Fudgy Brownie Recipe
Updated April 24, 2025
Quick Summary
This Fudgy Brownie Recipe is everything a chocolate lover dreams of—rich, gooey, and loaded with deep chocolate flavor. Made with simple ingredients, these brownies are easy to whip up and guaranteed to impress. Perfect for parties, potlucks, or late-night cravings!
Table of Contents
The Ultimate Fudgy Brownies
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!
I’ve been making this fudgy brownie recipe from King Arthur Flour for years, and it’s always a hit. There’s just something about them that people can’t resist—the rich, gooey texture, the perfectly crackly top, and that deep chocolate flavor that makes every bite irresistible.
I love these brownies because they strike the perfect balance: a slightly crisp edge and a melt-in-your-mouth center. The addition of cocoa and chocolate chips make these fudge brownies extra rich and chocolaty.
Whether you’re a die-hard chocolate lover or simply looking for a crowd-pleasing dessert, these brownies are sure to become a favorite. Easy to make and always popular, they’re the perfect treat for any occasion!
Tips for Perfect Fudgy Brownies
- Use butter 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.
- Dissolve the sugar. 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.
- I prefer 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.
- Add a little espresso powder to the brownies to bring out the chocolate flavor.
- Let the brownies cool completely before cutting. Pro tip, cut with a plastic knife for less crumbs. I promise it works!
Fudgy Brownie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cups Dutch-process cocoa
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
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.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?
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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!
Frequently Asked Questions for This Recipe
Can I make this recipe in a smaller pan? You can try halving the recipe for an 8×8-inch pan and adjust the baking time (around 25–28 minutes).
What kind of cocoa powder should I use? Dutch-process is recommended—it gives a deeper, smoother chocolate flavor. But you can use natural cocoa in a pinch (just know the flavor might be a touch tangier).
Can I add nuts or other mix-ins? Yes! Walnuts, pecans, white chocolate chips, peanut butter swirls, or even a layer of Oreos in the middle—go wild.
How do I store them? Airtight container at room temp for up to 5 days. For extra fudginess, store in the fridge. They also freeze well—just put in a freezer bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months.
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.
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.
I love this recipe! The brownies were so tasty, and my husband and I ate the whole pan ourselves!
Way to much cocoa!
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
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!
Update: my brownies are out of the oven, and they are incredible. That is all.
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!!!
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!
Yahoo!
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!
I was sceptical of how thick it was so added in 1/2 a cup of milk and it was perfection.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
These are the best! Very rich and delicious they would be perfect for an ice cream dessert. Don’t listen to they haters!
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?
Update: I tried this and it worked out fine. Thanks for such an amazing recipe that turns out fudgy every time!
Glad you love the recipe.
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.
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!
Glad you love the brownies!
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.
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.
wow i loved it sooo much
Oh good!
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.
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!
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!!!
Glad you loved the recipe!
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.
I forgot to mention that instead of mixing in chocolate chips I just sprinkle some on top.
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.
I am so glad you love the brownies!
This is a great recipe! The brownies are divine! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe
As I was mixing everything together, I double checked to see if I was missing something because the batter was so thick. Thank goodness I trusted in your recipe. This is now my go to brownie recipe. Thank you again.
Well I made these with all the ingredients etc. I must have done the butter sugar set on the stove wrong. Eventually the butter started separating from the sugar again then in the mixing bowl, it got rock hard on the bottom. Haven’t tasted them yet but I can see why mine might not taste great. What I would do different is just melt the butter then go ahead and start the butter in my mixer and add the sugar instead of bringing them together and then going to the bowl. I don’t have a shiny top and I’m not worried about shiny to be quite honest, I just want fudgy. I’ll give this one a go another time especially if I’m not taste satisifed. I’m whatever on the 2 cups of sugar, its desert and honestly I don’t notice in the end products.
You let the butter+sugar mixture get too hot and started melting the sugar. The hardness was from the sugar recrystalizing as it cooled. This step needs to be done on low, low heat. “Low” heat on a large burner might be too hot, even.
These brownies are SO fudgy and chocolately! The interior is moist and rich with just a bit of chew to it. The top has a distinct crackly crust. The flavor is very rich. This is a brownie for chocolate lovers.
I cut the recipe in half and baked in an 8×8 pan (just takes 5 minutes longer to cook). I also used bittersweet chips rather than semisweet because I am a lover of darker chocolate. They came out great, and I’ll definitely be making these again!
They were a hit with family and friends, will definitely make them again.
Holy crap this batter is AMAZING!!! People!! Y’all gotta remember this is a FUDGE brownie. It’s meant to thick. The amount of sugar is pretty spot on because of the Dutch chocolate, it’s super rich and not sweet so you need the sugar to make the brownie sweet instead of just rich. I’m so excited to see how they run out. One thing I did different is I melted my chocolate chips instead of mixing them in whole. Can’t wait to try the finished product!!
this recipe was so rich and greasy I did not like it.
I think that this recipe turned out pretty well. It definitely lived up to its promise in terms of fudginess and taste. Just be aware they are EXTREMELY rich. I like the taste but I know it’s for everyone. If you want to mitigate this I would recommend using less cocoa powder.
I do enjoy the richness of the cocoa but my fiancé thought it was too bitter. Even with all that sugar. He typically likes rich chocolate. My biggest complaint is there is way too much salt in this recipe. It slightly overpowers the sweetest. The batter was very thick and hard to scrape off the bowl so there was a bit of waste. But the thickness helps add a fudginess to them even with how cakey they turned out. I might make them again but would make my own alterations.
These are the BEST fudge brownies EVER!!!!!! I found this recipe because my old one wasn’t the same anymore. (It could’ve been a user error, but when I discussed this with myself we decided it wasn’t the user with the problem.) I made a couple of modifications. I added 1 tsp of espresso powder and used parchment paper to line my baking dish. Oh yeah, my chocolate chips had melted and reformed and had a weird color. Too bad. I threw them in anyway and these tasted AMAZING! I loved this recipe and it will be my go-to from now on. My only complaint is that the measurements aren’t metric. I know we don’t use it in the US, but it actually makes for a more consistent bake if you can weigh the dry ingredients. Pretty please, can you give us the metric measurements?
P.S. My brownies look just like the picture. That has never happened before.
very good, but lower the amount of vanilla to 1 teaspoon, MAYBE 2
Does it have to be Dutch process Cocoa? I only have regular cocoa powder!
You can use regular cocoa powder.