My homemade brownies from scratch are fudgy, decadent, so chocolatey and the batter can be made in just minutes! This has been a fan-favorite for over 8 years and will have you ditching the box-mixes for good. Recipe includes a how-to video and lots of tips for shiny, crackly brownie tops!
Brownies From Scratch
I first shared this homemade brownie recipe years ago and it’s remained one of my personal favorites ever since, a classic right up there with my chocolate chip cookies and easy apple pie. It’s served as the base of many of my other brownie recipes on my site (perhaps most deliciously, my cheesecake brownies) and is perfect for beginners and advanced bakers alike.
At its core, this is really a no-frills, easy brownie recipe that really needs little introduction, but if you’re like me and love nerding out about nitty gritty recipe details, please read on (otherwise, hit that big “Jump to Recipe” button overhead)!
Why You Should Try THIS Brownie Recipe:
- Intense chocolate flavor. Melted chocolate, cocoa powder, and added chocolate chips put these brownies over the top. Add a pinch of instant coffee or espresso powder to the batter for an even more decadent chocolate experience.
- Shiny, crackly tops. While it may seem like just aesthetics, shiny and crackly tops are something that I personally love about brownies and that I wanted my own version to have. I spent years cracking the code on this and am very happy to share what I’ve found with you (it’s all about mixing the eggs and sugar… more on this below!).
- Easy, for when you need a chocolate fix in a hurry! My homemade brownies come together in just 10 minutes. Minimal mess & no mixer needed.
- Perfected recipe (true brownie texture!). This recipe was carefully (and repeatedly) tested to yield brownies that are dense, fudgy, and super chocolatey with the aforementioned shiny, crackly tops. I must’ve baked 100 different batches before landing on this version.
Ingredients for Homemade Brownies
We won’t go over every ingredient in detail (who has the time when there are brownies to be made!), but I think you should know what it is that truly makes these the best brownie recipe. The ingredients are common enough, but there are a few extras mixed in, along with a bit of technique… (more on that later).
Let’s dig in.
- Sugar. A blend of granulated and brown sugar is the way to go in almost every recipe, honestly, but especially here. The subtle molasses-ness of the brown sugar rounds out the flavor of the chocolate and adds extra chew to our brownies!
- Eggs… plus an extra yolk! The egg whites play a critical role in giving you brownies with a shiny, crackly top. When coupled with the sugar and whipped, you’ll be able to achieve exactly that boxed-brownie look. An extra yolk enriches the batter and makes the brownies even more tender and fudgy.
- Chocolate. For intensely chocolatey homemade brownies we build the batter on a base of melted chocolate and butter and then toss in some cocoa powder while the mixture is still warm (to help bloom it, as we do in my chocolate cake). Chocolate chips work in a pinch, but baking bars are best. Use semisweet baking bars, or, if you like a darker chocolate, use 60% cacao instead! Then, at the end, I do recommend mixing in some chocolate chips for an extra punch of chocolate.
- Instant coffee. If you’re someone who prefers dark chocolate, you’ll want to add this. It adds depth and enhances the chocolate flavor, particularly the more bitter flavors that you’ll find in dark chocolate. You can make things even more intense by swapping this with espresso powder, or if you’re not a fan feel free to omit it.
Sam’s Tip: These brownies were specifically and carefully designed to be dense and fudgy, and not cakey. However, if you like a lighter brownie you can stir in a quarter teaspoon of baking powder with the flour.
How to Make Brownies from Scratch
Whisk the eggs and sugar
I’ll usually melt my chocolate and butter together first (do this in intervals, stirring in between, just like when melting chocolate in the microwave). Then set this aside and combine your eggs and sugar and stir vigorously. Whisking together the eggs and sugar almost as if you were making meringue is critical to creating those shiny, crackly tops that you’ll see at the end!
The vigorous whisking can be an arm workout, but can absolutely be done by hand (usually takes me 60 seconds or so). You could alternatively use an electric mixer for this step!
Once the eggs are well-mixed, stir in your vanilla extract and salt.
Add the melted chocolate
Stir the melted chocolate into the batter. Everything should be thoroughly combined, but you don’t have to worry about whisking aggressively or vigorously, like you did with the eggs and sugar.
Finish the brownie batter & bake
Add the flour, followed by the chocolate chips. Once again, the batter just needs to be uniformly combined, no need to go crazy with mixing here! Once everything is combined, scrape your brownie batter into a 9×9″ baking pan, smooth it into an even layer (add a few more chocolate chips on top if you’d like, for good measure!) and bake!
SAM’S TIP: I recommend baking your brownies in a metal pan, as glass pans can take longer.
Frequently Asked Questions
An extra egg yolk, a bit of brown sugar, real melted chocolate, a bit less flour than you might expect, and no baking powder or baking soda all contribute to the rich fudginess of these brownies. If your brownies turn out cakey after following my recipe, it may be that your flour was accidentally over-measured.
After years of making homemade brownies from scratch, I can tell you with confidence the secret is following a good recipe. Use one that recommends vigorously whisking the eggs and sugar, enriches the batter with melted chocolate, and for good measure adds a pinch of instant coffee or espresso. Obviously I’m biased, but my recipe really does crack the code for perfect brownies, and I’m excited for you to try it.
Unfortunately, a straight substitution of the chocolate called for with white chocolate yields results that are too sweet and a bit oily. However, I do have a white chocolate brownie recipe that I recommend you try instead, or for a chocolate-less version try my blondies!
More Chocolate Desserts
This is truly the easiest, ultimate, best homemade brownie recipe. And I really think you are going to love it.
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Fudgy Homemade Brownies from Scratch
Ingredients
- 12 Tablespoons (170 g) unsalted butter cut into Tablespoon-sized pieces
- 4 oz (113 g) semisweet chocolate bar chopped into small pieces
- ½ cup (50 g) natural cocoa powder (unsweetened)
- ½ teaspoon instant coffee grounds optional
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (150 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
- 2 large eggs + 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (127 g) semisweet chocolate chips
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a 9×9 baking pan¹ with parchment paper²
- Combine butter and chopped chocolate in a large, microwave-safe bowl.12 Tablespoons (170 g) unsalted butter, 4 oz (113 g) semisweet chocolate bar
- Microwave in 25-second intervals, stirring well in between, until completely melted and smooth.
- Immediately add cocoa powder and instant coffee (if using), stir well.½ cup (50 g) natural cocoa powder (unsweetened), ½ teaspoon instant coffee grounds
- In a separate, medium-sized mixing bowl, combine sugars and eggs. Whisk vigorously, until well combined and lightened in color (at least 60 seconds of vigorous whisking, this ensures shiny, crackly tops! Feel free to use an electric mixer!).¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar, ¾ cup (150 g) light brown sugar, 2 large eggs + 1 large egg yolk
- Stir in vanilla extract and salt.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon salt
- Drizzle chocolate mixture into egg mixture and stir until completely combined.
- Add flour, stir until completely combined.1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
- Stir in chocolate chips.¾ cup (127 g) semisweet chocolate chips
- Spread into prepared 9×9 pan.
- Bake in center rack of 350F (175C) oven for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out slightly fudgy, but not wet with batter.
- Allow to cool before cutting and serving (they'll be messy and seem underdone otherwise).
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
I originally shared this brownie recipe on 02/01/2017. I’ve made small changes to the recipe to make the tops crackly (changed the step for beating the eggs well instead of mixing the batter well as a whole), and I’ve updated some of the photos and added a video and tried to make the post itself more informative.
Abby
The brownies were amazing! I just wanted to tell you that you wrote 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips but you also wrote 3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips. The brownies turned out really good and they were absolutely delicious.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Abby! That is actually correct. You start by melting the 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and then you stir in the others at the end so you have nice chocolate chip pieces to bite into in your brownie. 🙂
Sara
Hi!
I was wondering if chilling is required for crackle-topped brownies and if I didn’t chill it would it still have a crackle?
Sam
Hi Sara! They’ll still crackle without chilling, just be sure to mix REALLY well 🙂
Nancy
Hi! I need to make more servings. Can I double the recipe and use a 9×13 pan?
Sam
That will work just fine! The brownies will be a little bit thicker in the 9 x 13 so your bake time may vary a little bit. 🙂
Edyta
Hi Sam! I do not have a microwave. Can I melt the butter with chocolate chips on a stove instead?
Thanks
Edyta
Sam
That will work just fine. Just be careful not to heat it too quickly. 🙂
Tri Hua
Absolutely the best recipe I’ve ever followed! It was so fantastic! I highly recommend chilling it for 30 minutes as indicated in the recipe.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much! 🙂
Anishka Kanjilal
Ok!! I cannot express my joy for these brownies!! I have struggled to find the perfect brownies, all of my past recipes turned out like chocolate cake and it was dry 🙁
These brownies however, were perfect!! I totally recommend, they are fudgy and delicious!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy to hear it, Anishka! I am so glad that you enjoyed them! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Rebekah
Hi!! These brownies are SOOO Good!! I’ve made them a few times now! Question tho- the video shows you putting in 3 eggs and the recipe says 2 + 1 yolk? If I missed this question somewhere else, I apologize 🙂
Sam
Hi Rebekah! I only add 2 eggs and 1 yolk in the video they are just all in the same bowl. Sorry for the confusion. 🙂
M.J
Honestly this was awesome but they were just too sugary my children love brownies but they didn’t want to eat these sorry
Jennifer Winders
Can I just say that I love every recipe of yours that I’ve tried! You are an amazing chef. I haven’t actually baked the brownies but they are waiting, chilling, for that crackly top. I was out of milk chocolate chips so I added sea salted caramel chips to the brownie mix and I had to make brown sugar with molasses and white sugar. I cannot wait to try them!
Sam
Thank you so much, Jennifer! I really appreciate it. The sea salt caramel chips sound like an excellent addition. 🙂
Mary
Amazingly delicious brownies 😋 and so easy to make!
Mary
Sam I made the brownies this morning and they are amazingly delicious 😋
You are right… so easy to make; thank you!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed, Mary!! Thank you for trying my recipe and for letting me know how they turned out! 🙂
Mary
This is a keeper!! Moist and delicious 😋
FYI: I added walnuts instead of chocolate chips.
Sam
That’s awesome! I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Risha Shetty
Can I use a 9×9 pan? If so, how long should I bake them?
Risha Shetty
Sorry I meant a 8×8 pan…how long should I bake for?
Sam
Hi Risha! I haven’t baked it in an 8 x8. The brownies will be a little bit thicker so they will probably take a little bit longer to bake. 🙂
Bimanya
Hi,if i add coffee liquor to this recipe will it loose it texture? Or wt instructions should i follow when adding coffee liquor.
Sam
Hmm I think you could probably add about a tablespoon without changing the texture here, but that probably won’t add too much flavor. I think a better bet would be to add espresso powder here.
Bimanya Ratnayake
I’ll follow that☺️thank you so much ❤️
Ali
Made theee maybe 6 times already. Super delicious and fudgy and the chocolaties dessert ever. Brilliant recipe essily the best brownies recipe in the world!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoy them so much, Ali! 🙂
Jessica
I know this recipe is specifically for fudgy brownies, but is there any way to make them less fudgy without changing the whole recipe? I’ve made it before and it’s delicious, but chewy/cakey brownies are what I grew up with. My guess would be add more eggs??
Either way, thank you so much for sharing!
Sam
Hi Jessica. There would be a few alterations needed to achieve a cakey brownie. These were specifically designed to be dense and fudgy. 🙁
Sally
The only recipe I use, amazing brownies 🙂 highly recommend
Darct
I added cherries in the mix . So yummy. I have to stop eating all of the batter or make a separate batter for snacking!! Too good and addicting!
Ali
These are hands down the best brownies ever! Super delicious and rich and they have the perfect sweetness level…it’s arguably the chocolatiest (if that’s a word) dessert ever and it’s a chocoholic dream…better than any other brownie recipe in the Internet and there are thousands maybe… I make these all the time. Just a question how long do they stay outside in an air tight container?
Sam
Hi Ali! They should be good for about a week at room temperature in an air tight container. 🙂