The ultimate Fudgy Brownie Recipe! These homemade brownies are decadent and stay moist for days. Plus, there’s a secret ingredient that makes them super chocolatey without being overly sweet.
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Brownies Video Tutorial:
These brownies are unbelievably satisfying. Watch the video recipe and you’ll know why everyone loves this recipe!
The Only Brownie Recipe You’ll Need!
The inspiration for these brownies came from Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies in the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. We made them fudgier and supremely chocolatey. Here’s why these are the best homemade brownies:
- Easy brownies – No fancy equipment or tools required. All you need is a saucepan, spatula, whisk, and a couple of bowls to make the batter.
- No Room Temperature Ingredients Needed – you don’t have to plan ahead and can start making brownies as soon as the craving strikes.
- Fudgiest Center – these literally stay moist and fudgy for days. I made the last batch on a Wednesday and ate the last piece on Sunday and it was still moist and satisfying.
- Rich Chocolate Flavor – adding the cocoa powder and chocolate chips make these intensely chocolatey without being overly sweet.
- Crackly Top – These brownies have that classic, irresistible crackly top.
The “Secret” Ingredient for Brownies:
Just like with our Chocolate Cake, adding coffee amps up the flavor of chocolate without tasting like coffee. We used Instant Coffee Granules. The rest of the ingredients are simple and will give you the perfect brownie texture.
How to Make the Best Brownies:
1. Melt Chocolate: In a saucepan over low heat, melt together 2 cups chocolate chips and butter. Set aside to cool 15 minutes.
2. Wet Ingredients: Whisk together eggs, sugar, instant coffee granules, oil, and vanilla extract. Whisk the cooled chocolate mixture into the egg mixture.
3. Dry Ingredients: Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt then fold these dry ingredients into the chocolate batter until no streaks remain.
5. Pour and Bake: Spread brownie batter into prepared pan, sprinkle the top with the reserved 1/2 cup chocolate chips, and bake at 350˚F for 35-40 minutes.
How Long to Bake Brownies:
Fudgy Brownies – Bake for 35-37 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center will come out fudgy.
Soft and Moist Brownies – Bake for 40 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out with moist crumbs attached.
How to Store Brownies:
- At Room Temperature – Brownies can be stored at room temperature in a low humidity environment. To keep them fresh and moist, cover with plastic wrap directly over the brownies and store in an airtight container for 4-5 days.
- Freezer – brownies can be frozen for up to 3 months. To keep brownies moister, do not cut brownies until you are ready to eat them.
How to Serve Brownies:
Our favorite way to serve brownies is to top with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream. You can also try a dollop of whipped cream drizzled with chocolate, or top with fresh raspberries.
For Frosted Brownies: cover them with Chocolate Ganache or Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting.
What Mix-Ins Can I Add to Brownies?
Once you have a great brownie base like this one, you can change them up and make them your own.
- Caramel – Drizzle the top of the brownies with Homemade Caramel and a sprinkle of kosher salt.
- Walnuts or Pecans – chop 1 cup of walnuts and fold them in at the end, sprinkling a few over the top for walnut brownies.
- Chocolate Chunks – fold in some chocolate chunks in addition to sprinkling them over the top.
- Zucchini – if you want to sneak in some veggies, try our Zucchini Brownies
Can I Bake these in a Different Pan?
For this brownie recipe, we used a 9×9 square pan. Using different sized baking pans will affect the bake times, and the recipe. These tips should help.
- Bread Loaf Pan – Cut the recipe in half and bake as directed for a small batch of brownies.
- 8×8 Pan – this smaller pan will result in taller brownies that require a longer baking time (40-48 minutes) minutes).
- 12×9 Pan – this larger pan works, but the brownies will be flatter and will require less baking time (30-35 minutes).
- 13×9 Pan – Make 1 1/2 times the recipe or the brownies will be pretty flat. Bake about 40 minutes, or to your desired doneness.
Love Chocolate? More Chocolate Desserts:
- Chocolate Cake – so moist with the best frosting
- Chocolate Lava Cakes – with a gooey surprise center
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread – with melty morsels of chocolate
- Chocolate Chip Cookies – stay soft for days
- Chocolate Mousse – a classic, chef-approved recipe
Fudgy Brownie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb unsalted butter, (softened or cut into pieces if cold for faster melting)
- 16 oz semisweet chocolate chips, (2 1/2 cups by measuring cup), divided
- 4 eggs, large
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp instant coffee granules, (6.2 grams)
- 3 Tbsp light olive oil , or vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F. Butter a 9x9 pan and line with parchment paper.
- In a medium saucepan over low heat, Melt together 2 cups chocolate chips and butter while whisking then set aside to cool 15 minutes.
- In a second large bowl, whisk together 4 eggs, 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar and 1 Tbsp coffee granules, 3 Tbsp oil and 1 Tbsp vanilla extract.
- Stir cooled chocolate mixture into the egg mixture.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 2/3 cup flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt then use a spatula to fold mixture into the batter and fold just until combined. Do not over mix.
- Transfer batter to prepared pan and sprinkle all over with remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Bake at 350 for 35-40 min depending on the desired doneness.* Cool until nearly at room temperature then cut into bars before serving.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
do you know if this would work well with coconut sugar?
I haven’t tried it with coconut sugar. I looked through the comments to see if any of my viewers have left feedback on this, but did it see any. Please let us know if you test it.
Hii!! Amazing recipe, have done it a few times and the brownies are so delicious. If I wanted to use almond flour instead of all purpose, how would I adjust the recipe?
Hi Yared! I haven’t tested almond flour so I’m not sure what modifications are needed.
Hi Natasha, I don’t have chocolate chips. I only have the squares of Bakers chocolate. Can I chop up my own chocolate and use them in this recipe? Would I need to make any other adjustments?
Hi L. That could work, but a couple of things to keep in mind. Bakers chocolate is unsweetened so you may need to add a little more sugar to make up for it. It melts a little quicker than chips, so don’t chop it too small.
I believe you! This brownie was so delicious and not too sweet. I love that I didn’t have to pull out my mixer to make it. It was so good, I raved about it with family and friends then had to share the recipe. Thank you.
So glad you loved it, Lulu!
Can you make these without the coffee or substitute something else. I love these but am making for a friend and she hates coffee, she can taste it even though you are not really supposed to. Thanks for any suggestions, I love your cookbook and recipes!
Hi Deb. You can just leave it out.
Hi Natasha!
I just tried making this recipe from your cookbook and I failed miserably. I’m unsure what happened. After 40 minutes the brownies were still completely raw in the middle. I was suspicious this might happen, because the batter was so high (almost to the brim) on the 9 by 9 pan. Somewhere along the way it appears there was too much liquid created. Any idea what might have happened? I’m willing to try again! Thank you.
Hi Jordan! Was your pan atleast 2” deep? It should fit in a 9×9 pan without any issues. I would look over the ingredients and instructions to see is anything was missed or measured in error. Be sure to Measure your ingredients correctly . Also- preheat the oven fully before baking.
Best brownie recipe yet (as usual)! Love your recipes – they are always a winner and 5-star quality!
I’m so glad you found a favorite on my site, Ellie!
What other oils can be used in place of extra light olive oil? Will avocado oil work?
Hi Karen! Avocado oil can be a good substitute for this recipe since it has mild flavor for baking.Canola and Vegetable oil are great too!
Was excited to try this recipe and definitely turned out great texture wise but found the brownies to be way too rich!! Not even a glass of milk is enough to cut the richness. Even my kids found them just too chocolatey which is unheard of! Disappointing for sure, a lot of wasted chocolate. I do however love the ganache recipe, especially chilled and whipped!
Hi PJ! I’m so sorry to hear they weren’t enjoyed. Did you use darker chocolate chips or dark cocoa powder? Unsweetened natural cocoa powder is best since it’s Less bitter and intense than Dutch-processed cocoa. Semi-sweet is a good balance and shouldn’t be too intense.
Hey Natasha these brownies look amazing I was wondering could I reduce the sugar to 1/2c
My family doesn’t like super sweet desserts so 1/2c cup would be perfect for us!
Hi Dina, we don’t like it overly sweet either, but here’s what one of my readers mentioned when they reduced the sugar “Hello again Natasha! I made those wonderful brownies yesterday with a few changes. I always use dark swiss 74% cocoa chocolate for baking and I also use less sugar (1 cup this time). I weighed it, 12.5 oz since I did not sprinkle any over the batter. I baked them for 37 min. and they were perfect except not as fudgy as yours. May be because of my oven temp or my canadian flour, lol. So next time, I will bake them for 35 min. and will check after 33 min. They are soooo big that I have 16 brownies :-))))
Thank you for those easiest, tastiest brownies that I ever baked. A keeper forever!” I hope this helps
Yes it does help,
I will be sure to make this thank you Natasha!
Ps. i made you lava cake recipe a few days ago it turned out amazing thank you!!
That’s wonderful, Dina!
Oh and i was wondering im planning to make these tomorrow,
Could i use coconut sugar?
Would that work?
Hi Natasha. These look amazing! I was wondering if I can use evoo or do I need light? Thank you!
Hi Natalie, Light is recommended because it’s tasteless. You can use EVOO but mild or light-tasting EVOO is best so the flavor doesn’t compete with the chocolate.
Can I use less sugar, uf so how much before it messes up the recipe?
Hi Jessica, Here’s what one of my readers wrote, I hope it helps: “My whole family really loved it. I just decreased the sugar a little but still it did not affect the texture, it’s still super fudgy! Will keep this recipe, that’s for sure!”
Hi Natasha!!
I don’t have instant coffee or espresso powder? What do I sub?
Hi Jen, we usually use brewed coffee but I suggest following the package instructions which will usually give you a fairly strong coffee.
Hi Natasha
Can I use espresso powder instead if instant coffee powder? If I can, what is the measurements? Thank you
Hi Grace! Yes, that will work. It’s stronger than instant coffee so you may start with half the amount.
Can I use gluten free flour in this recipe?
Would cooking times remain the same?
Hi Luann! I haven’t tested GF flour, but if you’re using a good baking flour blend such as King Arthur 1:1 GF flour mix, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. I don’t think you need to make any changes to the temperature, just watch them so they don’t over bake, check early.
I will be trying these this weekend, I have read all the why through the recipe and comments. They look and sound delicious. Thank you Natasha for always being such an uplifting person in your video.
Hi Melissa! I hope you love the recipe!
Hi Natasha. I’m from the Philippines. I have gained praises for the brownies I made and still are making as gifts to family and friends using your exceptional recipe. I go to your site for most of the tecipes I cook with. Thanks a lot.
Hi Natasha,
I can’t wait to make these brownies. Would you say I could put some festive sprinkles when they come out of the oven instead of using the chocolate chips?
Thank you, Christy
HI Christy, I think that would work and would look extra festive and fun!
Hi Mrs. Natasha! I made these brownies yesterday and they were pretty good! The only problem was that they didn’t have the signature crackle top like they should and were very dense. Could you tell me what I possibly did wrong? I measured everything correctly and used 16 TBS as it said. Thank you!😊❤
Hi Jacinta! The most common cause of dense brownies is using too much flour. If you Measured your flour correctly as instructed in my tutorial- then I would check to make sure your baking powder isn’t expired or old. If it’s been open too long, it can loose its leavening strength. Also- be sure to fully preheat your oven before you bake. If your oven isn’t preheated all the way, it won’t rise the way it needs to and you’ll end up with dense brownies.
It was the baking powder!!😂 It will expire in a month, thanks for sharing your tips!!😂 ❤
You’re very welcome! I hope the next batch turns out amazing!
I am a Pastry Chef! This is my go to Brownie Recipe!!
Thank you!!
So happy to hear you love this recipe! Thank you.