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
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Can i put pecans in these Brownies, also do you think metal pans are better because the metal conducts heat more efficiently
Hi David, pecans would work great in this recipe. Metal pan will work with these instructions best, if using a different pan type, you may need to adjust the heat and time.
Can put pecans in these Brownies, also do you think metal pans are better because the metal conducts heat more efficiently
Oh yes, pecans would be delicious.
I just made the recipe for Fudgy brownies.
Thank you for all your delicious recipes. I have never been disappointed. I just made the “Fudgy Brownies. I have not tried them as yet as taking to picnic tomorrow. How would you suggest I store them until tomorrow. Should I put them in refrigerator?
Hi Joan, I hope you love these! I answer this question under the “How to Store Brownies:” section of the recipe post – I hope that helps.
No way fudgy but cakey, the worst recipe I ever tried. 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder is way too much, Brownies turned out cakey and crumbly. Cocoa seems over/too much. Overall it’s way lower than my expectations.
Hi Syed! Did you measure your flour and cocoa correctly? Be sure to fluff it and spoon it into your measuring cup, then level it off. If you’re scooping out the flour or cocoa with your measuring cup, you’ll end up with too much, making this more cakey and crumbly. Also, for more “fudgy” brownies, follow my instructions above and only bake for 35-37 minutes. I hope that helps.
I also have a tutorial on how to measure ingredients here.
Oh my goodness! I just made them for my family. They are absolutely delicious! I made them from your cookbook “Natasha’s Kitchen” Love your cookbook, love your recipes. Thank-you for all you do, your recipes, your videos. My 3 little grandsons will love them, so will mommy and daddy!
That’s so great to hear. Thank you so much for the wonderful review. I’m so glad it was enjoyed.
I have 2 questions: 1) Can I use dutch processed cocoa powder? And…. 2) Can I use Lily’s semi-sweet chocolate chips? Trying to cut down on sugar :-))))) Thank you Natasha!
Hi Beth. Yes, Dutch cocoa would be done to use. I’m not familiar with those chocolate chips, but if they are used for baking, then I don’t see why not. I hope you love the recipe!
Can you use milk chocolate chips instead of semisweet?
Hi Sally, make sure to use semi-sweet chocolate chips and not milk chocolate which can make these quite sweet. If you use milk chocolate you may need to make other adjustments to the recipe to balance it.
Would it be okay if i left the oil out would the recipe still work the same?
I have not tested that but you can probably replace the oil with an equal amount of butter.
How can i substitute egg in this recipe. Can we substitute it by condensed milk if yes then what ratio?
Hi Yash! I haven’t tested a substitute to advise. I’m sorry.
Would it be okay if i left the coffee granules out would the recipe still work the same?
Hi Lydia. you can if you prefer. The coffee helps bring out the chocolate flavor, without tasting like coffee. So I don’t recommend skipping it.
Thank you, Natasha. It is super yummy and easy to make. Much better then the pre-mixed one. I cut the sugar to half of the required amount and substituted with coconut sugar. 🙂
Hello, did your tweeks change texture/consistency?
Hello Rina Lee,
Did you still get that famous shiny brownie top with the changes you made? Did you make any other tweaks?
These were the BEST BROWNIES my sons have ever eaten they said and I made them for the first time for one of my sons birthday. What is amazing about these brownies is that they do not like the taste of coffee and they did not detect any coffee flavor. I AM NOT TELLING THEM YOUR SECRET INGREDIENT! LOL AAA+++
I’m so glad they were a hit!
These are absolutely delicious. Making a batch now. They will come out anytime now. We love them with vanilla ice cream. My nine year old son, Eli loves these and loves helping making them. Thank you for a recipe that makes it easy for kiddos to help.
Can these be placed in the freezer after baking?
Yes, see the section above, “how to store brownies” for instructions on this.
Howdy,
Thank you for this recipe. I made your brownies last night for my fiance and he was excited and pleased with how the brownies turned out.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Kahlilah!
I just took these out of the oven….oh my gosh do they SMELL good!!!! Will be enjoying tomorrow for my Son in laws Birthday party.
You’re making me crave brownies! Happy birthday to your son-in-law!
Loved making this recipe. So simple yet devine. Threw together to give my son a treat after a busy day working in a hotel (his 1st job) during memorial day weekend. He asked for Brownies I knew where to go for the best recipe.
Congrats to him on his first job! That’s awesome! I’m so glad you both loved it.
Hi! I would love to make this but I don’t have instant coffee. I only have ground coffee for brewing. Can I substitute the instant with ground coffee? Thanks!
Hi Marion, Instant coffee works best because it melts into the batter leaving behind flavor without effecting the texture. If you use ground coffee beans, it can have a grainy texture.
I made some slight modifications and the brownies turned out the best we have ever had. I increased the flour to 1 cup, added 2 TBSP espresso coffee not powder since I can’t seem to find it anywhere, used salted butter and omitted the salt, added 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, and sprinkled the top with mini chocolate chips. Thanks for the great recipe. The search is over. I have finally found the perfect recipe….soft, moist and fudgy.
You’re welcome. Thanks for sharing that with us, I’m glad you loved the end result!