Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: The perfect balance of chocolate sweetness.
Texture: CHEWY, of course 🙂
Ease: Super easy. One bowl, no electric mixer needed.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe: This Brownie Recipe is WAY better than a box mix and almost as easy. It’s my go-to recipe!
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
These Chewy Brownies are my go-to recipe when I need a quick, easy, crowd-pleasing dessert. I’m not exaggerating when I say I’ve made it over 200 times. It’s truly the best!
There’s even a secret ingredient that helps to mimic that box-mix texture (but with way better flavor!).
These brownies are my everyday go-to recipe. Check out just a couple of the 1,000+ 5-star reviews for these best homemade brownies:
Best chocolate brownies ever. Easy to make. I added pecans to mine and we just love them.
I made these and they were soooo chewy. Definitely the chewiest and crackliest homemade brownies I’ve ever made. Great recipe!
The Kitchn tested this recipe, raving about how quick and easy it is! Even Bon Appétit used the recipe as part of their research in their quest to create a perfect chocolate brownie.
Ingredient Notes for Success
Butter and Oil: Melted butter plus oil provides the best taste and texture. This is key!! You can use any neutral flavored oil that’s liquid at room temperature (such as vegetable, canola, avocado, etc.). Make sure your oil is fresh to avoid any off flavors.
Sugar: White/granulated sugar will dissolve more easily into the batter than brown sugar, helping to produce that shiny crust on top. More important notes on sugar below in the Sprinkle of Science section.
Cocoa Powder: I recommend using Dutch-processed cocoa powder for a deeper flavor and fudgier texture. Natural unsweetened cocoa will offer a more nostalgic chocolate flavor and a slightly drier but chewier texture. My favorite Dutch cocoa powder for brownies is Penzey’s or Guittard. Ghirardelli is also great in a pinch. Learn more about how Natural and Dutch-process cocoas affect your baking here.
Eggs: Two whole eggs plus an egg yolk for extra chewiness and richness. I never worry about bringing my eggs to room temp for this recipe, and it always turns out perfectly.
Flour: A small amount of all-purpose flour is essential for creating Chewy Brownies — but avoid adding too much, as this can cause dry, cakey brownies. Use a digital kitchen scale to prevent accidental over measuring. If you don’t have a digital scale, use the spoon-and-level method described here.
Cornstarch (secret ingredient!): Cornstarch mimics the texture of box mix brownies, creating thicker, chewier brownies with a nice shiny crackly top. Don’t skip it if possible.
Stop Baking Brownies In Glass or Ceramic Pans!
Struggling with gummy, sunken, underbaked (even raw) or dry-edged brownies? Ditch the glass or ceramic pan and use a light-colored alumnized metal baking pan instead.
Metal conducts heat far more effectively. If all you have is glass or ceramic, add an extra 5-10 minutes baking time. Learn more about the differences between Glass vs. Metal Baking Pans here.
Sprinkle of Science (open me!)
If you want that crinkly, shiny thin crust on your brownies, don’t skip the chocolate chips! The key to that crust forming is getting enough dissolved sugar into your brownie batter. This can be tough to do consistently, so adding chocolate chips (which contain dissolved sugar already!) is a great shortcut. Learn more about that shiny brownie crust here.
I’ve done extensive experiments with the amount of sugar in this brownie recipe. The takeaway? Reducing sugar yields drier, crumblier brownies that stale quickly. It also prevents that shiny crust from developing on top.
Storing & Freezing Brownies
Serving: For best texture and taste, allow the brownies to cool to room temperature fully before slicing and serving. Easier said than done! But warm brownies will taste more sweet and won’t be as chewy in texture.
Room Temperature & Fridge: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature or up to 5 days in the fridge. They are fudgier when they’re chilled!
Freezer: Wrap the cooled whole slab or individual slices of brownies in plastic wrap inside an airtight container. Store in freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, or for a couple hours at room temperature, before serving.
FAQs
Yes! Double all ingredients and bake in a 9 by 13-inch light-colored metal baking pan (don’t use a glass pan!) and add a few minutes to the baking time.
I prefer no baking soda or baking powder for rich, dense brownies that are not even remotely cakey. If you’re team cakey, don’t even bother with this recipe. It’ll be far too chewy and fudgy for you!
You can, but note that the brownies will be thinner and may not develop that shiny crust on top.
Not only does this make the recipe quicker and easier, but it yields denser, chewier, and fudgier brownies.
I haven’t tested that, but readers have had success with a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend. You may need to add 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum if your GF blend doesn’t have any binders.
Yes, replace the butter with an equal amount of a vegan butter block that’s firm at room temperature. Use dairy-free chocolate chips. Or, try my Coconut Oil Brownies with dairy free chocolate instead.
I have not found a suitable replacement for the eggs in brownies yet. Feel free to experiment!
A cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center should come out with moist crumbs attached. For me, 30 minutes yields my perfect brownie that’s just ever-so-slightly gooey in the center. If you prefer a drier consistency, bake for 33-35 minutes.
Surprisingly, the best tool is a plastic knife! Yes, like the ones you buy for a picnic or BBQ. If you don’t have one, use a large sharp knife and run under hot water and wipe off after each slice.
Email This Recipe
Enter your email, and we’ll send it to your inbox.
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons (71 grams) unsalted butter
- 1 1/4 cups (249 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, cold
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup (74 grams) neutral oil (like vegetable or avocado)
- 3/4 cup (75 grams) cocoa powder*
- 1/2 cup (63 grams) all-purpose flour, measured correctly
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3/4 cup (128 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line an 8 by 8-inch light-colored metal pan** with foil or parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, add the butter and sugar. Microwave for about 1 minute, or until the butter is melted. Whisk in the eggs and egg yolk, whisking vigorously for 1 minute. Whisk in the vanilla, then stir in the oil and cocoa powder.
- With a rubber spatula, stir in the flour, cornstarch, and salt until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Spread the brownie batter evenly into the prepared pan. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the brownies are set and a cake tester inserted into the center has moist crumbs attached. Do not overcook. Let cool completely to solidify before cutting and serving.
- Brownies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Brownies will be gooey when served warm, chewy when served at room temperature, and fudgy when served chilled.
Notes
More Brownies Recipes You’ll Love:
- Malted Brownies – made with brown butter!
- Toffee Brownies – use store-bought or homemade toffee bits!
- Brookies – cookies + brownies combined!
- Copycat Cosmic Brownies – ultimate nostalgia!
- Oreo Brownies – tastes like an Oreo, but better!
This recipe was originally published in 2017 and has been updated with additional baking tips and new photos. Recipe photos by Joanie Simon.
I’m sorry I just made the worst brownie ever using this recipe. I m so disappointed. I used grape seed oil, confectioners sugar instead of granulated, used the ‘browning butter’ method, my pan was a copper metal 8×8 @325. What did I do wrong?! Very dry and cake like . Just the opposite of what I wanted.
you didn’t follow the recipe. that’s what you did wrong…
how do you make it through life?
You did not follow the recipe! It calls for granulated sugar… not confectioner’s sugar and you do not brown the butter. When you follow the recipe exactly as it is stated, they are the best brownies ever. You cannot change up a recipe and then wonder what you did wrong.
Every substitution you made except the oil.
Confectioner’s sugar has corn starch in it and does not build structure like granulated does.
Browning the butter requires you to add additional liquid to make up for the liquid lost during cooking (which I assume you didn’t do since you didn’t mention it).
Copper pans heat up 50% hotter than aluminum…
Fudge brownies never stood a chance. This is why we follow recipes. You didn’t “use the recipe” to make the worst brownies ever. You butchered it.
Perfectly fudgy and dense, we loved these! I used chopped up Hershey Kisses in them along with some sort of Tony’s Chocolonely S’mores bits (it’s what was on hand), baked them in a nonstick foil lined metal bar pan on convection setting (325) for about 26 minutes. YUM!
I’m impressed! I read some comments after I started baking and wasn’t sure if I had chosen the right recipe, but I am glad I did! These brownies taste amazing! I will definitely be making them again. I used a glass pan and it worked perfectly, but I do think what pan you use makes a difference.
Sorry, I just don’t know where I went wrong. I just feel like I’m crazy giving this a bad review amongst all of the 5 stars. It’s my first time writing any cooking review — I’ve made plenty of brownies before with no issue and simply decided to give this recipe a shot mainly because the ingredients and directions looked simple.
The modifications I did was adding DARK chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet. I typically add semi-sweet but the family didn’t want anything too sweet so I made the compromise. The end result was bitter but I won’t blame the recipe for that since I made that decision myself. Besides that all of the ingredients were not modified and no measurements were changed.
Additionally I used a glass tray instead of a metal one. I saw your notes about it. I didn’t know using glass wasn’t preferred but it was 9 x 7 in. while my metal one, more suited for serving hot food at parties, is around 12 x 11 in. so I used the glass one since it’s smaller and bumped the cooking time to 36 min. just to be careful about it. The brownies did come out fine at 36, not under or over baked.
The main issue with the brownies was…texture? I was honestly surprised putting in oil for this recipe, I’ve never done that before. I used avocado, just poured it out of the bottle. I measured every ingredient accordingly using a food scale. The issue with the oil is that while it brings a good glossy texture to the batter, I thought that the extra slick liquid mess made the brownies super crumbly — crumbly in a bad way. I was wondering if I over mixed it? But usually I’m worried about doing that so there’s a chance that I accidentally under mixed it? The usage of oil also impacted the taste a lot, it left an unpleasant oily taste in my mouth, and the top of the brownies wasn’t as shiny as I wanted it to be. It’s also like with the taste of this neutral oil, it changed the flavour of the cocoa powder. I use the Hershey’s baking cocoa powder and it felt like the strength was amped up in a bad way. Felt like I was just eating straight up mushy/crumbly cocoa powder? I just thought 3/4ths with a lot?
I have only one picture of the brownies but couldn’t upload it since the site won’t let me? I also apologize for all of the details, I tried to add as much as I could so you guys have an idea of what the issue was! I’m seriously curious on what went wrong here — despite everything your guy’s recipe is definitely not the problem with all of your praise from other cooks . . . I just want to know what I did wrong? Thank you!
Oops, it uploaded. The yellow part is where I cut into the brownie so you can see the inner part.
You need to follow the recipe exactly as it is stated and not make modifications.
hello, i made this recipe without the chocolate chips , but 5 mins into baking my oven thermometer reads only 150c so i cranked the temp up a little til it reached 160c, but now my brownie only has a blob of shiny top. it still tasted good though, but i still want the shiny top. is the oven temp a little too high, should i rest my batter or what should i do to help form the shiny top. (sorry i tweaked the recipe since i had no chocolate chips, but i thought it would give the shiny top still as i had seen in some people’s version of this recipe)
I’d check out the Sprinkle of Science section above the recipe, specifically the section on the shiny brownie crust! The chocolate chips are actually important for getting that thin, crinkly, shiny top because they help add enough dissolved sugar to the batter. So leaving them out is likely why you didn’t get the shiny crust you were looking for. It’s not necessarily an issue with your oven temperature or resting the batter. If that shiny top is the goal, I’d definitely recommend keeping the chocolate chips in next time, or trying one of the other methods explained here. Let us know how your next batch goes!
Hello! I’ve read that section before baking as well as you guy’s tips on crinkly top and I knew the importance of the chocolate chips, but they’re just too pricy and not widely available in my country. However, I saw @easyonthesugar’s video of this recipe and she left out the choc chips and still got a crinkly top. Anyways, I remade the brownie earlier today–this time beating the eggs for about 5 minutes–and i got a shiny crust in the middle, but none on the edges. could it be the heat, the pan or do i need to beat the eggs more? (i know i won’t get as good as a shiny top as in the recipe, but is there any other ways i could improve?) PS. the taste was immaculate though🔥
this is the second batch.
You do not need to beat the eggs – the recipe states to whisk vigorously for ONE MINUTE AFTER you pour them into the melted butter and sugar. This will give you the shiny top as well as the chocolate chips. You cannot modify a recipe and expect it to turn out perfect. Read the recipe carefully.
These brownies are so good! I used my scale to weigh everything and they turned out perfect.
Question- do you use regular or convection setting on oven when baking these?
Helllllllllllo your brownie is the best
Love these so much!
This is an amazing recipe, 100% recommend
Made these for my works mates, went down a treat, very soft & chewy. A great recipe for repeating.
I enjoyed the read; however, navigating back to the recipe proved difficult. It was probably just me and my forgotten or never had talents. Anxious to try….