I bet you already have everything you need in your kitchen to make these incredible brownies from scratch right now! They are super easy to make, taste like rich dark chocolate, have the fudgiest middles, and have crinkly, shiny tops. So many of our readers have claimed this to be “the best brownie recipe,” and honestly, after trying so many brownie recipes ourselves, I think they are right. If you are looking for slightly sweeter brownies that are thicker and chewier around the edges, see our easy brownie recipe.
Key Ingredients
Cocoa powder: I love cocoa brownies! Cocoa powder makes these brownies so delicious. Use any unsweetened cocoa powder in this recipe. I’ve used natural, Dutch-processed, and even raw cacao in this recipe. For a chocolate flavor similar to Oreo cookies, try Dutch cocoa. Butter: We use 100% butter in the recipe. If you use salted butter, leave out the salt called for in our recipe below. Granulated sugar: Helps with our shiny top, and balances the bitterness of unsweetened cocoa powder. Brown sugar works in our recipe, but you might lose the crinkly top. Eggs add richness and provide structure to the brownies. All-purpose flour: These easy brownies need a small amount of flour for structure. We want extra fudgy brownies, so keeping the flour to a minimum helps. For gluten-free, read through the comments (many readers have used a gluten-free flour blend like the Bob’s Red Mill in this recipe).
How to Make the Best Brownies
We’re going to make our brownie batter in a saucepan, which makes this recipe easier and you’ll have less dishes! The trick to the best brownies is to combine HOT butter with sugar and cocoa powder. So, I melt my butter in a saucepan and then immediately stir in sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and salt. Then, after a minute or two of letting it cool, I add my eggs one at a time and then the flour. As my brownies bake, this heated sugar moves up to the top of the brownies when they are in the oven, which is how they get that shiny top. The hot butter also blooms the cocoa powder, making our brownies taste better. This brownie batter is thick. I usually tell you to avoid over-mixing batters, but that’s not the case with these cocoa brownies. The same goes for blondies batter. Here’s our blondies recipe, which are like brownies, but made with a vanilla batter. I bake my brownies in a 325°F oven until the edges are set and the middle looks slightly underdone. I like using a toothpick to tell when my brownies are ready to come out of the oven and look for a small amount of batter left on the toothpick. The brownies continue to firm up as they cool, so even though they may look underdone, they will be perfect when cooled to room temperature. When measuring the flour and cocoa powder for these brownies, either weigh them or use the “spoon and level” method: Fluff the flour/cocoa, spoon it into the measuring cup, and level off the top with a flat edge. You can see me do this in our video! 1 ¼ cups (250g) granulated sugar 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (75g) unsweetened cocoa powder, spooned and leveled 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt 2 large cold eggs 1/2 cup (65g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled 2/3 cup (80g) chopped walnuts, pecans, or chocolate chips, optional 2Add the butter to a medium saucepan. Place over medium-low heat and cook until the butter melts completely, then turn off the heat. Stay close, and do not let it brown. 3While the butter is hot, stir in the sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt. Stir well until blended. Don’t worry if the batter looks gritty. Once you add the eggs, the brownie batter will become smooth. 4Set the saucepan aside to cool until the mixture is warm, not hot, 5 to 10 minutes. Test the temperature by touching the batter, it should be comfortable to hold without feeling hot. 5Add the cold eggs, one at a time, stirring vigorously after each egg. 6When the batter looks thick and well blended, add the flour. Use a spoon to beat the flour into the batter until it is very thick and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. I use a wooden spoon or spatula and beat for 40 to 50 strokes (see video for reference). 7Stir in nuts or chocolate chips (optional). 8Spread the thick brownie batter evenly in the prepared pan. It can be hard to spread because it is so thick. Do your best to push the batter to the corners and even out the top. 9Bake the brownies until the edges look dry and the middle is slightly underbaked, 20 to 30 minutes. A toothpick plunged into the center should emerge somewhat moist with batter. As the brownies cool, they firm up but will always be moist and fudgy in the middle. 10Cool completely before removing the brownies from the pan (this step is essential and helps the brownies set). Cut into 16 squares. For clean edges, use a chef’s knife and wipe it clean after each slice. For guaranteed perfect edges, chill the brownies in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours before slicing.
