One Bowl Brownies
Published on July 16, 2021
Quick Summary
Best Brownie Recipe-you only need ONE bowl to make these fudgy, chewy, gooey, chocolaty brownies with shiny crackly tops! This easy homemade brownie recipe will be your GO TO! You will never buy a boxed brownie mix again!
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Pin ItBrownies are hands down one of my all-time favorite desserts. I love this brownie recipe, but the other day I needed a quick and EASY dessert because some friends stopped by unexpectedly and I wanted to serve them something sweet. I whipped up my One Bowl Brownies and everyone was dying over the deliciousness!
These easy homemade brownies taste similar to box brownies, in a good way, but even better! And I promise they are just as easy. You only need ONE bowl and you don’t even need a mixer! I guarantee they will be a family favorite dessert.
Best Brownie Recipe
These brownies are perfect in EVERY way! A few things I love about them:
- They are EASY! You can’t beat a ONE bowl recipe!
- They are chewy and GOOEY!
- They are FUDGY!
- They have shiny, CRACKLY tops!
- They are rich and CHOCOLATY!
Ingredients
I always have the ingredients on hand to make these brownies because you never know when a craving will strike or when friends might stop in for an impromptu dessert night! The ingredients are simple, but when they all come together you will be left with the most amazing pan of brownies.
- Butter-Use unsalted butter. The butter needs to be melted and cooled slightly. You can melt the butter in the microwave or in a pan on the stovetop.
- Sugar AND Brown Sugar-use granulated sugar AND brown sugar. The brown sugar makes the brownies extra moist!
- Eggs-choose large eggs and make sure they are at room temperature. I usually take the eggs out of the fridge 30 minutes before I start. If you forget, place your eggs in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes.
- Vanilla Extract–PURE vanilla extract is the way to go! I know it is pricey, but SO worth the extra cost.
- Flour-You need all-purpose flour. If you need the brownies to be gluten-free you can use all-purpose gluten-free flour. I like Cup4Cup gluten-free flour.
- Cocoa-I like to use Dutch processed cocoa but you can use unsweetened cocoa powder. Splurge and use a high quality cocoa for the best chocolate flavor. I like this Dutch processed cocoa or this one!
- Espresso Powder-The espresso powder is optional but I like using it because it intensifies the chocolate flavor. I highly recommend using it for the best brownies. It really makes a difference.
- Salt-Use kosher salt or sea salt.
- Chocolate-I like to use semi-sweet chocolate chunks, but feel free to use chocolate chips. Guittard brand is my favorite!
Can I add Nuts?
Yes! If you like brownies with nuts you can stir in 1 cup of chopped nuts when you stir in the chocolate chunks. Walnuts, pecans, and almonds are all good options.
Should I Use a Metal Or Glass Pan?
You need a 9×13-inch pan for this recipe. You can a metal or glass pan, but I prefer baking brownies in a metal pan, just make sure the pan isn’t too dark. When you use a metal pan, the brownie edges and corners get crispier and I am all about the brownie edges. I know some people like the middle and that is fine, but I want a brownie with a nice edge:) If you use a glass pan, you might have to bake the brownies for 5 more minutes. Check them to be sure!
If you want a thicker brownie, you can use a 7×11-inch pan or 8×12-inch pan, but you will need to bake the brownies for longer.
How to Make Brownies
Here are a few tips that will help you make the BEST brownies every single time!
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper. Spray a 9×13″ baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line with parchment paper with an overhang on the sides and spray again. This will make it easy to lift the brownies out of the pan after baking.
- In a large mixing bowl stir together the melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract until smooth and combined.
- Sift the flour and cocoa together to make sure you don’t have any cocoa clumps.
- Don’t over mix the batter. If you over mix the brownies will turn out cakey and they won’t have a nice crackly top.
- Don’t over bake. This one is REALLY important. If you over bake, your brownies won’t be fudgy and moist. They will keep baking in the pan while they are cooling so take them out when are just set. Use a toothpick to test for doneness. For fudge brownies, you want there to be a some crumbs stuck to the toothpick. Check at 25 minutes to be safe.
- Let the brownies cool completely before cutting. Cut with a sharp knife or you can cut with a plastic knife. Yes, a plastic knife works wonders when cutting brownies. The crumbs don’t stick to the plastic. It’s amazing!
How to Store
Uncut brownies that are stored in the pan and covered will keep on the counter for up to 4 days. If you cut the brownies, they will dry out faster. Wrap cut brownies in plastic wrap and keep on the counter for 1 to 2 days. Don’t store brownies in the refrigerator or they will dry out.
You can freeze brownies, they actually freeze really well. I always like having brownies tucked away in our freezer. Wrap brownies tightly in plastic wrap, then wrap again with foil or place in a freezer bag. Note-I don’t like to freeze brownie squares because they don’t keep as well.
I like to freeze a pan of brownies or at least a half pan at a time. Freeze the brownies for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, thaw at room temperature before cutting into individual servings.
Best Party Dessert
This fudge brownie recipe is the perfect party dessert. The brownies are made in a 9×13 pan so they are perfect for feeding a crowd! You can easily take the pan of brownies to a party, I guarantee you will come home with an empty pan.
They are good served alone but if you want to go over the top, take a brownie square and add a scoop of ice cream and hot fudge sauce or salted caramel sauce. OH YEAH! Dessert doesn’t have to be fancy to be the BEST!
More Brownie Recipes:
- Our Favorite Brownies
- Zucchini Brownies
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies
- Salted Caramel Pretzel Brownies
- Almond Toffee Sea Salt Brownies
One Bowl Brownies
Equipment
- 9 x 13 Baking Pan (This USA Pan gives the crispiest edges)
- Parchment Paper (I find that this brand doesn't burn!)
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup Dutch-processed or unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ¼ cups chopped chocolate, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13" baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line with parchment paper with an overhang on the sides and spray again. This will make it easy to lift the brownies out of the pan after baking. Set the pan aside.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together melted butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Whisk until sugar is dissolved. Add the eggs and vanilla extract until smooth and combined.
- Sift in flour and cocoa. Add the salt and espresso powder, if using, and stir until just combined. Don't over mix. Fold in 1 cup of chopped chocolate. Spread evenly into prepared pan and sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup of chopped chocolate on top of the brownies.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes on the middle rack in the oven until the brownies are just set to touch. Don't over bake the brownies. They will set up as they cool. Remove from oven and let cool before cutting into squares. You can sprinkle them with a little flaky sea salt, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?
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Anyone who doesn’t think these are the best brownies ever did something wrong making them. I followed the recipe exactly as written and they came out perfect. The baking time was accurate. Everyone who ate them remarked on their chocolate flavor, fudgey consistency, and said way better than a box mix. THANK YOU Maria for a winning recipe!
I think they are the best too:)
These are by far the best brownies I’ve ever had! They’re are SO fudgey it’s insane! I’ve tried so many different recipes over the years and this one is EXACTLY what I was looking for! Amazing! I added chopped up kinder Bueno chocolate inside and semi sweet and white chocolate chips on-top. Amazing!
They are my favorite too! I love your additions! Thanks for sharing!
these are the best brownies ever, these are my go to brownies ,everyone loves them when I make them ,thank you!
You are welcome!
I love these brownies and have made them many times! But I can not get the shiny tops! Any tips?
I think the difference may be in how much you let the sugar dissolve in the butter before adding the rest of the ingredients. I wouldn’t worry about overmixing at that stage (only later, after eggs and flour are added). I would also make sure you sift your flour, and use a lower protein ap flour (I stopped using KAF in many cake and bar recipes, as much as I love it, because it’s higher protein than others (Pillsbury, gold medal). It can affect the texture of so many final products.
Thanks for sharing these tips!
These are amazing. I used twice the amount of espresso powder, topped with chopped walnuts and baked an extra 5 minutes. I was worried they weren’t done but I let them cool and oh my goodness they are perfect.
The very best!
Tried this last night and it was an excellent quick and easy brownie recipe. I love that it was one bowl, and they turned out nice and fudgy. The only swap I made was I used dark chocolate chips instead of chopped chocolate. Baking time was perfect, too!
The perfect dessert!
These brownies turned out DELICIOUS!!
The best!
I followed all the instructions but mine came out really watery and didn’t bake. Can u tell Me why or wht to do.
they tasted good tho
I’ve never had the batter be watery. It should be thick and chocolaty.
The most mid brownies I’ve ever made. Maybe too many eggs? Idk the texture was wack. Wouldn’t make again
I wanted to make something for my neighbor and hadn’t tried a recipe with brown sugar. I didn’t have cocoa powder so I melted a dark chocolate LINDT bar I had on hand with the butter and it worked great! Will definitely make these again.
Love this!
These brownies are rich and delicious!! This is my new go to brownie recipe!
Yay! They are my favorite too!
Wanting to try this recipe. I’m wondering if you think I could plop cookie dough balls in it? So it’s is like a brownie cookie dough bake? (Think dominoes cookie brownies, they are so good!)
I’ve never tried it, but that sounds amazing!
Made 2 8×8 metal pans, used oven thermometer at 350•. For 25 minutes. Taste good but think i should frost them because came out like a cake. Not sure what happened?
Perfect dark chocolate brownie. Omit the espresso powder if you want flavor like the boxed ones. I used 1&1/2 C butter and it worked great. I only had salted butter so I reduded the Kosher salt by half. Recommend using mini semi sweet chips. Back off a half c cocoa powder and use milk chocolate chips if you like milk chocolate
My favorite brownies!
Just made these and they are delicious. I did make one change. I know. I hate when people do that but I did it because several reviews stated they were cakey and I’m not fond of cakey brownies so I used half butter and half oil. Butter tends to make brownies cakier. Also, instead of sifting the cocoa into the flour, I mixed it into the butter/oil mixture after heating it for about thirty seconds. (butter was already warm from melting it, just brought the oil to about the same temp). I was hoping it would bloom the cocoa. Otherwise, everything was the same. Baked them for about 28 min. I thought they are just a tad salty, but my husband couldn’t taste the salt at all so could just be me. Besides, salt goes well with them so I probably wouldn’t change it anyway.
Thanks for sharing!
it’s so dry and bitter… find another recipe
I have never had the brownies come out dry. Sorry you had trouble.
I’ve made these so many times! They are so good! I don’t have much to say other than Ive been baking for years and years and this is by far the best brownie recipe I have come by.
Great brownie recipe! I added actual espresso, since I did not have the instant & it still turned out great.
Mine were very fudgy at at 28 minutes.
Thank you for sharing! They are my favorite!
10/10 brownies, they’re so fudgy and delicious. great recipe, very simple. Don’t panic if they look raw right out of the oven. I took them out at 27 minutes, they’ll finish in the pan and be perfect the next day.
I am so glad you loved the brownies!
When you say whisk until the sugar is dissolved (step 2) my sugar never “dissolves” and is very clumpy. What am I doing wrong?
Is your brown sugar soft and fresh? When you whisk, both sugars should mix into the other ingredients and there shouldn’t be clumps.
For salt, if we are using Morton’s sea salt. Would that still be 1 tsp? I know that Morton’s kosher salt is saltier, so some recipes call for half the amount if using Morton’s.
I would still do 1 teaspoon, but if you are worried, you can do 3/4 teaspoon. I like a hint of salt!
Will regular Hershey’s Cocoa Powder work for these??
Yes!
THESE ARE AMAZING!!! they are so tasty and will definitely be made again!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
My favorite too!
i like these brownies they are very good w/ crispy tops and gooey in the middle
Perfection!
How dissolved does the sugar need to get in the butter? Mine is fully cohesive and mixed with no lumps but no matter what I do it’s still grainy and slightly thick, not runny.
Is your butter warm? That will help dissolve the sugar.
How do you make them a little more cake like and less fudgey?
They are a fudgy brownie.
Can these be made with 2 eggs rather 4 or will the brownies come out dry?
You need all 4 eggs.
Super tasty
The best!!
at what temperature do I have to cook it? i couldn’t find the temperature and it turned out burnt 🙁
See the recipe card! 350 degrees F.
They were good but it was definitely more cake like vs a brownie texture as other people mentioned. I do think that more eggs tend to turn into a cakey texture. Maybe I over folded it?
How many are we cutting for the nutrition facts? Just 2 right? Lol
I’ve made these twice btw and they are absolutely amazing!!!
You don’t have to look at the nutrition info when it comes to brownies..ha!
Recipe is 10/10. Wife and son loved it! Replaced sugar with jaggery powder and omitted the coffee. Also reduced the total sugar content by half. Added unsalted mixed nuts from Costco. It’s my go-to chocolate brownie recipe now! Thank you! Thank you!
Thanks for sharing!
Perfection! I love shiny, crispy brownie tops, and these were great! I added chopped pecans and baked for 30 minutes. I froze half the pan immediately after it cooled, because sadly, I think they might be addictive.
I love the pecan addition!
these are super easy to make and taste great! i made these for a coworkers birthday and i think she is going to love them!
The best brownies!
Could the recipe be halved and baked in an 8×8″ pan??
Yes!
Hello, When you say “chopped chocolate”, is this sweetened, bittersweet, or what do you recommend?
I use semisweet or dark!