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Our Homemade Brownies are thick, rich, fudgy, and they taste just like they came from a bakery! No more box mixes, because these are seriously the best brownies from scratch you’ll ever try.
In the past I’ve shared things like the fact that I’d never in my life eaten oatmeal (the horror!), I’ve blogged about how one time I drank salad dressing from a ziploc bag because…I don’t know why.
I have shared some deep and disturbing things with you and here I am with another…
I generally prefer brownies that are made from a box mix. The shame! The horror!
No worries, I’ve totally changed my ways!
I’m about to share with you the perfect homemade brownies recipe and I can almost guarantee you’ll never go back to the box mix again.
These. Are. Good.
These brownies are perfectly thick and fudgy. Basically a chocolate bomb going off in your mouth. If you like fudgy brownies, you’re going to love these.
Ingredient Notes:
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Brownie Mix – This homemade brownie mix contains most of the usual brownie batter ingredients like cocoa powder, flour, sugar, eggs, baking powder, and vanilla extract.
Espresso Powder – Optional but highly recommended! It really adds a lot of depth to the chocolate flavor. This will NOT make your homemade brownies taste like coffee. It’ll just add lots of extra fudgy flavor to this brownie recipe!
Chocolate Chips – I like to add lots of semi-sweet chocolate chips to the brownie batter! They will met perfectly to add even more chocolatey flavor to these fudgy brownies.
What Readers are Saying!
“Oh my gosh these brownies are so gooey, fudgy and rich! I’ve been trying to make fudgy brownies for a while but I always manage to cook them too long and they end up cake-like. But not with these bad boys! Thanks for the recipe!” – Kayla
How to Make Brownies From Scratch:
Melt the butter on the stove and then whisk in the sugar. We don’t want to caramelize the sugar – just melt it into the butter.
Add the hot butter mixture to a mixing bowl and let it cool for just a few minutes before adding the eggs.
Beat in the eggs and cocoa powder with a little vanilla. This mixture is going to look divine, so go ahead and take a little lick if you must. Just be careful – once you start, it’s hard to stop!
Next, add in your flour, baking powder, a little salt, and the secret weapon: espresso powder.
Helpful Tip!
Baking With Chocolate
If you don’t have espresso powder, you can skip it. However, I highly recommend keeping some on hand for baking with chocolate. It doesn’t make your treats taste like coffee, it just enhances the rich chocolate flavor. Highly recommend. This is the brand I use.
Mix that all together by hand and then stir in some chocolate chips. I like to use dark or semi-sweet, but my family prefers milk. Use whichever variety you like best. The brownie batter will be thick.
Spread the brownie batter into a greased or parchment-lined 9×13 baking dish and bake for about 30 minutes. You want the edges to be firmly set and the center to still be a bit soft. I like to use a tester 1 inch from the edge – when the edges are fully cooked through, your center should be nicely fudgy and delicious.
Let the homemade brownies cool for as long as you can stand it before cutting.
I use my dusting wand to lightly sprinkle on some powdered sugar. It’s not necessary but it makes the brownies oh so pretty!
FAQs:
You can store these homemade brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 5 days!
We normally use Hershey’s Special Dark, which is a mixture of Dutch and natural. It makes extra fudgy brownies! If you’re choosing just one, use Dutch processed.
We like to test these homemade brownies about 1-2 inches from the edge of the pan and pull them when the tester comes out clean. If you test them directly in the center of the pan, the edges will be overdone by the time the tester comes out clean. Testing near the edges ensures you end up with nice edge pieces and fudgy centers.
MORE BROWNIE RECIPES!
Nutella Brownies: If you like extra fudgy brownies, try these!
Marshmallow Brownies: Wait til you see the layers on these brownies!
Reese’s Brownies: Brownie bottom + peanut butter frosting + chocolate fudge frosting + Reese’s!
Mississippi Mud Brownies: I love the marshmallows on here!
M&M Brownies: These brownies are packed full of M&M candies!
Recipe for easy homemade brownies:
Homemade Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 2 1/4 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cups cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder optional
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9×13 baking dish.
- In small saucepan over low heat, melt butter completely. Stir in sugar and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Do not allow sugar mixture to boil.
- Pour butter mixture into a large bowl or stand mixer, and cool for 2 minutes. Beat in cocoa powder, eggs, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.
- Stir in the flour and chocolate chips until well combined.
- Spread into prepared pan (batter will be very thick and sticky) and bake for about 30 minutes, until a tester comes out mostly clean. The edges should be set and the center should still look slightly moist, but not uncooked. Cool on a wire rack.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Information:
This post was originally published in October of 2009. It was updated with new tips in October of 2020. Original photo below:
Melissa says
I made your brownies the other day for a HUGE group of people and multiplied the recipe by 4…people were going CRAZY for them!! I LOVED how thick the batter was (that was my favorite part) and the brownies were the PERFECT density and crispy…I also added heath bar pieces in addition to the chocolate chips and dusted them with powdered sugar! I found this recipe on pintrest and feel like I hit the jackpot!!! THANK YOU
Shelley myers says
These brownies are Devine. Just love them!!!
Amanda L. says
I heard about Oreo Brownies on Pinterest and didn’t want to use a box mix. Found this recipe and decided to stuff it full of Oreos. Seriously the best brownies I’ve ever made. I love a good box mix brownie, but these FAR EXCEED what you buy in the store. And the fact that it was easy to make added some awesome points. Definitely going to use this again.
However, one thing I did (because I didn’t have enough) was only use 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate. And I used Baker’s chocolate baking squares because I also didn’t have chocolate chips. However, if I used another cup of chocolate I would have died from diabetes after the first bite. It was SO CHOCOLATEY!! Two hours after being out of the oven the chocolate was still oozing out when I cut it. I’ve never had that happen! Taking them to work on Monday. My boss loves brownies, so she’s gonna love me more after this haha
Thanks so much for this recipe! Seriously the best brownies I’ve ever tasted.
Heidi says
Just what the doctor ordered. Hubby in hospital..asked for brownies…these are super dense and maybe not the sweetest tasting but all the same a good dose of chocolate!
Emily says
Just put mine in the oven! 🙂 Pictures look amazing, recipe looks good, and the reviews are great. It seems that even if you make a mistake you can not go wrong with this recipe. I can not wait to taste it!! 😀
My batter came out very thick by the end though, the last picture you have has the batter looking very smooth and runny but mine was a thick batter that I had to push into the pan. Any idea what I did differently? Or is it just one of those ‘it happens’ things?
Either way the batter tasted AMAZING!!!
Thanks for posting.
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Talia says
I can attest that these are actually THE best brownies in the world. I was all about Ghirardelli Double Chocolate brownie mix before this, but these are SO FREAKING GOOD I will never go back. Fudgy, rich, delicious.
Laura says
I’ve made these brownies 3 times over the past 6 or so months (I found them on pinterest)- and they are the BEST brownies ever. ever. ever. really. everyone who tries them goes wild over them.
i follow the recipes exactly but i double the ground espresso to 2 teaspoons.
i dont know what people are talking about with them being cakey, etc- mine are perfectly fudgy every time!
Taylor says
Mine did not turn out like these at all 🙁 I followed the recipe exactly, except for the size of the dish. I only had a 9×9.
Anyway, they formed a THICK, rock hard layer on top that was very unpleasant to eat. Not sure what happened…
Karly says
@Taylor,
Hmm, I’m guessing it had something to do with your pan size. These are already so thick that a smaller pan just might not work well. 🙂
meg. says
I’m actually a little afraid that this time tomorrow, I’ll be in a “birthday-brownie-induced-food-coma.”
I won’t be able to sleep tonight anticipating these, like a kid going to Disney Land in the morning.
Melinda says
I must try these… I also hate to admit to people that I love brownies from the box! (Betty Crocker Fudge Brownies Family Size in a 9×9 pan to be exact!…no one except my boyfriend nows my secret…I bring these to every event!) Since I made a resolution to make my own homemade brownies from now on, I’ll have to try out your delicious-looking recipe!
Carla says
I just have to say I LOVE these brownies!!! We’ve been trying to cut down on boxed foods, so I went to Pinterest in search of a great homemade brownie recipe. It took some searching to find this recipe, but I could tell it would be a winner! I halved the recipe and put it in a 8×8 pan for 25 minutes, and this was just right the right amount for our family. Even the next day (yes, I had to save a few!) they didn’t dry out at all. YUUUUUMMMMM!!! Thank you so much for the recipe!
Emily says
I was starting to think that Pinterest was a total waste of time, but then i decided to actually MAKE something I pinned, that something being your brownies. Yum! Made these guys yesterday, and so glad I did. 🙂 the 9X13 pan really allowed me to share with a good number of my neighbors!
And I learned a new word (bokeh) to boot.
Totally awesome!!
Suz says
Best. Brownies. Ever! I have made these many times since I found this recipe and they are amazing! They are not at all cakey??!! They are rich, dense, fudgey and soooo chocolatey! Perfection! Thank you!!
Tyra says
@michele,
But I also halfed the rest of the ingredients. So would the 2 eggs still affect it??