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 tried this recipe twice.. the taste is perfect.. but both times my cake sunk:( y so?
Hi Reshma, it could be the size of the pan used or possibly cooking on convection oven settings? Also, make sure to measure ingredients the same way for baking. This article on measuring may help.
My brownie came out very tall and cackle like and took more than 35 minutes to cook. The only thing I could thinks of is I used a 5 eggs because mine were medium sized. And I used an electric hand mixer to beat the eggs and sugar. Is that why it was cake like?
Hi Sony, that is more than likely the culprit!
Can’t thank you enough natasha:) My twin toddlers loved it
Yay your taste testers loved these brownies! Thank you for your awesome feedback.
Made this in a 10×8 inch cake tin.baked for 30 mins but it is cakey and not fudgy like i would have loved… .What have I gone wrong?
Hi Catherine, cakey is an indication of over baking. If your oven runs hot, you might bake for a little less time, and make sure not to bake on convection mode.
Thanks Natasha ..I have an Morphy Richards OTG 28.
So do I reduce the temperature and timing as well…how much should I reduce to..We all love brownies and I really want to perfect it.
We are waiting to try your apple crumble pie.
This came out perfect. No more box brownie. Her directions were so easy follow.
Yay, love it! I hope this becomes a favorite for you.
Hi natasha,
My brownies sink in from the middle. What do you think could be the reason?
Thanks,
Hi Ambreen, it could be the size of the pan used or possibly cooking on convection oven settings? Also, make sure to measure ingredients the same way for baking. This article on measuring may help.
I never use instant coffee so I wouldn’t have those on hand, and don’t really want to buy a jar for
1 T. Can something else be used instead? Maybe some leftover coffee?
It should either be instant coffee or instant espresso. It will still work great without the coffee but they might be slightly slimmer brownies so they could bake a little faster.
Thank you for this comment. I have a friend who cannot have coffee as it could be deadly to her.
If they make decaf instant, would that also work?
I don’t do much instant, so nit sure if that even exists.
Thank you!!!
Hi So, I haven’t tried this with decaf to advise but it will still work great without the coffee. Someone else commented that they didn’t add coffee and still liked the result but coffee really amplifies the flavor.
I love the way you explaine the recipe!!! You are great … Keep up the good work!! This desert is our favourite!!!
Thank you for your nice comments and appreciation. Love it!
Might try these tomorrow Natasha love your recipes
Could you use gluten free flour for this recipe?
Hi MaryAnne, I haven’t tested this with gluten-free flour to advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Hi Ms. Natasha! Your recipes are always amazing! Just wanna know, how can I get that crackly top? Everything is perfect in this recipe but maybe I did something wrong which have caused me to not achieve that crackly top
Hi Sheina, you might consider if there were any changes in ingredients or in the process. Also, be sure to bake in a fully pre-heated oven and bake on conventional bake mode (not convection). I suggest watching the video to see if anything was different.
I tried your recipe. It was a huge success! My friends and family insisted I make more to sell. Thanks so much for sharing.
From the beautiful twin islands of Trinidad & Tobago
You’re welcome! That’s just awesome!
Which brand of butter you used in this recipe. Thank you
Hi Malak, I believe that was Challenge brand.
It’s the 1st time I made something from your site and it’s super good. I think it’s the best. Thank you and can’t wait to try more, all the way from Sri Lanka.
Hello Romila, thank you so much for sharing your good feedback with us. I hope you love every recipe that you will try!
Hello, I wonder what I did wrong.
It did not puff even, the sides puffed a lot and the center stayed very flat. Help
Hi Maria, did you possibly switch your leavening (baking powder and baking soda?) Also, baking in glass can affect the rise a little.
I made this recipe with a 9×9 pan and baking powder yet the edges were puffy and the brownies did not come out flat as yours. I also have an electrical oven and baked at 350 degrees. What did I do wrong? All ingredients were measured so I am not sure what happened. Love your recipes, Natasha. Thank you!!!
Hi Yolanda, did you possibly switch leaveners (accidentally switching baking powder for baking soda is a common kitchen mistake but baking soda is 4x stronger than baking powder).
I can not use coffee, is there anything that I can substitute? They look amazing
Hi Jill, 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 can not use coffee, is there anything that I can substitute? They look amazing
Hi Jill, 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.
Hi. Made these brownies for the first time tonight and they were delicious. I baked them for 55 minutes as after 40 minutes it was still very jiggly. I did not want to test it until I knew it was baked but after another 5 minutes it did sink a bit in the middle. Baked it another 10 minutes and it was just like the picture. A must recipe to do again. Maybe add walnuts in it too.
I’m so glad you enjoeyd that Rona! Thank you for sharing that with me!
Hi, can follow the same recipe to make brownie bites in a mini cupcake tin for brownie bites?
Hi Nora, I haven’t tested that to advise, if you experiment I would love to know how you like that!
These brownies were terrific! Fudgy, with a shiny, crackly top. I prefer to bake from scratch, but have always gone back to my favorite box mix for brownies, because I could never find a recipe that was better. This is that magic unicorn brownie recipe!
I added 3 types of chocolate chips both in and on top of the batter: milk chocolate, semisweet, and bittersweet. They are absolutely outstanding!
Someone asked about using Dutch cocoa. I did, and it worked fine. Dutch and regular cocoa are usually interchangeable. The only time it matters, is if the recipe has something acidic, like buttermilk or sour cream. Then, you can’t use Dutch process cocoa, as it will impact the leveling action. Also, for those that found the brownies too sweet, they might try substituting bittersweet chips for the semisweet. For my taste, these brownies were perfectly balanced. Another amazing recipe! Thanks, Natasha!
Wow! That’s so great! Thank you so much for sharing that wonderful review with me Sherri!