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
I bought milk chocolate instead of semi sweet by accident! Will these brownies turn out way too sweet?
Hi B, Using milk chocolate would make these brownies considerably sweeter.
I should of say thank you for such a great recepie. This is best brownie I have ever made in my life.
Thank you, appreciate your great feedback!
Can I use a 7×11 in, 2 qt pyrex pan that’s the only thing I have
Hi Samantha. I’ve only tried it in a 9×9, so I can’t advise on the specific changes. You will need to watch it in the oven and adjust the bake time as needed so it doesn’t burn.
Hi Natasha,
Thank you for a great brownies recipe. Any advice on how to reheat them after frozen? If i wanna freeze them individually and when I wanna eat them just take one out to defrost/reheat. Do you have any advice about the oven temp. and how long it should take to reheat them nicely?
Hi Risa. I let them defrost at room temperature until they are ready to eat.
Finally a homemade brownie recipe that is sooo delicious! This is a definite keeper!!! It’s amazing how the flavor continues to develop as they cool. Tonight I’m making your amazing cheeseburger sliders and made these brownies for dessert. Yum!!!!
I’m so glad you found a keeper, Rhonda!
My brownies did not have that crackly top at all. What could I have done wrong?
Hi! Did you follow the same process of mixing your ingredients? I would look over the recipe again to see if you did anything differently. Also, make sure that you are measuring your ingredients correctly.
Hi, Natasha! Can I use unsweetened chocolate for this? Do I need to add more sugar in that case? I really don’t like my desserts to be too sweet. Thank you!
Hi Nellie, we used unsweetened cocoa in this recipe, but I havne’t tried it with unsweetened chocolate. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Hi Nellie, my husband & I don’t like too sweet deserts in this recipe I used one cup of sugar it was awesome every time we make it YUM, YUM, YUMMY !!! PS WE, just put a batch in the oven
Recipe was perfect as written. I only had instant espresso powder and used 2tsp. Used 9×9 pan with no problems. Excellent brownie Recipe. I also have to say your patience and professionalism with your replies is wonderful. Honestly- some of the questions- lol 😆. Its BROWNIES my god people- if you can’t make these with a straitforward excellent recipe, then time to call it quits!
I’m so glad it worked out with the powder, A! Thank you for your kind comment!
Hey there! I was wondering, If I half the recipe will I get the same results?
Yes, you can cut this recipe in half but you’ll need to adjust the pan size. See my recipe notes for instructions on cutting this in half. 🙂
Hi Natasha!
I only have 9×13 baking pan! Help! How to adjust measurement and baking time?
Hi Tony, making it in a 9×13 will result in a more flat brownie. You will need to adjust bake time but a bit also so it doesn’t burn. I’ve only tried it on a 9×9, so I can’t advise on the specific changes.
This is late, but I’d 1 1/2 times the recipe for 9×13 pan. Shoild be perfect.
These brownies are delicious. I’ve made them twice now. Both times they took way longer than 35 minutes in a 9×9 pan. Also, this time they cracked in 3 different places for some reason. Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you for sharing, Amy! So glad they were enjoyed.
Hey Natasha I have tried this recipe several times and it turned out sooooo delicious! My friends they just loved it! But while trying last two times I have noticed my parchment paper burning so quickly after 10 mins I start the baking that is making my fire alarm ring. I use two 8*8 inches pan an divide the batter in half, even the brownie burns so quickly. I put them for 16/17 mins Can you please help me with that.?
Thanks in advance
Hi Sud! I’m so glad you’re enjoying this recipe! I would ensure your parchment paper isn’t sticking out too much or too close to your heating element. Cutting off any access that is too exposed will help that also. I haven’t had the brownies burn before, but since you divided them, the brownie is likely much thinner now and would require less bake time.
I’m about to bake these delicious looking brownies. Are these freezable??
Hi Anne, yes, I would wrap in plastic wrap and then put in a freezer-safe ziploc to keep them from getting freezer burn. See the notes in the post above for storing which may help.
Very disappointed. I had high expectations on this brownie because of how good it looked. Mine turned out bitter and super oily although I followed the ingredients list accurately.
Hi Rachel, bitter and oily is definitely not an expected outcome. I wonder if maybe an ingredient was no longer fresh or if any substitutions were made to the recipe.
Hi Natasha!
This recipe has become my go to brownie recipe 🙂
Can I bake these brownies in batches? Will I get the crinkle top if I bake them in batches?
Hi, I’m not sure what you mean by batches but if you wanted to divide it into 2 separate pans, or cut the recipe in half, you could, but make sure you are using a pan that is half the size. If you are doubling the recipe, that should be ok also as long as your pan is proportionally larger.
Loved the recepie I noticed with interest you had the metric conversion for the coffee but not for any of the other ingredients. As an Australian we use metric as a standard and I have to convert 99% of your recepies for that reason. Perhaps you might consider the global outreach you have . America is one of the FEW countries that talks in old measurement values. Nearly all countries are metric now.
Hi Stewart. Most of my recipes can be converted to metric by clicking on “metric” in red lettering on the recipe card. This will convert the ingredient list for you. I have this option turned on for many of my recipes, some of my older ones not so much but trying to update all of my recipes to include metrics. I hope that helps and saves you time in the future.
Hi natasha,
Tried these and they turned out delicious! Thank you! Do you have any eggless options for this recipe?
I’m glad you enjoyed it! I have not tried an eggless recipe for brownies to advise. If you happen to do an experiment, please share with us how it goes
These are dangerous! Wow! They took about 42-43 minutes in a 7X11 pan, but turned out great!
Hi Rebecca, great to hear that it was a success, glad you enjoyed it!
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COCOA POWDER? IS THERE REALLY A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE U.S. AND THE EURO BRANDS? I AM PROBABLY THE MILLIONTH PERSON WHO HAS SAID YOU SHOULD HAVE YOUR OWN SHOW ON T.V.
Hi David! For this recipe, we used this Hershey’s Cocoa powder here. I hope this helps! Thank you for that wonderful compliment, David!
I love the flavor of your brownies. I’ve made them two times. I’m having problems with getting the right pan. How deep should the pan be? I used 8×8 1st time and the middle didn’t cook. This time I used a 7×11 but it wasn’t very deep so the brownies went over the rim and the top burned. Anyway I would appreciate the pan depth because I want to try it one more time. Don’t worry they won’t go to waste. I will cut off the burned spots.
Hi Sally, I have this 9×9 pan that I used linked in the recipe. It’s 2.3 inches tall. I hope this helps!