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 made this today and it was absolutely delicious!! I love all your recipes!
That’s just awesome Cynthia! Thank you for that wonderful review!
Haven’t made these but whenever I make brownies, the sides always cook faster and get hard, what am I doing wrong?
Hi Debbie, it could be due to the pan you are using or an oven temperate issue. I would make sure your oven is calibrated.
Hi Natasha,
I followed your recipe and made these brownies. Although they tasted delicious, they puffed up around the edge amd caved in the middle! What did I do wrong? Thank you
Hi, did you possibly use the wrong leavening? I’ve had that happen with a cake when I accidentally used baking soda instead of baking powder (baking soda is 4x stronger). I’m not sure why else that would be. Make sure to bake on conventional bake made and not convection.
Hi Natasha, I also baked these brownies today. They tasted delicious but caved in the center. I used baking powder not soda.
Hello sweetie
I make the brownie rec twice today as I mentioned before.. I have melted 200gram butter with 2 cup semi sweet chocolate and the other one 150gram butter with 2 cup semi sweet chocolate still I’m facing the same problem soft in the middle.. By the way I’m using electric oven.. Is it from the oven?? Or I’m doing something wrong.. Appreciate your help and feedback
Regards
Faiza
Hi Faiza, I would highly recommend making the recipe exactly as written without modifications and also it is supposed to be moist in the center, but not wet. I have an electric oven so that shouldn’t be the culprit unless your oven runs colder in which case you would need to bake a little longer.
I am dying to try this recipe but I do not have any instant coffee. Is there a substitute or can I leave this step out?
Hi Madara, it will still work great without the coffee. That should work but they might be slightly slimmer brownies so they could bake a little faster.
I made these in egg cups in the instant pot! Excellent
That’s a great idea! Thank you so much for sharing that with us!
Hi Natasha. Loved your brownie recipe. It was moist and not overly sweet. My family and friends loved it will make them again. Thanks heaps
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you’re enjoying our recipes!
Hi natasha! Love your charm and aura ! I havent tried this fudgy brownies of yours so im excited to make mine in the next few days. however, is it ok to replace unsweetened chocolate powder with the cocoa bar?
Hi Susan, without trying that substitution, I’m not sure how it would affect the recipe.
Thankyou Natasha. My whole family absolutely loved these brownies!
That is the best when the entire family loves what we parents make. That’s so great!
Just made these brownies.. Is the centre supposed to almost taste like it needs another 10 miinutes to bake?? I keep reading reviews and mine was definitely not “cakey” in the centre.. is that the way they are supposed to be? Other than that, they look exactly like your picture… not sure I will make them again..
Hi Linda, they are supposed to be fudgy in the center. Keep in mind, once they have cooled completely, they will set more and dry a bit. You can bake more if you prefer a dryer brownie.
How much is 1/2 lb of butter?? When I googled it, it said 16tbsp! Surely that can’t be right!
Hi Allyson, that is correct – 1/2 lb is 2 sticks or 16 Tbsp of butter and makes these very rich, decadent and fudgy.
Tried n “tasted” and everyone loved it .. (though I personally like brownies that have a crispy crust on the top).. this one tasted heavenly chocolatey
I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe!
I want to try this recipe but I only have baking chocolate bars. Can I use that instead of chocolate chips?
Hi Andz, I haven’t tested with that to advise. If you experiment please let me know how you like that.
Can I bake this in a 9×13 inch pan, or should I double this first? Also can I use ground coffee?
Hi Rosmary, please see my note in the recipe about making this in a 13×9. Regular coffee grounds would not work in this recipe. It should be either instant coffee or instant espresso.
Good day! I just want to give an enormous thumbs up for the nice information you have here on this post. I will be coming again to your blog for extra soon.
HI Natasha,
I would like to double this and bake in a 9X13 pan. How much should I increase the baking time?
Thanks!!
Hi Robyn, please see my note in the recipe about making this in a 13×9.
LOVED!!! We made these the night before going on our Black Hills/Mount Rushmore trip and ate them on the road (straight out of the cooler). We finished them off with a couple of scoops of Moose Tracks ice cream. Is it ok to link to this recipe in my blog post? It’s just soooo good!
Hello Melody, thank you so much for sharing your experience with us. It is perfect with ice cream! Yes, we always love a feature thanks for thinking of us.
Hi Natasha, I’m not sure if anyone else has asked this. I’ve been wondering why do some recipes call for buttering AND lining pan with parchment paper? I considered that one of the purposes of parchment paper is to keep the pan clean, therefore making clean up easier. Thanks
Hi Alena, it depends on the recipe and the effects butter would make if it was there. Lining the base of your tin with baking paper is particularly helpful if the cake has a wide base and shallow sides, such as a layer cake. Applying a thin layer of grease to the tin before fitting the paper will help it to adhere to the sides so your mixture can be added without disturbing the paper. There are many reasons, to be honest, but I hope this is somewhat helpful.
Hi natasha!
Im planning to make your brownies, i only have dutch process cocoa will that work? thanks!
I haven’t tried using that yet but I imagine that will also work. Please let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Can you help me?
Whenever I bake brownies the bottom is crunchy and the top is really fudgy. And sometimes it becomes a very cakey brownie. What should I do.?
Hi Zainab, I would suggest trying this recipe – I haven’t had that issue with these. It’s normal that the edges are drier than the center but they shouldn’t really be crunchy unless you are baking at too high of heat, or using convection oven settings without reducing the temperature. I hope that helps.
Thanks!
Can I use disposable 9×9 aluminum pan? I don’t have regular pan that size.
Hi Jason, I think you could, but I suspect the exteriors will be more dry/crisp using a disposable pan.