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.
All things Brownies
And more irresistible bars and slices
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?
Easiest recipe and so yum! My husband and I agree these are the best brownies ever!
Absolutely gorgeous! I cooked for the 32 minute option and it is the perfect consistency! Great recipe! Thankyou❤️
OMG ! These come out perfect, I added white choc chips. I can’t stop eating it sooo delicious. Cooked 29.5 min and is perfect
Cooked for 24 mins for gooey brownies but that came out well done and dry😨
There the best brownie recipe I have ever tastes
So fudgey and delicious your dog is so cute and always looks so happy
didnt work 😑
I very rarely ever have failures with any of your dishes Nagi but I have no idea what I did wrong. I had an epic fail. It came out dense & hard but never stopped us from gobbling the chocolate flavoured “biscuit” we now had. I also found the butter was so much it was bubbling all around & on top when I removed from the oven. 200g seemed a lot for the mixture. Anyone has any idea why this would happen. I would really love to attempt again. 🙏
YES that’s exactly what happened to me too! I think I should try using less butter next time, 200g is a TON haha 😂
Hi! What type of oven do you have? I have a very hot and fast cooking one so I reduce the temperature by 20 degrees and the cooking time by around 2 or 3 minutes. This may be the issue for you. Hope this helps!
Hi, I made this recipe today I haven’t made anything from this lady before, but I’m sorry to say I took way over the heat recommend and the time for cooking time, and I wasn’t really happy with my result.
Just made this recipe, and I had EXACTLY the same result. This recipe is clearly flawed
your end product sounds like what I did once with this recipe! I realised I forgot to put the eggs in :/
I had this happen to me too! I have no idea what I did wrong 😭
Absolute fail for me, turned out super oily and I don’t know why. Nagi I swear by your recipes so not sure what I did wrong but it was so oily it was bubbling when cooking 😕
Made these as written with the 28 minute cook. Notes on the rest time for cooking and cutting were spot on. Light flaky crust to the top, fudge in the middle. Perfect!
I’d like to try these with dark chocolate chunks next time. But that’s just my palette. I think I have a new go to recipe for brownies.
Hi, thanks you for al these good recipes.
For the brownie recipe I may have a tip.
Once the “dow” is in the pan, (still unbaked), then it is difficult to get a smooth surface. I cut out a square of baking paper, put that on top and then flatten/stroke it. Good results.
I myself are super stoked with this idea :))))
Amazing recipe! I cooked this yesterday and followed the recipe to a tee. Added some lightly toasted macadamias and it was divine! I cooked for 23 mins, resulting in deep rich fudgey brownies. My oven runs hot!
The brownies do firm up a lot over the next few hours, so happy I pulled them out when I did as fudgey was my goal.
The photo of the skewers was really helpful! Will be making this for years.
Many thanks!!! Kat
I haven’t made these yet, but I will later today. Just saying that your recipes are always well explained and the ingredients you use are what I feel comfortable using. Sweetness has always been an issue with me. I hate overly sweet and I’m fussy about the sweeteners I use. Brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, raw organic coconut palm sugar, dates are all better choices than glucose syrup, icing sugar and white refined sugar, among others. I know brown sugar isn’t great but a tad better than the refined sugars. Your recipes are a good fit for me. Thanks heaps!
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!
This was the best brownie I have ever made! Was probably even better than Donna Hayes store bought! Only because I was able to make it myself with home ingredients !! Love love! Thank you so much!
Baked for 22mins and it was completely overcooked and dry!
I love the recipe
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I can only assume they’re bringing Nagi’s brownies – i have no intention of sharing mine
I made these in my pie maker – cooked fir 16 minutes
Love cooking.pls send me recipes every day.
Absolutely lovely and easy to follow. This is my first time baking something and I’m definitely happy with how it comes out. Had to readjust the time of baking because I used a loaf tin instead of a wider one so it’s very runny in the middle. It’s not very sweet (I did put slightly lesser than a cup) but it’s definitely sweet and chocolate-y enough! Love it, thank you for this recipe <3
I really like these. Easy to make, great texture, perfect sweetness. What I want is to find that perfect chocolate for them!
Oh my goodness! These were deeelightful! Did the 28 min ‘bake’ – so good and I’m not normally a huge fan of chocolate.