What makes a good brownie? Using both cocoa AND melted chocolate, and butter instead of oil. What makes the BEST chocolate brownies in the world? Adding in a generous amount of dark chocolate chunks. Fudgy, as gooey as you want, and very, very chocolatey, this homemade brownie recipe is incredibly easy, made in one bowl, and incredibly forgiving!
Choose how gooey you want them, just follow the bake times and my “toothpick smearing” test. Brownies can be frozen for up to 3 months, but nothing quite compares to when they’re freshly made, and still slightly warm….
Homemade Chocolate Brownies
These homemade brownies are every chocoholics dream come true.
Need a chocolate fix urgently? These will be in the oven in 15 minutes flat (if not faster).
Hate washing up? Just one bowl to deal with here.
Like your brownies outrageously chocolatey, fudgy in the middle and the signature paper thin crackly top? This one delivers in spades.
Not such a confident cook? This recipe is astonishingly forgiving. Even if you overcook them, they might look cakey, but they still have that rich, fudgy mouthfeel. There’s just not enough flour in these to make them dry and overcooked!
And look ↓↓↓ Super fudgy yet you can actually pick it up, rather than scooping up gloops of raw batter!
And that crinkly top we all know and love!
What makes a good brownie
The secret to a really great brownie is using both melted chocolate AND cocoa powder, plus butter instead of oil (because butter has way better flavour than oil). The combination of these plus minimal flour, just enough to make a barely-set batter, and brown sugar rather than white (for extra moisture and chewiness) is what will deliver that perfect rich, fudgy brownie you’ve been dreaming about.
And to make a killer brownie, stir through a generous amount of chocolate chunks. Not only will you get little pockets of gooey chocolate, it also makes the brownie extra fudgy because some of the chocolate melds in with the batter as it bakes!
Making homemade brownies
These dreamy brownies start by melting chocolate and butter together before whisking in eggs and vanilla. Then just mix in flour and coco powder, and lastly stir in the let’s-pretend-it’s-optional chocolate chunks. Scrape into lined pan and bake!
How to tell when brownies are done
Stick a toothpick in the centre of the brownie, hold it for 2 seconds, then take it out.
super gooey – if there is a lot of smear on it (24 minutes bake time)
moist and fudgy (my favourite) – if the toothpick gets a brown strain and has some smear on it (28 minutes)
cakey (but still fudgy mouthfeel) – toothpick is clean with just a few crumbs (32 minutes). But still really moist (because this recipe only has 1/2 cup of flour in it, impossible not to be moist!).
Reduce cook time by 2 minutes if you opt not to use the extra chocolate stir ins.
Fudgy, gooey brownies
The brownies in the photos and video are what I call “fudgy moist”. As in – super fudgy but not just a gloop of uncooked batter. You can pick it up with your hands rather than eating it with a spoon.
I have more elaborate brownies in my repertoire – such as these Outrageous Nutella Brownies (which certainly live up to their name!) and these Salted Caramel Stuffed Brownies (the caramel filling is creamy and set, like a soft fudge).
But this classic Chocolate Brownies recipe is the one I make most of the time. It’s my go-to because it’s everything I want in a brownie made with minimal fuss. The essential ingredients to make it super chocolatey, lovely and moist, and no unnecessary extras.
The other thing is that my brownie is sweet, but not tooth-achingly sweet. There are some brownie recipes out there that use almost double the sugar I do and they are far too sweet for me. The sugar in this recipe is just the right amount of sweet for me. No one has ever complained about my brownies not being sweet enough, that’s for sure! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Easy Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
- 200g / 14 tbsp unsalted butter (1 3/4 US sticks)
- 200 g / 1 1/4 cups dark chocolate chips (7 oz) (Note 1)
- 1 cup (175g) brown sugar , loosely packed
- 3 eggs , lightly beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (75g) plain flour
- 1/4 cup (30g) cocoa powder
- Pinch of salt
- 180g/6oz dark chocolate block/bar (optional) , chopped into chunks rather than shards, (bittersweet or semi-sweet, cooking chocolate) (Note 2)
Alternative stir in
- 1.5 cups roughly chopped walnuts (or other nuts)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan forced).
- Spray a 20cm/8″ square tin with oil and line with baking/parchment paper with overhang (Note 2).
- Place butter and chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl, microwave in 30 second bursts (takes me 1m 30 sec) until melted. Stir until smooth.
- Add sugar and vanilla, mix, then add eggs and mix well until smooth and molten.
- Add flour, cocoa and salt and stir until smooth. Stir in chopped chocolate, pour into pan.
- Bake 24 minutes for really gooey in the centre, 28 minutes for fudgey but still very moist (my favourie, shown in video & photos), 32 minutes for moist fudge-cake-like. (See in post for toothpick testphotos).
- If you didn't use the extra chocolate for stirring in, reduce cook time by 2 minutes.
- Rest for 10 minutes before lifting out of the pan. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before cutting. Store in an airtight container for 4 days (bet they don't last that long!) or freeze for 3 months.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published August 2016. Updated with new photos and brand new video in 2020.
All things Brownies
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Life of Dozer
Dozer hates being hugged. Don’t know why. I mean, what dog doesn’t like their face being squished like this in a chokehold grip?
Love this recipe. I have tried other recipes but always failed but I have nailed this one, she keeps nagging me to make more 🙂 Thank you x
So deliciously good that I went over my Glucose Tolerance Level. Had to hit that treadmill for a good hour to bring it back down!😩
The best brownies ever! I sub in walnuts instead of chopped chocolate for the fun texture.
…I did try to make these with besan flour (for protein) and it did NOT work I do not recommend this substitution, lesson learned! 😂😂
stuck to recipe exactly, added baking milk chocolate chips before placing in oven.
sensational !!
Still scrumptious after 4 days
The perfect brownie recipe!! I always thought brownies are tricky to bake, but this was was as simple as it can get. Delicious fudgy moist brownies that just make you fell like an ace baker. Thanks Nagu for all these simple recipes!
Love the recipe. Amazing fudgy brownies. However everytime I make them instead of getting that nice crackle on top mine has lots of bubbles after baking it. Have played with the temp, baking time, diff pans, using a whisk and a spatula but always same results. Bubble instead of a nice crackle on top. Any ideas on why this happens? And what can I do to fix it?
I see your Chocolate brownie recipe has no baking powder or baking soda is this correct?
Also not sure if the recipe says 9 does that mean it makes 9 pieces or 16 pieces. Usually a brownie recipe makes 16 squares.
My family think I’m a genius.
Easiest and best brownies ever.
I was looking for brownies recipe with chocolate, this came out perfect! My kids loved it!
This brownie recipe is so quick and easy. Family ate them before I could manage yo even put them in a container. Simply delicious.
The first time I made this, it came out really well, but the susequent times it has been a bit grainy. (Still tastes nice.) I think it was because we were unable to get cooking chocolate. Better send off for some for the next time.
Highly recommended!! Good job! Thank you so much!
My 10 year old son made these today pretty much by himself (other than getting the hot tray out the oven). He is so pleased with himself and says they are ‘sooo good!!.’ He had his warmed up again with ice-cream. This was a really easy recipe and they taste amazing! The only thing we found was they they took quite a bit longer in our oven to get to mid-level gooiness.
OMG these are absolutely delicious. Highly recommend!
Hi Nagi! Can’t wait to try this recipe. I have a question though. Any idea how I would adjust the recipe to fit an 11x7x1.5 inch baking pan? Thanks!
Oh Nagi……..Absolutely Sensational!!!!
My daughter couldn’t have been any happier with her birthday brownies!
You are just fabulous!! 😊
Can we make these brownies eggless
These are the fudgiest brownies I’ve ever had. 29 -30 minutes and still gooey in the middle. As easy to make as a mix and so much better.
These brownies are decadently sweet and have deep chocolatey flavor that hits several notes at once because of the three sources of chocolate.
I used half dark and half milk chocolate chunks. Added a bit of espresso powder with the vanilla. These will be my go-to brownies from now on. Want to try them with walnuts added next time.
I LOVE these brownies. Baked for over 50 years and find this is my go to.
I wonder if this could be made gluten free successfully? Sub flour for almond flour, or coconut flour or other??? Would like to make this for Passover!
Thank you in advance.
Wow! Made these for the staff room at work and colleagues raved about them! Just the right ratio of chocolate, sugar, fussiness, crunchy top. Winner, and they were so easy!