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
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
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
And more irresistible bars and slices
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?
HI NAGI! CAPS SAVES ME FROM ERRORS – KIND OF -I DID JUST SUBSCRIBE TO YOUR MUM’S BLOG (THEY DO TEACH US OUR CRAFT AFTER ALL). I GOT A LAUGH OUT OF YOUR COMMENTS ON HOW YOU GOT HER TO BLOG – AND LAST NIGHT I REMADE THE SEAFOOD GRATIN – THANKS AS I SAID IN AN EARLIER POST – YOU PROMISED AND DELIVERED X WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES COOKING BUT I HOPE THE GOOD FOOD AND WINE SHOW DID NOT TURN YOU OFF COMPLETELY 😉
Hi Dee! Making mistakes at the show was all part of the FUN! 🙂 So glad you enjoy the gratin, thank you for trying it, that recipe is a personal favourite. Glad you laughed instead of scolding me for bullying my mother…. 🙂 N x
Hello Nagi! Just have to tell you my hubby thinks chocolate is a food group! He is going to LOVE this post!! I also took a peak at your mom’s site. Subscribe!! *s*
I wish I had some of my mom’s recipes…so, good move on your part to get her to put them in writing!! I have tried to cre-create some of my mom’s stuff. Some I get spot on, some are just…”what the heck is missing??”
Thanks for your wonderful site, and sharing some great food with all of us!!
I know exactly what you mean Estelle. I don’t actually know that many Japanese recipes myself because if I do want to make something, I just pick up the phone and ask my mother! In a couple of years when she’s shared most of the recipes on my list, I want to print them out and make a cookbook 🙂
“Basically, we told her that if she croaked before she wrote down all our favourite Japanese recipes, we’d be really cranky.” – omg, Nagi, you had me snort laughing!!
We’ve been tinkering with Japanese recipes in our kitchen lately, so I’m beyond excited about your mom’s blog. And what a beautiful lady – like mother like daughter.
Gorgeous brownies too – I’m totally in the fudgy camp for brownies so these look perfect and, of course, I love how simple they are to prepare!!
I believe the word is “bullied”? 😉
Hello Nagi, Love, love Dozer PIC as much as yor Dear Mum story and receipts from Japen! What wonderful memories for YOU and your Family to Look back! Have very good w/End! PS. Not spaghetti eater nor lazanna. Not sure what IT is just does Not gives me apetite.
Thanks Vera!!! So glad you like the photos of Dozer, I have so darn many of them, it’s good to have somewhere to SHARE them! 🙂
A great, reliable, go-to brownie recipe is a must -have in any baking repertoire. I’ve had one that I made at least weekly when my kids were small and lunch boxes, parties or cake stalls had to be catered for.
Can’t wait to give yours a try.
Right on Amanda! Bet yours is a killer 🙂
OMG. Hang in there Dozer I have called the RSPCA. That poor dog.
Your brownies look good although not my cuppa tea, I put on 2 kgs looking at the photos!
BA HA HA!!!! You’re like the One Woman Blog Stand Up Comedy Show!! You crack me up – AND my readers too!!! PS Am sure he secretly loves it. 😉 PPS How many kg do you think I put on MAKING them multiple times???
Hi Nagi, just a big THANK YOU for being so generous with you time and sharing your delicious recipes. Now your Mums recipes . AWSOME! Always inspired by your post! Yummy Food that I am able to cook within my capabilities ??? Well done
Thanks so much Anne! I’m so glad you are enjoying my recipes! N x
I go between gooey and fudgey. These look delicious!!
So glad you bullied your mom into starting her blog! 😀 It’s important for those family recipes to be shared.
Love your pic of you squeezing Dozer. Oh, what he puts up with! Love, great meals, water to play in, and that wonderful deck for taking naps.
My theory is that there’s a brownie to suit everyone because when the centre is gooey the pieces on the edge are fudgey! And BULLIED is right. That’s how she tells the story!! 🙂
Hi Nagi! Me again. I hit a wrong key when typing my comment…1-3/4 sticks of butter is 14 tablespoons, not 15. 🙂
On the ball Dorothy…. 🙂 N x
I vote for gooey!! Where they are almost undercooked. Ummmm! Delicious! But you are very naughty trying to put those brownies in front of me. I’m trying to loose a few pounds this month and brownies are not on the menu — my self-control is nil so I’ll have to wait for next month. Happy weekend.
I’m trying to lose a few pounds this month too….budging the winter pudge! 🙂
I signed up for your mom’ S blog emails and I am sure that I will enjoy it at least as much as I do yours. I am looking forward to receive the first one. Good luck Yumiko!
She will be delighted Mihaela! I do hope you enjoy the recipes! 🙂 N x
Brownies are yummy for the tummy and yours seem simple for even me to make…
Signed up for your Mom’s blog emails… I know that looking through her recipes and comments will be fun and educational…
Thank you…. :O)
These are ridiculously simple Ross! That’s why I keep coming back to it – why complicate something if it works?? 🙂 My mother will be chuffed that you’ve joined her mail list Ross! Hope you enjoy her recipes. They’re basically all the recipes that my siblings and I have asked her to share!!
I too smiled at your method for cajoling your mother into starting her own blog. But on a serious side it is so easy for good family recipes to be lost. It is a shame when knowledge and traditions are lost.
It was in part the reason I started my blog to share my recipes with my boys now in their early 20s. Some of my recipes are published in books but their are many that are not and the blog is something they can relate to.
The brownies look fab too by the way:) Im a fudgy moist kinda girl too
Ohhhhh, I love hearing that’s the reason you started your blog! 🙂 N x
I have now signed up for your mom’s mailing list. I think she will help me to appreciate Japanese food much more than I currently do.
As for your brownies, they sound great. I think I like mine fudgey. I can’t tell you the last time I either made or ate brownies. And yes, if I made these, I’d use less sugar – probably about half, unless that would destroy the chemistry of the recipe. The only ingredient that requires sweetening is the cocoa, and when I use cocoa in other things, like overnight oats, even for my sweet-loving husband I use probably less than a teaspoon of sugar for a heaping tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder. Maybe I like my brownies fudgey with goo from melted chocolate chips…
Hi Susan! Nope, it won’t destroy the recipe if you reduce the sugar 🙂 Oooh – and yes to chocolate chips!
I signed up for your Mom’s mailing list. 🙂 I can see where you got your spot-on talent for mixing flavors so that the whole become more than just the parts. I’m a “savory” girl like you, so I’m sure that I’ll be glad to get her recipes and methods hot off the presses!
You were probably the first ever to join her mail list Heather! She’ll be so chuffed! 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi! I was laughing so hard reading how you guys got your mother to start her blog!! Sounds like what the kids did to me to get to write my first cookbook which is basically all the recipes I cooked for them! 🙂 Now on to these brownies…I’m in the fudgey camp with you! The cocoa powder adds get depth of flavor! I do have a question, here a stick of butter is 8 tablespoons (4 ounces), so 1-3/4 sticks would be 15 tablespoons…? Help please.
Thank you so much for picking that up Dorothy!!! My maths – duh. I did graduate in Finance, I swear! I got the tbsp wrong. It’s 1 3/4 sticks of butter = 14 tbsp = 7 oz. 🙂 Ummm – hang on – you own cookbook?? What the….???
Hi Nagi! Don’t get too excited…it is just a compilation of recipes, some mine, some from friends and others. Self published in limited quantity for the family. I have it and my second one which resulted from a trip to the Outer Banks, NC on disc. I also have notes and pictures in a briefcase for a third. You are going to laugh at the titles! First one is “Dead Eats ala carte”, second one is “Dead Eats the OBX” and the third (still in the works) will be “Dead Eats the Family Dunton”. Okay, I have a perverse sense of humor (thanks to Gary)!
OK, you have to explain the title to me!!! Dead Eats??? Zombie inspired???? PS I look forward to seeing it! 🙂
Hi Nagi! Remember, I told you what my initials are. DEAD. So no Zombie reference there, just me! 🙂
I think she meant to say 1 3/4 sticks (7 OUNCES)
Thank you Monica! 🙂 Buggered up primary school maths! Yes it is 1 3/4 stick = 7 oz = 14 tbsp. ❤️
It’s hard to go wrong with a perfectly, simple moist and fudgey brownie! And like chocolate cookies… I don’t think you can ever have too many brownie recipes 😉 Or maybe I just like the excuse to keep trying them! Haha
Says the Brownie QUEEN!