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This decadent brownie recipe has been on my website since 2009, and I made sure that it was in my first cookbook—that’s how good it is and how much I stand behind its excellence. This has been one of the most popular recipes on my website for years and years now, so I’m giving it an update with new photos and new tips and tricks. This is honestly the best brownie recipe; it’s all that you are going to need from here on in!
The Best Brownie Recipe
Ever since I made the best chewy, fudgey brownie recipe ever, that were the most delicious, chewy brownies I have ever eaten and promptly lost the recipe for them, I have been searching for a recipe that creates the same chewy-riffic, chocolate bliss that I once experienced. In the search to learn how to come up with the best chewy brownie recipe that I possibly could, I learned a few things. Read on to learn how to make thick, fudgey, NOT CAKEY brownies! We aren’t making cake; we are making stick-to-your-teeth-and-smile-a-chocolate-smile brownies.
How To Make Brownies from Scratch
Making brownies from scratch is super easy! You guys, this is a one-bowl dessert, and trust me, once you try these ooey, gooey brownies from scratch, you will never use another recipe again. Remember, these were in my cookbook; these homemade, from-scratch brownies are the best! And I never say that lightly because claiming something is the best is a bold thing to do. The reviews on this recipe speak for themselves, however!
To make brownies from scratch, all you need to do is:
- Preheat your oven.
- Line a 9×9 pan with parchment paper or grease it really well with butter.
- Melt the butter in a pot. Stir in the sugar, then the cocoa.
- Add in your eggs, then stir in the vanilla.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Add in your flour and barely stir it in.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the brownies pull away from the edges slightly. Cool the brownies.
How to Make Brownies Step-by-Step Video
Ingredients Needed for Brownies
Brownies are one of the easiest things to bake up and a great recipe to start your kids baking with! To make a chocolate brownie, you only really need five ingredients :
- salted butter
- eggs
- white sugar
- flour
- cocoa powder
How to Make Them Extra Chewy
People usually fall into two camps when it comes to brownies and their preferences. Either you like your brownies like cake, fluffy and a little moist, or you want them thick, chewy, and so decadent you can barely stand it.
Adding chocolate chips to the batter ensures that these are even richer and chewier!
If you need proof that this is the best brownie recipe ever, take a look at the photo below. These brownies aren’t under-cooked and raw-looking, like some brownie recipes are, to get that fudgey look and feel. They are simply wonderfully thick, chewy, and fudgey, with no raw batter middle in sight. There is a vast difference between raw batter and fudgey!
Use Butter, Never Oil in Your Brownies
It’s all about the fat, baby. A brownie recipe that will yield you fudgey, delectable brownies will have a higher fat ratio than flour. Look at how small the flour I use is – it’s only 3/4 of a cup! This ensures that it’s NOT a raw, under-cooked brownie that will yield your result of chewiness; it’s the butter. And it should only be butter, so why waste your fat calories on tasteless oil? If you see a brownie recipe with oil, skip it! (The boxed mixes use oil; do I need to say more? They have their time and place, but only when camping!)
Karlynn’s Tips & Tricks for Baking up the Best Brownie Recipe Ever
- You need to learn how not to mix the heck out of them when you put in the flour; thus, you need to do things in a particular order to do that. Make sure to follow the directions for success!
- You do NOT need any leavening agents at all in authentic brownie recipes! No raising of these brownies; thank you kindly! We are aiming for thick, fudgy little bites of chocolate heaven. If you use a leavening agent ( baking soda or powder), you turn these into a cake, making them rise and become airier.
- UNDER BAKE THEM. Always. Remember that your baked products are safe to eat when the temperature reaches 165 °F in the middle, which kills any germs from the raw eggs. Baked goods firm up around 200-210 °F, so you have a lot of area in between to play with. You want them to be chewy but not raw. The brownies will continue to cook a little after you pull them from the oven, so if you insert a toothpick and it comes out reasonably clean – you still want some fudgeyness on it, though – remove them before they bake too much.
Happy baking, everyone! Let me know in the comments below if you tried this brownie recipe!
Love,
Karlynn
The Best Brownies AKA Chocolate Chewy Wonders
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 25 minutes
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Course
- Dessert
- Cuisine
- American
- Servings
- 16 servings
- Calories
- 231
- Author
- Karlynn Johnston
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup salted butter
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 3/4 cup cocoa
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2/3 cup chocolate chips (this makes them extra fudgy, omit if desired.)
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.Line a 9×9 pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- On the stove over medium heat, melt the butter in a medium pot. Remove from the heat and stir in the white sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar as much as you can.
- Once that is combined, mix in your cocoa until thoroughly combined into the mixture.
- Beat in the eggs until fully incorporated, then add in the vanilla.
- If you are using chocolate chips to make these extra fudgy, mix them into the batter now.
- Add in your flour and barely stir it in. This will prevent the brownies from being too cakey. You want to just mix the flour into the batter.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the brownies pull away from the edges slightly. A toothpick inserted should come out fairly clean, with no raw batter on the stick. A few crumbs sticking to the toothpick means they are baked and fudgy inside.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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Hamster says
IT’S THE BEST THING EVER!!,
my mom absulotly HATES brownies but this recipe made her change her mind!
I personally say you would add baking powder to it tho!!
Jillian says
These are seriously the best brownies ever! I noticed some comments regarding baking times, so figured I’d share… My oven gets 25° hotter than the set temp, so I set it to 325. I used a 9×9 light nonstick baking pan, and baked for 28 mins. I thought I may have overcooked them, since the toothpick came out clean, but they were perfectly fudgy and the edges were not dry at all! I also used a combo of semi-sweet and dark chocolate chips, and added 1/4 tsp of salt since my butter was unsalted. Hope this helps!
Ty says
These are the best brownies ever and there so simple and easy to make
Annette says
I have made these brownies several times and everyone loved them, I did make one substitution I used marijuana infused coconut oil instead of butter.
Mayalz says
How much coco oil did you use?
Annette says
3/4 cup
Emma says
I think this is a really great recipe and I loved how they turned out, except for the fact that it doesn’t call for salt. I didn’t realise until I baked them that I didn’t put any. Still very good but next time, maybe add 1 teaspoon salt. Thanks for the recipe!
Kate says
These turned out amazing! Super chewy and fudgy! Tip: Instead of cocoa powder, I used hot chocolate mix, so they were chewy, fudgy, hot chocolate brownies! They were delicious, and I rate this recipe 10 stars! Nice job! 🙂
O Conlee says
My wife said these are the BEST brownies I’ve ever made. Surprisingly, they get better the older they get! Delicious!!!!
Sarah says
These were a hit! Thick, so chocolatey… yum!! Baked in an 8×8, 35 mins, turned out great.
Jenny says
I doubled this recipe and added a little salt, these would have been perfect except that I doubled the recipe and cooked them in a bigger pan and I way under cooked them, they looked plenty done until I cut them, they are so thick that it’s hard to tell when the center is really done
Erin says
So so so good! I will never make box brownies again. These are just as easy and so much better. Yum!!
DiDi says
Wow! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It is truly the best. The lack of levening agents and the low amount of flower means that making it gluten free is as easy as swapping out the flour. And if you want it a little more chewy, just add a half cup of walnuts. I cooked them in a brownie pan and they were cooked in 17 minutes. Thanks again!
Alice says
I just baked these and they are the best brownies I’ve ever tasted! I hate dry fudgy brownies, but these brownies have a very moist fudgy chewy texture. I used an 8×8 baking dish, so it took 45 minutes to finish baking. I didn’t read the whole blog, so I accidentally used unsalted butter, but it still tasted great!
Kevin says
Please correct the bake times listed; the recipe says 20-25 minutes and the printed version says 30-40 minutes. I just made these and I baked the 9×9 pan for 35 minutes. I think they are delicious. I think 30-35 will work well.
Victoria says
The brownie mixture was very thick but seems alright. Only downside is that at this moment the brownies have been cooking for over an hour. They are at the right temp. And right pan and I baked them for 40 mins and let them cool and the inside was all soup.
Annie says
These turned out great, they are supposed to be fudgy and chewy.
Beth says
Can I bake these in a 9×13 pan? Or a round cake pan? If so how long do I bake it for?
Aneeqah says
The brownies were not bad. I actually really enjoyed it. I might’ve very stirred them a little bit, because the centre is a little cakey but the edges are fudgy? But out of all I really enjoyed it, although I put my batter in a bigger tray( made my brownies very thin) and not a 9×9, it was delicious. Next time I’ll put it in the 9×9 tray 🙂
Jaime Lynn says
Thank you for sharing this recipe! It is now a favourite. Your brownies (and now MY brownies!) are perfection.
Erin says
Good brownies & easy recipe but I feel it is a bit misleading to call them ‘chewy’. These are the fudgiest brownies I’ve ever had & unfortunately I didn’t see the part where that was called out… I thought they were going to be super chewy (being named “Chocolate Chewy Wonders”) so I’m still on the hunt for a delicious chewy brownie recipe if anyone knows one!
However, these are exactly what you are looking for if you want a fudge-y brownie!!!
Jenny says
Out of this world!!!! I just hit a home run on these with my first try. It was a a great recipe to follow along with and it turned out pretty amazing.
Thank you so much for sharing this with us, I’ll definitely be using this recipe again.
Britney says
I am sure they’d be great however I cannot make brownies. Cakes, cookies, cheesecakes, all perfect! My brownies though, they leave a lot to be desired. They always turn out cakey. I even followed the recipe to the tee and didn’t stir the flour too much and still got cake. ?
Amelia.C.Jones says
Thank you so much for you recipe! We love it at home!
Mona Rosengren says
Haven’t made these yet. The recipe is written twice on one page. One says bake them 20 – 25 mins and the other one is 30-40 mins. One salted butter, the other unsalted. We need it a little more clear. Can I double the recipe? I’m sure they are marvelous, can’t wait to bake. ?
Barb says
Tried it easy and wonderful loved them
Cameron Martin says
Absolutely love these and so has the family. Possible to turn this inro a cheesecake brownie ??
Tegan says
I really enjoyed these brownies! I was out of butter but the craving was strong so I used half coconut oil and half rice bran oil. They really were too sweet but I understand the sugar has something to do with them being chewy which was why I chose this recipe. If you eat a small piece with some unsweetened cream it balances the sweetness perfectly 🙂
Kathy W says
Love these! No icing don’t need it.
Sara says
I made these last week with dark cocoa powder, and my husband and I both loved them! I am making a few more batches this weekend for our Superbowl party! Thank you for the recipe 🙂
Kamilah says
May I know if it’s okay to substitute the butter with oil??
mark says
what kind of chocolate bitter semisweet milk
Karlynn Johnston says
The choice is up to you! some people prefer milk chocolate, some semi=sweet, it’s whatever you want to add in!
egmonty says
Haven’t tried yet but three things right off the bat after baking: 1. they smell heavenly 2. The chocolate chunks did not sink AT ALL, would definitely stir them in next time 3. Bake time is almost double the suggested, baked mine for 40 minutes and they are still perfectly under done in the center
Mary Jane says
I’m with the comments it taste overly sugary. Texture was there, moist but cooked thru,smelled good but the sugar overwhelmed the taste & it didnt have that rich chocolate flavor & mouth feel.
Adam says
Quick question, should I be using salted or unsalted butter for this recipe. Earlier in your instructions you mention all the ingredients you need and you mention salted butter but later in the recipe list you say unsalted butter. Which one is correct?
Toni says
Hi Adam, I am not Karlynn, but I used salted butter and they turned out fabulous. I don’t see why it would be necessary to use unsalted in this recipe. Your going to love these.
Toni says
OMG!!!!! I cannot believe HOW GOOD these are.. 5 stars and not nearly enough. These are by far the best brownies I have ever eaten much less made. I was baking them on my last comment so I had no idea that I would be dying and going to brownie heaven within and hour or so. I did not change a thing except I baked them for 30 minutes. I have tossed every other brownie recipes I had on my laptop. This one is the keeper. I have written it down also. I can’t wait to add a little caramel next time and maybe some walnuts. The possibilities are endless. Thank you Karlynn so very much!!! Time for another and a glass of milk.
Toni says
Hi Karlynn, My brownies are baking and they smell like heaven. I have a question about where in the oven these should be baked. I have an electric oven and only 4 places to put racks. I have seen others say to bake brownies on the very top ? I question this because unless I have broil on there is not heat coming from the top element. Can you please answer my question? I will let you know when these come out and I can taste them. Thank you so much.
Karlynn Johnston says
Sorry I didn’t catch this comment, I am glad that they worked out! I bake everything except pies in the middle of my oven!
Gayle says
Prep is more like a half hour unless you have someone else to measure your ingredients for you . Cook time is over 40 minutes so far. I’m making them right now. But they smell great. I made mine with pot.?