This recipe makes rich, dense, fudgy Homemade Brownies with crisp, crackly tops—every time! Plus, they’re super easy and come together with just a bowl and a whisk.
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The Best Fudgy Brownies from Scratch
I first started making these brownies back in my university days, when I found all my recipes on Allrecipes.com and had no knowledge of food blogging. On a whim, I decided to try this particular recipe. I mean, how else do you possibly choose a brownie recipe from the 371 options on one website alone?
Best decision ever.
Anyway. This is THE brownie recipe you need.
Unless you like cakey, fluffy, crumbly brownies. These are definitely not those.
These brownies are dense, fudgy, and rich. They are slightly chewy at the edges, crisp and crackly on top, and incredibly moist and fudgy underneath. How many times can I use ‘fudgy’ in a brownie description without it becoming redundant?
They are perfect on their own or as a base for this Brownie Sundae! You can also jazz them up with Easy Homemade Ice Cream, Whipped Cream and Strawberry Sauce.
What Makes These Brownies So Good?
One reason that these brownies are special is that they aren’t overly sweet. I use a whole cup of cocoa and only 2 ½ cups of sugar, which allows the rich chocolatey flavor from the cocoa powder to really shine. The original recipe called for 3 cups of sugar, which is a lot for one 9×13 pan, in my opinion. (If you like things extra sweet, feel free to add it back in, or you can reduce further to 2 cups).
I also often swap whole wheat flour for all-purpose flour, which is a healthy trade that also gives a deeper, fuller flavor—and in a brownie like this, I honestly don’t think you can tell any difference in the texture!
But again, if you don’t have any whole wheat flour (or just don’t want to use it), feel free to use all-purpose.
Finally, while a lot of great brownie recipes call for vegetable oil, this one uses melted butter! So indulgent!
Recipe Ingredients
Another great thing about these brownies is that the list of ingredients is very short. That cuts down on the measuring and prep time. If you make these often enough, you may end up memorizing this easy recipe! (For the full recipe card with amounts and nutrition facts, scroll down to the bottom of this post.)
- Butter: I use melted butter instead of oil, for extra richness.
- Sugar: You can use plain granulated sugar, or swap out raw sugar if you prefer.
- Vanilla: Pure vanilla extract gives the best flavor.
- Eggs: You’ll need four whole, large eggs.
- Flour: Use whole wheat flour or all-purpose, it’s up to you!
- Cocoa: Using cocoa powder gives these brownies an extra-deep chocolate flavor, compared to brownies made with melted chocolate.
- Salt: a bit of salt balances out the sweetness and adds incredible flavor
- Chocolate Chips: These are optional! Sprinkle them on top, mix them into the batter, or leave them out.
How to Make Homemade Brownies from Scratch
The method for making these brownies couldn’t be simpler. All you need is a bowl and a whisk.
- Get Ready to Bake. First things first! Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a 9×13 pan with foil or parchmet. Spray the lined pan with non-stick spray.
- Combine the Liquid Ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, the sugar, and the vanilla; whisk until smooth. Then whisk in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add the Dry Ingredients. Stir the flour, cocoa and salt into the wet ingredients, just until combined.
- Bake! Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan, and bake. You’ll know they’re done when a toothpick inserted into the baked brownies comes out with just a few moist crumbs. The great thing about brownies is that you can cook them more or less according to your tastes. Keep in mind that the brownies will continue to set after baking.
Tips and Variations
As with most of my recipes, this one is flexible and can easily be tailored to your needs. Here are a few easy ways to do just that.
- Butter Swap: Feel free to use vegetable oil, coconut oil, ghee, or applesauce instead of the butter. Each one will add its own unique flavor and nutrition profile to the recipe.
- Tweak the Bake Time: The brownies do not need to be totally set when you pull them out of the oven, as they will continue to cook in the pan—and if you like them gooey-er, you can just take them out on the earlier side. If you want them fully baked, wait until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Add Your Favorite Mix Ins: You can mix all kinds of goodies into this basic recipe! Here are a few great ideas to get you started:
- Chopped nuts
- Mini marshmallows
- Chocolate candies
- Toffee bits
- Chopped or quartered cherries
- Dried fruit
- A swirl of chocolate ganache
- White chocolate chips
Serving Suggestions
Aside from serving the brownies on their own (perfect snack!), you can also serve them as part of a larger dessert, like this:
- Brownies A La Mode: Top a warm brownie with a scoop of your favorite ice cream—No Churn Turtle Ice Cream, perhaps?
- Caramel Nut Bars: A platter of homemade brownies alternating with these Caramel Nut Bars makes a festive and perfectly-paired dessert.
- Strawberry Topping: Homemade Strawberry Sauce makes a luscious topping for these amazing brownies.
How to Store Brownies
You can store brownies at room temperature, in the fridge, or in the freezer! Here’s how:
- Counter: Place brownies in an airtight container and store on the counter for up to 3 days.
- Fridge: Also store them in an airtight container, but place it in the fridge. The brownies will keep for up to a week this way!
- Freezer: Slice the brownies and wrap each brownie individually in plastic wrap. Store multiple brownies in zip-top bags. They will keep for up to 3 months. Thaw the brownies before serving.
- To heat them up: Pop them in the microwave for a few seconds at a time until warm. Watch out for hot and/or cold spots!
The Best Homemade Brownies
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter melted
- 2 ½ cups granulated sugar 500g
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 4 eggs
- 1 ½ cups flour (about 195g) whole wheat or all purpose
- 1 cup cocoa about 80g
- ½ tsp salt
- chocolate chips for sprinkling on top or to mix in, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar and vanilla with a whisk until smooth.
- Whisk in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Stir in flour, cocoa and salt until combined.
- Line a 9×13" pan with tin foil or parchment and spray with non-stick spray. Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until the outer 3 inches are set. They do not need to be totally set as they will continue to cook in the pan — if you like them gooey-er, you just take them out on the earlier side. If you want them fully baked, wait until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs.
Nutrition Information
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Marianna says
Hi is it unsweetened cocoa that you use? Looking forward to trying these.
Ashley Fehr says
Yes, I do use unsweetened! I’d love to hear how you like them!
khozaim says
my brownies becomes moist, what to do to make it little dry
Ashley Fehr says
You want them less moist? You would have to leave out some of the wet ingredients but I can’t really advise you on that because this is just the way we like them.
Ashley says
Hi Ashley!
I was wondering if you used salted butter or unsalted butter?
Ashley Fehr says
I use salted, but you can use whatever you like!
Eden Passante says
These look so rich and delicious! It’s always good to have an amazing brownie recipe on hand!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Eden!
Allison says
These were absolutely delicious! I burned the roof of my mouth eating one because I couldn’t wait. I will definitely make these again! I added nuts and chocolate chips, so good!!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Allison! I’m so happy to hear that you liked them!
Scarlett says
This is a terrific recipe! It’s easy, fast and perfect for a delicious chocolate fix.
Thanks for sharing. I’ll be using this one again and again.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Scarlett! I’m glad you liked them!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Scarlett! I’m happy to hear that!
oddy says
i would like to ask for the cocoa, is it cocoa powder or just melted chocolate bar ? thx
Ashley Fehr says
It is cocoa powder
Jess says
Please forgive me for this question, because I’m sure it’s as ridiculous as I think it is. Why did you line the pan with aluminum foil? This has me completely perplexed. I’ve never actually made brownies from scratch before, shame on me. I was planning on using a glass pan, seeing as all my cake pans currently have cakes in them. Once again, sorry for the silly question.
Nicole says
hey 🙂 don’t worry that wasn’t a silly question at all.
Foil helps the brownies get off from the pan easier since they have a tendancy to stick really desperately.I actually found that foil is the best for lining pans when cooking brownies because once you grease and lightly flour them the brownies absolutely will not stick.
Also,it will prevent your pan by getting ruined by the scratches from knives or any metallic or sharp objects used when taking out brownies. 🙂 hope that helped
Ashley Fehr says
What Nicole said 🙂 I like to line all of my baking pans with foil or parchment paper so that I can avoid washing the pan after and it helps them come out easier!
Nicolr says
Thank you for the great recipe!! I try to keep as much refined sugar as possible out of my diet and don’t do dairy… So I used coconut sugar instead and vegan butter substituted for the butter. They still turned out fantastic!! I used some dairy free chocolate chips on the top! I loved them and my kids loved them! (My 7 year old ate 3)
Thank you!
Ashley Fehr says
That’s so great to know! Thank you!
Nicole says
Clearly I have no self control… So I made them again! This time I made the whole recipe instead of halfing it! And we can’t stop eating them!! I ran out of coconut sugar, so I did half that and half honey…. And I also did half vegan butter and half unsweetened applesauce. Still delicious!!! They were still nice and fudgy, which I think is probably from the honey addition. Thanks again!!! I love having a great recipe that I can change around and it is still fabulous!!!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Nicole! It’s so helpful to hear about your substitutions!
Livia says
Just made these last night… They are delicious!
It was my first time making brownies, and I’m so glad I found your recipe. Thank you so much for sharing it!
I used pecans instead of chocolate chips and they turned out so great that one batch wasn’t enough… My husband rushed out the door before the shops closed to buy more pecans so I could make more! ?
Ashley Fehr says
That’s so great to hear! Thanks for letting me know they were a hit!
Andrea Clark says
How many pecans did you use? I was thinking 1/2 a cup?
Sandra Cabeçadas says
These brownies look fabulous. I want to try this recipe for a party and was thinking about leaving out the chocolate chips, but adding a ganache on the top. Do you think it would fit?
Thanks for sharing.
Sandra
Ashley Fehr says
Hi Sandra! I think that would be awesome!
Sandra Cabeçadas says
Thank you for the prompt reply. Just give me a couple of days and Iwill tell you how goood they were.
Have a beautiful day.
Sandra
Sandra Cabeçadas says
Hi Ashley!
I can confirm now. These brownies are great.
I have done them these weekend. Used half spelt, half all purpose wheat flour, half the amount of sugar was brown sugar for me and ended up topping these brownies with a ganache made out of 1/2 cup cream and 200 g Lindt chocolate (53%).
I was expecting to have a heavy chocolate piece of brownie, but instead it just melts in yout mouth. Fantastic brownies. My guests were amazed.
Thank you very much for sharing.
How can I send you a picture of ny result?
Greetings
Sandra
Pat says
Made these this week and I’ve been told to make sure this is the only brownie recipe I use from now on. I used a dark chocolate cocoa and swapped pecans for chocolate chips. Perfection!!
Ashley Fehr says
Hi Pat! That’s so great to hear! Thanks for coming back and letting me know!
Sue says
Could I use coconut oil in place of the butter?
Ashley Fehr says
Hi Sue! You can definitely try, but I have never used coconut oil for baking so I can’t say how they’d turn out.
Krystal says
Absolutely loved this brownie recipe! Super delicious and I love that it’s minimal ingredients! I’m totally a less is more kind of cook. Fancy is great but sometimes simple is the sweetest and that’s how I feel about these! Mahalo for sharing!
Ashley says
Thanks Krystal! I’m glad you let me know how they turned out for you!
Valerie says
Sorry but I have to say these are NOT the best brownies ever. I did not have any chocolate chips (which you said were optional) so I used a Divine Milk Chocolate baking bar. They are just not chocolate ooey gooey like other brownies I have had. My daughter commented I should have put alot more chocolate in the batter : – (
Ashley says
Sorry you didn’t like them! They are not an ooey gooey brownie — as the post explains, they’re rich, dense and fudgy and slightly chewy at the edges. This is the recipe my whole family uses — sorry it didn’t turn out for you!
Laurel L says
Hey Ashley,
I made these brownies last week, and yes- they are quite spectacular and very easy! You should also know that once I start looking at your beautiful blog, I just can’t stop! I even lost a bit of sleep the other night because I was so mezmerized by all your recipes, and was so excited to try them! This may be the revival and inspiration my cooking has needed. I have quite the list of recipes to try now!
Ashley says
Haha, thanks Laurel! I’m glad you liked them — they’re definitely our favorite brownies! Hope you get a better sleep tonight 😉
Emily says
Wow, wow, wow! Absolutely loved these… Converted the cup measurements to grams etc for UK measurements….. Been looking for a really good chocolate brownie recipe for ages and now I’ve found it! Thanks for posting
Ashley says
Glad you liked them! They’re our favorite!
Karly says
These are my kind of brownies! Totally irresistible! Thanks for linking up with What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!
Ashley says
Thanks Karly!
Jenn @TheRebelChick says
Your brownies look absolutely delicious! I am pinning them, I have to try this recipe!
Ashley says
Thanks Jenn! It’s a recipe I’ve been using for many years!
Jess @ On Sugar Mountain says
Mmmm homemade brownies are amazing. My mom used to think you couldn’t do better than a box mix (blasphemy, I know) but I should just show her yours! She would go gaga over this recipe; I know I am! 😀
Ashley says
Some of the boxed mixes have a great, dense texture — I’ve always liked them! But these are just as good, and with no funny ingredients! Lol