What makes a good brownie? Using both cocoa AND melted chocolate, and butter instead of oil. What makes the BEST chocolate brownies in the world? Adding in a generous amount of dark chocolate chunks. Fudgy, as gooey as you want, and very, very chocolatey, this homemade brownie recipe is incredibly easy, made in one bowl, and incredibly forgiving!
Choose how gooey you want them, just follow the bake times and my “toothpick smearing” test. Brownies can be frozen for up to 3 months, but nothing quite compares to when they’re freshly made, and still slightly warm….
Homemade Chocolate Brownies
These homemade brownies are every chocoholics dream come true.
Need a chocolate fix urgently? These will be in the oven in 15 minutes flat (if not faster).
Hate washing up? Just one bowl to deal with here.
Like your brownies outrageously chocolatey, fudgy in the middle and the signature paper thin crackly top? This one delivers in spades.
Not such a confident cook? This recipe is astonishingly forgiving. Even if you overcook them, they might look cakey, but they still have that rich, fudgy mouthfeel. There’s just not enough flour in these to make them dry and overcooked!
And look ↓↓↓ Super fudgy yet you can actually pick it up, rather than scooping up gloops of raw batter!
And that crinkly top we all know and love!
What makes a good brownie
The secret to a really great brownie is using both melted chocolate AND cocoa powder, plus butter instead of oil (because butter has way better flavour than oil). The combination of these plus minimal flour, just enough to make a barely-set batter, and brown sugar rather than white (for extra moisture and chewiness) is what will deliver that perfect rich, fudgy brownie you’ve been dreaming about.
And to make a killer brownie, stir through a generous amount of chocolate chunks. Not only will you get little pockets of gooey chocolate, it also makes the brownie extra fudgy because some of the chocolate melds in with the batter as it bakes!
Making homemade brownies
These dreamy brownies start by melting chocolate and butter together before whisking in eggs and vanilla. Then just mix in flour and coco powder, and lastly stir in the let’s-pretend-it’s-optional chocolate chunks. Scrape into lined pan and bake!
How to tell when brownies are done
Stick a toothpick in the centre of the brownie, hold it for 2 seconds, then take it out.
super gooey – if there is a lot of smear on it (24 minutes bake time)
moist and fudgy (my favourite) – if the toothpick gets a brown strain and has some smear on it (28 minutes)
cakey (but still fudgy mouthfeel) – toothpick is clean with just a few crumbs (32 minutes). But still really moist (because this recipe only has 1/2 cup of flour in it, impossible not to be moist!).
Reduce cook time by 2 minutes if you opt not to use the extra chocolate stir ins.
Fudgy, gooey brownies
The brownies in the photos and video are what I call “fudgy moist”. As in – super fudgy but not just a gloop of uncooked batter. You can pick it up with your hands rather than eating it with a spoon.
I have more elaborate brownies in my repertoire – such as these Outrageous Nutella Brownies (which certainly live up to their name!) and these Salted Caramel Stuffed Brownies (the caramel filling is creamy and set, like a soft fudge).
But this classic Chocolate Brownies recipe is the one I make most of the time. It’s my go-to because it’s everything I want in a brownie made with minimal fuss. The essential ingredients to make it super chocolatey, lovely and moist, and no unnecessary extras.
The other thing is that my brownie is sweet, but not tooth-achingly sweet. There are some brownie recipes out there that use almost double the sugar I do and they are far too sweet for me. The sugar in this recipe is just the right amount of sweet for me. No one has ever complained about my brownies not being sweet enough, that’s for sure! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Easy Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
- 200g / 14 tbsp unsalted butter (1 3/4 US sticks)
- 200 g / 1 1/4 cups dark chocolate chips (7 oz) (Note 1)
- 1 cup (175g) brown sugar , loosely packed
- 3 eggs , lightly beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (75g) plain flour
- 1/4 cup (30g) cocoa powder
- Pinch of salt
- 180g/6oz dark chocolate block/bar (optional) , chopped into chunks rather than shards, (bittersweet or semi-sweet, cooking chocolate) (Note 2)
Alternative stir in
- 1.5 cups roughly chopped walnuts (or other nuts)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan forced).
- Spray a 20cm/8″ square tin with oil and line with baking/parchment paper with overhang (Note 2).
- Place butter and chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl, microwave in 30 second bursts (takes me 1m 30 sec) until melted. Stir until smooth.
- Add sugar and vanilla, mix, then add eggs and mix well until smooth and molten.
- Add flour, cocoa and salt and stir until smooth. Stir in chopped chocolate, pour into pan.
- Bake 24 minutes for really gooey in the centre, 28 minutes for fudgey but still very moist (my favourie, shown in video & photos), 32 minutes for moist fudge-cake-like. (See in post for toothpick testphotos).
- If you didn't use the extra chocolate for stirring in, reduce cook time by 2 minutes.
- Rest for 10 minutes before lifting out of the pan. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before cutting. Store in an airtight container for 4 days (bet they don't last that long!) or freeze for 3 months.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published August 2016. Updated with new photos and brand new video in 2020.
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Life of Dozer
Dozer hates being hugged. Don’t know why. I mean, what dog doesn’t like their face being squished like this in a chokehold grip?
Very delicious and easy to make but more cakey then fudgy, baked them for the rec for xtra fudgyness but I must have done something wrong?
I don’t know what I did wrong but these turned out SO dry for me. I followed the recipe a and cooking instructions to a T so not sure why. 🙁
I had the same problem, so I tried again with only 65g of flour and baked them for 21 minutes. Came out so fudgy that way!
My brownies came out crumbs. I couldn’t cut it because it crumbled apart. What did I do wrong?
Stick a fork (or a toothpick?) in me, I’m done. As in, done looking for the perfect brownie recipe. I figured these would be good but they are. So. Damn. Good. And so easy!
I added in a mix of white, milk and dark choc chunks and baked them for about 35 mins to get the perfect fudgy texture (maybe my oven’s a little slow..,). Decorated them for a friend’s birthday and everyone adored them. Now I need to bake another batch so I always have some on standby in the freezer. Thank you Nagi!
Absolutely amazing, I made this within 20 mins prep left it in the oven and was ready for our guests post dinner and they were such a success.. super yummy!!
This is the best brownie recipe ever!!! I LOVE it so much!!! It is also very easy to make, 10 out of 10!!
These delicious treats are getting my daughter and her study buddies through year 12 HSC trials!
Such an easy recipe to follow.
Absolutely the BEST brownie recipe ever!! It tastes so good and my family ate it all up within 2 hours!!
Best easy brownie recipe I have ever come across as I detest weighing things
I always make these with gluten free flour. Everyone loves them.
The best best brownies ever!
Such an easy recipe.
AMAZING!!! Made these with my little brother (8) and they were super easy!!! Not much washing up to do, because there wasn’t many measuring cups used. Anyways, instead of chopped chocolate I used white choc chips, turned out really nice!!! Kudos to Nagi!!! 🙂
This brownie recipe claims to be easy yet the brownies came out liquidy, not fudgy. I’ve followed many recipes with success and carefully followed this recipe, yet the brownies were severely undercooked, even after baking for extra time. Would not recommend. Fudging dissapointed.
Amazing recipe! I’ve never had much luck with brownie recipes, and this one worked perfectly my first try. Thanks Nagi as always for your easy to understand and delicious recipes 🙂
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The best easy fail proof dessert! Sometimes I make these brownies and sometimes I make your flourless brownies, and they are both divine, I cannot pick a fave!
I would love to know if I try substituting 200g dark chocolate with 200g white chocolate do I keep the rest of the measurements exactly the same? Has anyone else on here tried this?
I would love a white choc brownie fix. 🙂
175 g of sugar doesn’t equate to a cup
Go with the weight rather than vague measurements
I made these before and they were perfect. I made them today and there was a whole bunch of oil/grease when I pulled them out, so much I had to pour it off and they almost deep fried around the edges. They seem cake like on top. I’ll see what they are like when cooled, not sure what happened.
hi and thankyou so much me and my wife and 3 other couples are doing come dine with me ive never baked before so i chose to do brownies i hope i win ill let you know when the decision is made thanks again nagi all my friends love them
Recipe was easy to make. However there was way too much butter used. Would recommend 125g (similar to other recipes). When I made it, oil was literally leaking out! Love this website tho!
Wow and wow again! Amazing brownies, saved this recipe and will definitely be making it again.