add the eggs later, the brownie batter will become smooth.
4Cool the mixture slightly: Set the saucepan aside to cool until the mixture is warm, not hot, 5 to 10 minutes. Test the temperature by touching the batter, it should still be quite warm, but not too hot that you need to pull away.
5Add the eggs: Add the cold eggs, one at a time, stirring vigorously after each egg.
6Beat in the flour: When the batter looks thick and well blended, add the flour. Use a spoon to beat the flour into the batter until it is very thick and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. I use a wooden spoon or spatula and beat for 40 to 50 strokes (see video for reference).
7Add optional mix-ins: If using, stir in nuts or chocolate chips (optional).
8Bake the brownies: Scrape the thick batter into your prepared pan and spread it evenly, pushing it into the corners. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the edges look set and the middle is slightly underbaked. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out with somewhat moist batter.
9Cool and slice: Let the brownies cool completely in the pan to ensure they set properly. To cut them, use a sharp chef’s knife, wiping the blade clean after each slice for perfect edges. For even cleaner edges, chill the brownies in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours before slicing.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: Keep cooled brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. Or store them in the fridge for 2 weeks. You can also freeze brownies for up to 3 months! I like wrapping them individually to take one or two out of the freezer when I want to.
- Baking pan: We use a metal 8-inch square pan. Ceramic and glass pans may affect bake time. Check on doneness 5 minutes early and every 5 minutes after that. Double the recipe for a 9-inch by 13-inch pan. The brownies will be slightly thicker.
- Cocoa powder: Try Dutch-process for a mellow, Oreo-like flavor or natural cocoa powder (like Ghiradelli or Guittard) for a rich, dark chocolate taste.
- Measuring flour and cocoa powder: Weigh them or use the “spoon and level” method. Fluff the flour/cocoa, spoon it into the measuring cup, then level off the top with a flat edge. You can see me do this in our video!
- Longer bake time: These take 20 to 25 minutes in our oven. Still, ovens vary, so use our tips in the recipe to tell when your brownies are done. Remember, brownies continue to cook and firm up as they cool, so don’t be afraid to take them out of the oven with the center still a little underdone.
- Double-boiler method: This brownie recipe originally used a double-boiler, but we’ve simplified the method to make it easier and quicker, using fewer dishes while maintaining the same results. If you prefer the original double-boiler method, place a heat-safe bowl with the butter, sugar, and cocoa powder over barely simmering water. Once melted, cool and continue as directed.
- Alice Medrich’s Cocoa Brownies inspired this brownie recipe. Medrich revolutionized brownie recipes years ago when she used cocoa powder instead of melted chocolate. This change allows for better control of ingredients, resulting in incredibly moist brownies with a perfectly fudgy center and a shiny, candy-like top.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
this brownie was so good i gave some to my friends and they all loved it
I just made a half batch and baked them in a Pyrex bread pan they took 27 minutes to bake in my oven. I followed this recipe 100% with one exception, I only had the butter with canola. I also threw in some macadamia nuts I had on hand. I was jonesing for chocolate hard and these brownies were a solid fix.
Your dance at the end was funny and sillie
Haha, thank you! Couldn’t help myself. That brownie deserved a little dance at the end.
Her dance was more decadent than the phenominal brownies. Loved both.