I’ve tried lots of brownie recipes: Boxes, scratch, frosted, plain, nuts, chips, fudge … Each of them has something to like, but depending on my mood I might want a change of pace.
Not any more. My wife found this recipe, and it’s perfect. I’m done looking. This is the brownie recipe that I’ll use from now on.
Ingredients
1½ cups sugar
¾ cup flour
¾ cup cocoa powder (see note below)
3 eggs
¾ cup butter, melted
¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (see note below)
Directions
A NOTE ON CHOCOLATE: You’ll notice the list of ingredients is very short. That means the quality of the chocolate makes a huge difference. The chocolate flavor is front-and-center — not the sugar, not the richness, the chocolate. I used Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa powder, and Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips.
The assembly is about as easy as you can get. Combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, eggs and melted butter and mix.
Do this by hand, until the dry ingredients are just incorporated into the wet, and stop. You don’t need to beat it, and in fact want to avoid producing gluten from the flour. (Kneading flour produces gluten, the springy protein that makes bread chewy.)
Stir in the chocolate chips.
Line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment. I over-did it a little bit here, because I wanted to be absolutely sure it didn’t stick. As long as you cover the bottom you should be good, as it will pull away from the edges while baking.
Pour the batter and spread it out. Don’t try to spread it like mayo on bread, or you’ll move the parchment around. Poke at it with the tip of a rubber spatula.
Bake at 325° for 20-30 minutes. It’s done when a toothpick inserted in the tallest part comes out clean. Keep in mind you’ve got chips in there. If you hit one with the toothpick it will have melted chocolate on it. You might need to poke a couple of spots to make sure you aren’t hitting a chip.
Very carefully lift the parchment out of the baking dish. Get a spare set of hands if you can.
Peel the edges and let cool for a few minutes before slicing.
Pour yourself a glass of milk, and that’s it.
Quick question while you’re here:
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185 Comments
Amy, that makes sense. I'll try mixing the wet and dry separately next time, see if I notice a difference.
Claire, great to hear. It's really hard to talk about whether brownies are "fudgy enough" when there are people like me who don't like fudge. But I do like dense, chewy brownies.
I've made these a couple of times now, and they are amazing. I have some in the oven right now to bring to a neighbor! Thanks for sharing this simple but amazing recipe. I never knew brownies from scratch was so easy!
I know I said, "This is the brownie recipe that I'll use from now on." But I just had some a neighbor made that had a really interesting twist: Black bean brownies.
I know, sounds weird. But you'd never know if someone didn't tell you.
We made these brownies last night. They were really good. However, I would like a thicker brownie in the 9×13 pan. How do you accomplish that without overdoing it? Thanks so much for the recipe!
Becca, this one scales up pretty easily. Try this:
2 cups sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup cocoa powder
4 eggs
1 cup butter, melted
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
It's got very basic proportions, so it's easy to scale up or down as much as you need.
How much longer on the cooking time please…thanks!
I'd start checking at 25 minutes. It's not an exact science when we're not using the same dish and the same oven.
Drew, I almost had a heart attack when your site went down! I needed the recipe again to make for a lunch party. Thank goodness it came up hours before I needed to bake!
And yes, they keep calling it a gateau.
This time, I added walnuts. Nommy!
What a great recepie. My mother in law is jealous because they came out better than hers. hahaha
~
I had to give her recepie though.
PS. My 5 year old wanted to eat the whole thing.
Leslie, I was having some chest pains about it, too. I hope that mess is over now.
Anon, yes, you did have to give her the recipe.
I just made these for my friends! All of us say it's delicious : )
Drew,
chest pains are what you get for having a fabulous website that people keep coming back to!
These look wonderful but for one omission: chocolate recipes really need a pinch of salt to bring out the chocolate flavor, otherwise it can tase a bit cloying. Salted butter may do the trick but I like an added pinch of salt.
Deb, did Jenni put you up to this? Actually, like I told her several comments back, I planned on adding the salt but completely forgot until they were already in the oven. The salted butter seems to have been enough in this recipe, but I'll add a pinch next time just for comparison.
This is my third time making these brownies, and I'm consistently having the problem of the outsides cooking faster than the insides. I've thought of some possible factors:
-I add about 1.5 cups walnuts, and I'm told that could make a difference.
-I use slightly less sugar because I only have milk choc. chips.
-My oven is heavy-duty, so I usually have to cook things at about 25 degrees lower temp, which I did with the brownies.
Otherwise I follow it to the letter. I've tried lowering the temp and cooking it for an extra 10 minutes, but the center is still undercooked. Any thoughts or suggestions?
p.s. LOVE the recipe — much better than cake or fudge style.
Laura Lou, it could still be the oven, but I suspect it might be the pan. Are you making them in a metal pan? That can make a huge difference.
See here for details: "Various types of baking pans will be slow to become hot, such as stoneware, oven-safe glass and pottery, but once they are hot, they retain the heat well, providing a well-browned or crispy crust."
Nope, glass pan. That's what you used, right? I thought I saw it in the photo.
I finished making this batch and I cooked it for 18 extra minutes, still it was a little gooey. This time I baked them at the recommended 325 degrees. And it takes -forever- (as in 30 minutes) to cool enough so that it doesn't crumble when I cut it.
So you don't think it's the walnuts? I hear they could act as an insulator.
Laura Lou, I guess if you've got a whole bunch it could make a big difference. I've never done two batches back-to-back to compare. Maybe I should do that.
I made these twice in two weeks. They were absolutely perfect! What a great recipe. Thank you so much!
I made these for my colleagues and they all fell in love with them! Delicious!!
No, Delphine. They fell in love with you. They're just a little shy.
Pecans would be a great addition…Tried it excellent a perfect compliment..
I'm a walnut guy myself, but pecans sound good. Hmm … no, I'll keep the almonds in M&Ms. If only I could find them again.
Sounds like an AMAZING recipe, thank you for revealing this. I got a question though and it may sound odd but is it possible to add Reese's peanut butter cups and Reese's peanut butter chips instead of chocolate chips to make this a hybrid of peanut butter and chocolate brownies? Thanks!
The peanut butter chips I could go for. But Reese's cups are coated in really bad, waxy milk chocolate. (In my opinion, of course.)
Awesome. Chewy, dense, and delicious. Made them again in a cupcake pan, and after they cooled. served them with ice cream on top.
Okay – I've made these now (TWICE) and they are yummylicious. Seriously the best I've ever made (I have tasted something similar before but that was from a specialty shop and cost a fortune)
I made these last night again, I added nuts and afterward I spread melted chocolate over it and sprinkled more nuts on. These were then cut into squares and served with vanilla ice cream.
Thank you – thank you – thank you. My hunt for the perfect brownies have come to an end (after many years).
hey what happens if i use s elf raising flour?
help!
i'm craving brownies, but i've had more than my shares of baking mishaps!
Self raising flour has baking powder added to it. Use it in this recipe and you'll have puffy, cake-like brownies. They'll taste good, but won't have that dense texture that (in my opinion) makes brownies better than cake.
they look amazing. must try ! i like them dense… very dense and chocolaty
HOLY NOM! I just made these, and they have the best texture I've ever experienced. The flavor is just a tiny bit too dark for me, though, so I think next time I'll add a smidge more sugar and maybe a little vanilla. Aaahh, but these go soo good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! Yummy!
Drew,
Thank you for the great recipe. I just made them and they are delicious. I modified your recipe for a 9×9 pan as follows for anyone that bakes smaller.
1 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder (see note below)
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
I also added 1/2 cup of chopped pecans.
I don't know how you get these to cook so quickly. I baked in pyrex and bought an oven thermometer today just to check. My oven was running 325-350 and it was more like 45-50 minutes to cook. At 20 minutes, it was still dough except for an inch of the edges. I still had a bit of brown on the toothpick when I took them out but they are great after cooling.
Forgot to add. Got Milk is not optional with these. Mmmm mmmm good.
DR, I've had typos before, so I went and double-checked. I name all my photos as the timestamp on them, and the before and after photos were taken at 8:55 and 9:32 respectively. Leave a few minutes before and after for futzing with the camera, and it was probably just over 30 minutes.
With brownies I'd rather go slightly under-done, unlike cake or bread where you want it fully cooked. The toothpick test, in my opinion, is no good for brownies. You want it to come out with a little chocolate on it. Otherwise you've got dry brownies, and all the cold milk in the world won't fix that.
Thanks Drew for posting so a great recipe. I viewed the comments posted before making the 2 pans that I made today. I adjusted the recipe by using salted butter and added another pinch of salt, some vanilla, and a little water. I purchased some bakery bags, with Christmas decorations, and turned them into nice gift bags for the holiday. Everyone loves baked goods! They were a hit!
Thanks Drew for posting such a great recipe. I viewed the comments posted before making the 2 pans that I made today. I adjusted the recipe by using salted butter and added another pinch of salt, some vanilla, and a little water. I purchased some bakery bags, with Christmas decorations, and turned them into nice gift bags for the holiday. Everyone loves baked goods! They were a hit!
Drew,
Thank you for double check the times for me. I discovered the problem. My 40 yo stove needed a new door gasket. All seems well now. I can’t wait to show up for Christmas dinner with your brownies.
DR, glad to hear you figured it out.
hi! i really love your recipe… i try different recipes and im not satisfied but when i try your recipe the search is over… this is it!!!!! thanks you so much….
Thanks Drew! This looks great! I will have to try your Perfect Brownie recipe in my Perfect Brownie Pan… LOL. Is it okay if I link to this from http://www.BrowniePan.net ?
Thanks again!
Derek, sure, it makes sense that you’d need to perfect brownie recipe to make the perfect brownies.
Hi!
Thanks so much for this amazing recipe! I’m a French student who loves cooking, i was a bit afraid because of the US measures but i’ve found out US measure cups and i’m very happy because i could make and eat this gorgeous brownie.
Just perfect
Alizuko
Nothing beats brownies with a good cup of tea.
I’m not much of a fan of semi sweet chocolate. Could I use milk chocolate chips instead? And I thought the brownies weren’t as sweet as I like them, but they were still delicious. But I’d still like to know how much more sugar could I add for my sweet tooth?
Sindy, you’re just going to have to experiment with that. I’d go with a quarter-cup at a time. Less than that and you’ll wonder, “Can I really taste the difference or am I just imagining it?” Worst case, you have to bake several more batches of brownies. And wouldn’t that just be horrible?
Thank you, Oh yes, it would…my tummy will ache for weeks..
I found this recipe two months ago and LOVED them. Somehow I lost the link and searched, quite literally for over an hour for it…Out of nowhere, I “stumble upon” it again tonight and I am SO DARN HAPPY! YUM!
Katrina, when you’re searching just type “how to make whatever” into Google and there’s a good chance mine will be on the first page.
Hi Drew, I have made this brownie recipe 3 times now. Thie first time they were absolutely perfect but the following two times it was as if the butter ’split’, so I am not sure if Iheated it too long when I melted it in the microwave. They still tasted nice but the texture was too hard and ‘chewy’. Could there be something else that I am missing? I would like to try these again.
thanks
sam
Sam, butter will separate if you overheat it. I actually learned that one melting butter to put on popcorn. I try to heat it until it’s almost all the way melted, then let it sit out on the counter to finish.
If it starts bubbling in the microwave, you’re going to get a foam of milk solids on top of thin, clear liquid.
This looks like a recipe I’ve been searching for for years! I probably couldn’t resist adding a Tablespoon of cinnamon and a teaspoon of chili powder, though. Brings out the chocolate taste even more.
Can you make these brownies in an 8 x 8 inch baking dish?
Emily, you can, but they’ll be so much thicker — nearly twice as thick — I’d worry about the edges being overdone before it’s done in the middle. Let me ask around, see if anyone has any tips for changing the cooking time or temperature to compensate.
UPDATE: Okay, my expert source says lower the temperature by 25 degrees, and expect baking time to be 25% to 50% longer.
Ohhh, okay. I’ll just try my best to get my mom to get me a 9 x 13 baking dish first. Then I’ll use the 8 x 8 if I’m really desperate. Thank you!
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