Our Favorite Brownie Recipe

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This easy brownie recipe is simply the best! It makes brownies that are fudgy, thick, and loaded with chocolate. What’s not to love?

Best Brownies stacked with chocolate chips

There is always a big debate surrounding what makes up the perfect brownie recipe. Cakey or fudgy brownies? I am on team fudgy all the way! These are my favorite fudge brownies and my favorite brownie recipe of all time! These brownies are super fudgy and if you think you are a cakey brownie fan, these brownies will change your mind after one bite. You will be on team fudgy too!

The addition of cocoa and chocolate chips make these fudge brownies extra rich and chocolaty. The shiny, crackly top also makes these brownies pretty to serve and fun to bite into. Best of all, this is an easy brownie recipe that is simple to make.

I got this recipe from King Arthur Flour and they are always a hit!

King Arthur Brownies stacked on plate

Homemade Brownie Recipe

This homemade brownies recipe is easy to make and tastes much better than box mix brownies. Although, I have to admit I used love a good boxed brownie, until I started making this brownie recipe. These are SO much better and almost as easy. Sure, they require a little more effort, but the little more effort is SO worth it! Everyone that tries these brownies LOVES them! They are brownie perfection!

Fudge Brownies, YES!

A few tips for making the best fudge brownies.

  • I use butter for my brownies instead of oil. I love the flavor and they make the brownies super rich.
  • Use Dutch process cocoa. It gives the brownies a deeper and richer chocolate flavor. You can find Dutch process cocoa at some grocery stores, but not all. I can always find it at Costco, baking supply stores, and online.
  • Melt the butter over the stove and add the sugar. Heat again, stirring the mixture until shiny. Heating the butter and sugar together will help the sugar dissolve more, creating a shiny, crackly top on the brownies, which you want.
  • Make sure you transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl to finish the recipe. If you mix in the pan the chocolate chips will melt immediately and you want most of them to keep their shape so you get chunks of chocolate chips in the brownies.
  • Use semi-sweet chocolate chips for this recipe.
  • Use 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract, yes a whole tablespoon! You want all of that delicious vanilla flavor.
  • You can add a little espresso powder to the brownies to bring out the chocolate flavor, this is how King Arthur makes them, but I never add it. I think they are perfect without it.
  • Let the brownies cool completely before cutting. Pro tip, cut with a plastic knife for less crumbs. I promise it works!

Brownies Make the Best Dessert

This recipe makes a 9×13-inch pan of brownies. That might sound like a lot, but I promise you, they won’t last long. When we have a pan of fudge brownies in our house, they disappear quickly. Every time I walk by the pan I HAVE to have a little taste. And let’s talk about brownie edges and corners, are you a fan? Josh and I fight over them, they are SO good!

Brownies are the perfect dessert for sharing, if you are feeling generous, these brownies are hard to share because they are so good:) You can easily take a pan of brownies to a potluck, party, picnic, or BBQ! Brownies are always a hit!

And if you want to go ALL out. Sever the brownies warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and hot fudge sauce. Oh, yeah! One of my all-time favorite desserts. You can never go wrong with brownies and ice cream. A classic dessert that everyone loves!

The next time you are craving brownies, put your box away and make this brownie recipe. It will become your favorite brownie recipe too!

More Brownie Recipes:

Brownie with ice cream and hot fudge on plate
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Fudge Brownies

The best homemade brownie recipe! These brownies are so fudgy and delicious! Our family’s favorite brownie recipe, especially when served with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge sauce.
4.48 from 242 votes

Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9″ x 13″ pan and set aside.
  • In a medium-sized saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter and remove from the heat. Add the sugar and stir to combine. Return the mixture to the heat, just until it’s hot, but not bubbling; it’ll become shiny looking as you stir it. Heating this mixture a second time will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies.
  • Transfer the sugar mixture to a medium-sized mixing bowl. Stir in the cocoa, baking powder, salt, and vanilla extract.
  • Whisk in the eggs, stirring until smooth.
  • Add the flour and chocolate chips. Stir until smooth.
  • Spoon the batter into prepared pan. Bake the brownies for about 30-35 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. The brownies should feel set on the edges, and the center should look very moist, but not uncooked. Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack before cutting and serving.

Nutrition

Serving: 24g, Calories: 278kcal, Carbohydrates: 35g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 48mg, Sodium: 177mg, Potassium: 190mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 24g, Vitamin A: 285IU, Calcium: 30mg, Iron: 2.1mg
Keywords brownie recipe, brownies

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Maria

I'm Maria and my husband is Josh. We share a love of cooking, baking, and entertaining. We enjoy creating recipes that are simple, fresh, and family friendly. We love sitting around the table with good food, good conversation, and good friends and family! Our kitchen is always open!
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  1. Yum… I can never resist brownies. Those look perfect. I will have to give the recipe a try. I love the King Arthur brand and have heard great things about their recipes.

  2. Oooh, I have yet to try their recipe, but their recipes are always amazing! Plus, your pictures kind of seal the deal! I can’t wait to give this a run, I’m always looking for a new and improved brownie recipe!

  3. These look great Maria! But I”m going to give them a run for their money with the recipe I’m posting on Friday… 🙂

    1. 5 stars
      Totally agree! I got this recipe from the bag back in 2005 or 2006. It’s been my ONLY brownie recipe since then. Loooove it.

  4. I like a recipe that makes a 9X11 size pan but still gives you a thick brownie. The espresso powder and chocolate chips take it over the top! YUM!

  5. We made brownies for the super bowl too. My 13 year old son did most of the work! We made the Hershey brownie recipe. It looks very similar to this one! I love them!! I only let myself have one warm with vanilla ice cream on top!!

  6. I vote for fudgy brownies! Otherwise, I’ll opt for chocolate cake:) Yours look really good – worth a try, especially knowing that I can coerce the girls to make them.

  7. Ah brownies. It’s so good to have so many recipes to try – it’s like the gift that keeps on giving! These look delicious. Can’t wait to try them (sans eggs of course!)

  8. these look great. I just did the ‘battle of the brownies” on my blog- made a whole bunch of different recipes and had people judge- New York times took the crown. these look good as well- i would love to try them. did you see the brownies that jenna posted too with sea salt? id like to try that one too! (http://eatliverun.com/salted-fudge-brownies/) you are so right about the cakey vs fudgy lovers- it is SO HARD to please everyone in the crowd!

  9. I love the dutch cocoa and the espresso powder! That combination makes for super fudgy brownies…just the way I like them! Your photos are gorgeous! 🙂

  10. Wow, Maria, these brownies are practically melting in my mouth! Those are some photos. Thanks for sharing this lovely recipe, just in time for Valentine’s Day!

  11. These look great! I love almost every King Arthur recipe I’ve tried… They are the best 🙂

  12. That brownie recipe is excellent. My friend made some with it and they were really lovely, moist and rich!

  13. Valentine’s Day approaching and all I can think of is chocolate. The brownies look wonderful and cut so nicely. Mine always fall apart.

  14. I’m a fudgy kind of girl, so these are right up my alley. It seems like King Arthur recipes are always a hit!

  15. I love King Arthur Flour’s recipes, I will have to try this one. These brownies are making me drool!

  16. Ah…. there it is. My very favorite brownie recipe. I love it! Try cutting it into shapes and dipping in ganache if you really want to splurge!

  17. They look fantastic Maria! I’ll have to give them a try, King Arthur recipes have always turned out great for me. 🙂

  18. I think the crackly top is probably my favorite part of a brownie, I’ve tried this one before and liked it a lot.

  19. I feel like I have been spending my baking life trying to find the perfect brownie. And what I have realized is that, unless they are truly terrible, I love all brownies. These look great – I like to have something to bite into so the chocolate chips are perfect for me!

  20. Fudgy, all the way. If I wanted cakey, I’ll eat cake, then I get some frosting, too! These look so good, I’ve been seeing a lot of brownie recipes lately; it appears the universe is telling me I need to make some, pronto!

  21. I’m so glad you enjoyed these brownies! This recipe is one of my absolute favorites and one of the few sweet baked goods my little brother will eat 🙂 Happy Baking!

  22. nom nom nom those sound delicious! I love using espresso powder in brownies, it adds so much! I need to look to see if I have any!

  23. This has become my go-to brownie recipe. Works well alone, topped with ice cream, or frosted. Highly recommended!

  24. I’ve never believed in homemade brownies, but these have forever changed my mind. These are the BEST brownies ever! I’m going to post it on my blog!

  25. These are the best brownies. This is the only recipe I ever use, and people always want it. They can’t believe I got it off the flour bag. For an extra treat, use the seasonal Nestle mint chocolate chips (the kind that is mixed with the semi-sweet chips). Super tasty, I promise!

  26. I had taste a lot of different brownies, but this new fudge brownie is another fantastic recipe. I’m sure that everybody will love this and make this fudge brownie an all time favorite snack. The chocolate chips will give this fudge brownie an extra addiction to eat especially to people who are chocolate lovers like me as well. Thanks to this brownie recipe.

  27. Can’t wait to try these. What is espresso powder? Can I substitute instant coffee granules? Let me know. Thanks.

  28. Wow these brownies look delicious! I need to make some brownies soon, looking at these is making me hungry ;)!

  29. Everytime I make them people still rave about them the day after! This last time I put in whole Oreo cookies and it was a dream. I’ll be keeping this recipe. Thank you!

  30. These brownies look amazing! A huge pan but something tells me that won’t be a problem.

  31. 1 1/4 cups of coco sounds like too much chocolate even for  me and I love chocolate . I’m going to try them but I can always tell by looking if I think they will be too dark. 

  32. I’m tempted to try this but every time I’ve made brownies they’ve been a disaster! Did you you use a tin or pyrex pan?

    1. Light  metal/tin…mine turned out perfectly following the directions exactly. 

  33. I can’t get over how insanely rich and fudgy these look!! Good to know about the butter versus oil.

  34. 5 stars
    I’ve tried SO MANY brownie recipes and never really been in love with any of them…until now! These are perfect! Great tip on the heating of sugar and butter. I finally have shiny top brownies with the texture of a box, but without the gross chemical taste. Win!

  35. You are correct about the plastic knife! It cuts the brownies perfectly every time! I am definitely going to be trying this recipe! Thanks!

  36. Your site is wonderfull. I try some of your recipes and i love them. They are so delicious, specially your spinach salad with strawberry and blueberry muffins ( Your blueberry muffins is the best recipe ever. My friends love them. French’s bakery is good but your blueberry muffins are amazing, incredible ). France tell you thank you and me too, so much ( i am eating your brownies, they look perfect ) Sorry for my english. I m not bilingual.

  37. Decadent. These were so good that it was a solid 36 hours later before I even noticed that I forgot to add nuts. We had them for a dinner party and since there were plenty we told people to take one with them; they said they’d like it immediately. 🙂 We are making it again tonight. I’ll try not to think about all that sugar…

  38. 4 stars
    These were goprettgood! I athinkovoven isaislalittle powerful so they were a little less fudge than I wanted, but I love this recipe!

  39. 5 stars
    Made these last night after I got the “cue chocolate cravings” email. Couldn’t resist. They aren’t so yummy. What took them over the top for us was after I baked them I sprinkled some coarse sea salt on top. Heavenly

  40. The flavor is great! Not as fudgy as I expected.. more on the Cakey side. Wondering if I did something?? Overall, great recipe!

  41. 5 stars
    it’s baking now…I also added some chocolate chopped, nuts and tbs of coffee granulated.
    its looks delicious. THANKS

  42. 5 stars
    These are the best fudge brownies I’ve ever had. I’m so glad I found this recipe today. They just came out of the oven and boy does my house smell so good. I tried a small piece and oh my gosh to die for. Thank you for this recipe.

  43. I really wished people would just rate a recipe instead of commenting on how good it looks! Sorry, pet peace of mine! I’ve had mine in the oven for like 45 min and every where I check it’s goming out wet/ moist. I thought maybe I was hitting the morsels but everywhere I poke it comes out like this. I have a thermador gas range . Has anyone actually made this that can comment? Thank you! Any tips appreciated. 

  44. 5 stars
    I made these gluten free yesterday for my cousin and my aunt and they loved them! I used coconut flour in place of  all-purpose and them came out fudgey and delicious. I’ve been asked to bring them to Christmas this year in addition to my usual Yule Log. 

  45. 5 stars
    I will never buy another brownie box mix after making this. These recipes are flawlessly perfect. There is no need to make any adjustments in ingredient portions, process and the baking times are spot on.  These brownies are the best of the best. 

  46. 5 stars
    I made these this weekend and they were so good! They were very rich but not too sweet. Definitely saving this recipe for future use. Thank you so much!

  47. I’m cooking them now .. For some reason I think I did something wrong . The batter is very thick so I thought upon cooking  it would kinda melt together and become flat on top but it still kept the form of when I put it he batter in the pan .. Not sure what to expect .. I have made about 5 receipts from this sight and they all came perfect so let’s see what happens with this one … brownies 

  48. 5 stars
    Thank you for a great recipe! I made them for my work for Valentine’s Day. I made them in muffin liners so everyone was more comfortable grabbing one. I live in Tokyo so brownies aren’t a thing and definitely not fudgey anything. They were a huge hit with both the Japanese and foreigner staff! This recipe is a keeper!!! Easy to make and the texture was exactly what I was looking. That extra step with the butter and sugar was so worth it as well. Thanks again for sharing!

  49. 5 stars
    I loved this recipe!! super easy to follow and you basically have all of this at home already- I just needed cocoa powder.

    However, and I’m not sure if it’s because my oven gets hotter than usual, but my brownies were completely cooked in only 20 minutes so just keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t burn!

    I also sprinkled some powdered sugar on top for extra yummyness

    1. I purchased Ghirardelli sweet ground cocoa that is alkalized through the Dutch process.
      Is this going to be too sweet? Was your recipe for unsweetened cocoa?

  50. 5 stars
    These brownies are fudgy and incredible. The recipe was perfect and easy enough for an eleven year old to help me make them. Thank you so much for the recipe.

  51. 3 stars
    Every time I try a brownie recipe, it comes out like crap. Never looks like the pictures or the video. I had high hopes for this, but I used half stevia, half regular sugar…. it did NOT work. They baked in 15 minutes versus 30, the sugar wouldn’t melt into the butter, and they came out like cake, not fudge. Huge bummer. I will eventually try again and update my review, but heed this as a warning, do not use a sugar substitute. It’s awful.

  52. 5 stars
    These brownies were super easy to make and was enough to serve my family of six with more than enough left over!! They were an instant hit!! So moist and delicious!!! Best brownie recipe ever!!!

  53. 1 star
    My 8 year old is an aspiring baker. We made this recipe because she refuses to make anything from a box. We read and reread the recipe OVER AND OVER. The batter was more like a thick dough. I had to mold it into our brownie pan, it was not pourable. We laughed and said maybe some magic will happen in the oven. They smelled AMAZING and started to look better in the oven. They came out like bricks. Big fudgy bricks. The flavor was good, rich chocolate like a chocolate torte, however the texture was awful. Hard as a rock around the edges with a fudgy middle. Not sure what went wrong as this recipe seems to have great reviews!

  54. 5 stars
    Fabulously fudgey. Follow the instructions to wait for brownies to cool for the true fudgey-ness to express itself. I used raw turbinate sugar. It takes longer to dissolve with the butter & it doesn’t completely. But when mixing in the rest of the ingredients I used a mixer for several minutes and the rest of the sugar dissolved. Also I only had Giardelli unsweetened cocoa (not Dutch process). I added the espresso coffee powder, which may have helped the chocolate flavor. All in all my husband is a fudgey brownie fuss bucket. He loved them as much as I did. This will be my only brownie recipe

  55. 5 stars
    They were very good. A little rich but would be very good with ice cream. I added some store bought Carmel sauce to the batter right before I put them in the oven and it was even better!! I definitely recommend.

  56. 5 stars
    YUM! I accidentally dumped in too much flour so I added a tad bit of oil…they baked in my tiny European ventilated oven in just 21 minutes but they are the best!

  57. 5 stars
    These were amazing! I made them for my boyfriend and his family. Everyone LOVED them! Thanks for posting it!

  58. I have a question, is the butter 1 cup + 2 sticks or either 1 cup or 2 sticks? Asking because 2 sticks = 1 cup and hence confused. Please confirm soon as I can’t wait to make this yummy goodness.

  59. 3 stars
    it is not that good(the recipe) very less sugar and it was very thick the batter so i had to add 3 cupz/glasses of milk though i had all these problems i will say the top crust came out well.

  60. 4 stars
    Baking time varies each time I make this so it can range from 25 minutes to 50 minutes but other than that it turns out fudgey and delicious! Great recipe, I just wish there was a little less sugar and butter.

  61. GF is unhealthy enough I couldn’t use that much sugar ever. Don’t have a problem with the butter as that’s good fat

  62. 5 stars
    Mine are baking in the oven right now – just licking the mixing bowl and I am in heaven!! I love that dark dutch cocoa, so rich and the perfect sweet/saltiness. Love this already!

  63. 5 stars
    Ok I made these and sent them to work with my daughter. I tasted a small one…very fudgy and rich!!! They called them “crack” brownies…the whole pan eaten in 30 minutes!!!

  64. 5 stars
    These are my go to brownie recipe for groups or having people over! I’ve had several friends ask for the recipe. My brownies usually don’t take as long as the cook time- but I start checking them before the minimum. If you take them out at the right point they are soft and fudgey and delicious on their own or with ice cream or milk! I’ve been making these for well over a year and I keep coming back!

  65. Does this make 2 batches in the 9×13? We scooped ours into one but it was a LOT. Very thick, more than I’m used to doing with a brownie recipe and that’s even with leaving a good portion of the battery out just to eat
    Had a bit of difficulty baking because of this ss the top was cracking and the edges pulled but the center still a bit wet. Just wondering!

  66. 3 stars
    How did my brownies come out cake-like!!??? I followed the recipe to a tee but chose not to add chocolate chips. I checked at 20min and toothpick was very wet – at 25min, there were a few crumbs so I thought all was well with the world fudge-y brownies!!! What did I do wrong? Mix it too long? Not mix long enough?a bigger than large eggs (extra large)? Wahhh! I frosted them to salvage as, like all of you, LOVE fudgy brownies!!! Please advise.
    ..

    1. 5 stars
      Guys you have to realize there are ‘thick’ batters and really ‘thin’ batters. Fudge/brownies to my knowledge have always had a THICK batter, henceforth the gooie-ness. It surprises me that people try it for the first time and wonder what they did wrong when decided to do their ‘own’ thing because it didn’t ‘sound’ right. I’m also pretty sure you can use unbleached sugar or an alternative sweetener. So many people are criticizing, without even giving it a shot, by just reading the recipe. lol what do you think the stores/companies put in theirs? Guys fudge-brownie batter is suppose to be thick more like a cookie (which is also a thick batter). Experiment don’t criticize. This lady is nice enough to share with us for free. So you don’t like it then save your energy and go find one you do like. But mine just come out of the oven and….OMG THEY ARE SOOO GOOOD. ow ow ow still warm but mmmm ty for the recipe. Mighty numiness, namaste.

    2. Baked too long when you pull brownies out of the oven they’re supposed to be “wet” under baked in the middle. The sides about 2 inches in should be crumbly on the toothpick the middle wet. it finishes baking outside of the oven. I also recommend not leaving out the chocolate chips. This will definitely add to the fudgy texture.

  67. 4 stars
    What’s in a name?
    People, the title of the recipe says it all.
    Fudge Brownies
    What is fudge? It’s basically a candy. What does candy usually have?
    Lots of sugar
    So the recipe means what the title says, fudgy brownies, which will have a lot of sugar.
    See? I did the thinking for y’all since it’s so hard so if you don’t want sugary brownies, either alter the recipe or find a different one.
    these brownies were delicious, they were exactly what I was looking for, which was gooey fudgy brownies.
    I omitted the chocolate chips and added crushed walnuts on top. My husband gobbled them up, and they would go great with ice cream.

  68. 5 stars
    These are the best! Very rich and delicious they would be perfect for an ice cream dessert. Don’t listen to they haters!

  69. Help! I’ve made this recipe many times before, and this time I’m doubling the batch, but I realize I only have 2 cups of cocoa powder instead of the required 2 1/2 cups. Can I substitute with 1/2 cup of melted chocolate chips maybe?

  70. Update: I tried this and it worked out fine. Thanks for such an amazing recipe that turns out fudgy every time!

  71. 5 stars
    This was actually one of the best brownie recipes I have ever tried! Thick like a cake, moist and chocolatey center and a nice light chewy, crisp top. I baked it for 40 minutes but that’s because my oven is a little bit off. I would love to post a picture, but I don’t know how. thank you for this amazing recipe.

  72. 5 stars
    My nephew called these the best brownies ever! I was looking for a recipe to replace boxed brownies and finally found this. Better than boxed recipes, it is fresh and delicious. During preparation, be sure to add the final ingredient…love!

  73. 5 stars
    These brownies are so delicious! I didn’t make them as directed and accidentally added an extra 1/4 cup of sugar. I also added 3/4 cups less semi sweet chocolate chips and added 3/4 cup dark chocolate baking chunks in place. Yum! The best brownies I’ve ever made.

  74. 4 stars
    Had very good taste to my liking and used correct pan sadly the time was not enough and the center ended being raw whike edges were fully cooked. If you’re gonna use the toothpick method do not trust the toothpick coming out clean in the center because its gonna be raw. Id recommend using a water bath for this recipe but it tasted really good! especially if you use brown sugar.

  75. 5 stars
    Turned out great! Baked for 35 minutes and they’re fudgey and perfect. Everyone is commenting on the amount of sugar and butter in this but like they’re BROWNIES, so that’s to be expected.

  76. 5 stars
    After trying so many brownie recipes over the years, this is now the one and only brownie recipe I use. Incredibly fudgey, rich and delicious—just what I want in a brownie! Everyone loves them and they go very fast. I’ve also put a layer or Oreos between the batter before baking and that’s delicious too! Thank you for this!

  77. 5 stars
    This recipe was fantastic! I didn’t know that about mixing the butter and sugar makes a flakey top. Interesting! I did add the tsp. of espresso powder because it always compliments chocolate so nicely. This brownie warm out of the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top- Heaven! Thank you for this one- it’s a keeper!!!

  78. 5 stars
    I absolutely love this recipe, I can eat practically the whole thing myself and my family loves it. I add an extra 2 tbsp of butter and I add cinnamon (it really adds to it). I bake it 15 minutes flip it around and bake for another 15 minutes for an even bake. I’ve made this two times this week since my family goes through it so quickly.

    1. I also use butter on the pan rather than oil/spray/parchment paper, I really like the added flavor/slight crunch it adds on the outside.