Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Just the right amount of chocolate and sweetness.
Texture: CHEWY, of course 🙂
Ease: Super easy. One bowl, no melting chocolate, and no electric mixer.
Appearance: You can just see how gooey and moist these are!
Pros: Better than boxed and almost as easy.
Cons: None.
I make this again? Absolutely.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
I have shared a whole lot of brownie recipes over the years. Almost 40 to be exact!
Between all that brownie baking and completing my Ultimate Brownie Guide I’m pretty much your go-to brownie expert for the best brownie recipe. Really, I should put that on my business card.
But what I realized in looking at all those brownie recipes is that I’ve never shared a CHEWY brownie recipe. Sure, my Ultimate Brownies have a good level of chewiness. But they’re also very rich and fudgy. So these Chewy Brownies have been a long time coming. If you love box mix brownies, you’ll love these both for their chewiness and for how easy they are. Much quicker and easier than my Ultimate Brownies!
I think if you read some of the comments for these best homemade brownies below you’ll want to make this recipe ASAP. Just see what Susan said:
“These are the BEST brownies ever! My husband says that in the 31 years we’ve been married and I’ve been baking these absolutely his favorite of all time.“
The Kitchn recently tested this Chewy Brownie recipe, with author Grace Elkus raving about how quick and easy this recipe is! She says the brownies “form a shiny, crackly top as promised. Each square is thick and decadent, with melty chocolate chips studded throughout.” Thanks so much to Grace Elkus and The Kitchn team for trying this recipe.
Bon Appétit also recently used this Chewy Brownie recipe as part of their research in their quest to create a perfect brownie. Thanks so much to Chris Morocco and the Bon Appétit team for including us!
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Chewy Brownies
Chocolate & Cocoa Powder
Unlike my Ultimate Fudgy Brownies, which utilize two types of melted chocolate, these brownies get their main chocolate flavor from cocoa powder with semi-sweet chocolate chips stirred into the batter. Cocoa powder definitely yields a chewier brownie and has a flavor reminiscent of boxed brownies.
The photos on this post show what the brownies look like if you use regular unsweetened cocoa powder. In the recipe video, I used Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder. It gave the brownies an ultra dark chocolaty appearance with a little less sweetness.
Since creating this video, however, Hershey’s has changed the formula of that specific cocoa powder to a Dutched cocoa powder. I recommend sticking with a natural cocoa powder, such as Ghirardelli Cocoa Powder or Penzey’s Natural Cocoa Powder, for best results. Learn more about the differences between Dutch-process cocoa powder and natural cocoa powder here.
Feel free to fold in any kind of chocolate chips you want from dark chocolate or milk chocolate, but semisweet is my favorite. Whatever you do, don’t skip the chocolate chips! They help to develop that shiny crust on top of brownies.
Fat
With any cocoa powder-based brownie recipe, we need quite a bit of fat to prevent the cocoa powder from drying the brownies out and making them crumbly. In looking at what makes box mix brownies so chewy, it appears that the combination of saturated (solid) fats and unsaturated (liquid) fats is the winning answer. According to Cooks’ Illustrated, boxed brownies have the saturated fat component covered which is why you add oil (unsaturated) to the mix. I opted for a combination of melted butter and vegetable oil for the best marriage of taste and texture.
Make sure your vegetable oil is fresh to avoid any off flavors and use unsalted butter so you can fully control the level of saltiness. I haven’t tested these brownies with canola oil.
For a full breakdown on these two types of fats and how they affect flavor, tenderness, and texture, check out my Butter vs. Oil in Baking article. There are lots more side-by-side comparisons like this one (and not just with brownies!):
Sugar
I stuck with granulated sugar here because although I love the taste of brown sugar, I didn’t want to add any more moisture (brown sugar contributes more moisture due to the molasses that’s added in) to these already very moist and rich brownies. Too much moisture can create brownies with lots of holes on top, instead of that shiny tissue-thin crust. Whatever you do, don’t reduce the sugar in these brownies! Learn more about the many functions of sugar in brownies here.
Eggs
2 large eggs is pretty standard for an 8 by 8-inch brownie recipe, but I just had to add in an egg yolk for the extra dose of chewiness and richness it gives. The protein and the fat in the egg yolk help achieve those textures. We use cold eggs, instead of room temperature, to prevent the brownies from doming and to increase moisture with a tighter crumb texture.
Flour
All-purpose flour is the way to go here – cake flour makes these brownies way too tender and light. We can achieve enough chewiness without having to use bread flour, which can prevent an extra trip to the store for a lot of people. To make chewy AND fudgy brownies, we only need to use a little bit of flour. Any more flour will create drier or cakier brownies. If you want to be super accurate and weigh your flour, 1/2 cup equals 63 grams or 2.25 ounces. Check out my How to Measure Flour article for step-by-step instructions for weighing dry ingredients using a digital scale.
If you live in a very humid environment, or really dislike any kind of “greasiness,” you may want to add an extra 2 tablespoons of flour to your brownie batter mixture.
Leavener
With my brownie recipes, I usually prefer a very small amount or no chemical leavener (baking soda or baking powder). The reason is because I like brownies to be very rich and on the denser side, not even remotely cakey. Since they lift and give a lighter airier texture to baked goods, we’re only using 1/8 teaspoon baking soda here for just enough leavening to get a nice thick texture.
Cornstarch
This little secret ingredient really helps to improve the texture of these brownies so they’re that much closer to a box mix texture. 1 tablespoon of cornstarch makes the brownies thicker and improves that crust on top.
Make sure to measure correctly, and don’t skip this ingredient! When shooting the photos for my article on how to make brownies with a shiny, thin crust, my food photographer captured the shocking differences between a batch made with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch vs brownies made with an accidental amount of 1 teaspoon cornstarch. The bottom brownies also had no chocolate chips. Take a look:
Can I Add Nuts to Brownies?
Yes! You can add 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans. You can add them either in addition to the chocolate chips or in place of the chocolate chips. Just note if you remove the chocolate chips your crust on top may not be as shiny. For best flavor, try toasting the nuts on a lined tray in a 350°F oven for about 6 to 8 minutes, stirring once.
How Long to Bake Brownies:
Bake these brownies in a 325°F oven for about 30 minutes to avoid overbaking. There will absolutely be moist crumbs attached to a tester by the end of the baking time. That’s what we want! Even after 30 minutes if the middle still seems too moist, just remove the brownies from the oven. Carry-over cooking, the residual heat of the oven and pan, will continue to cook the brownies.
Some readers have said their brownies were really undercooked after 30 minutes. I’m guessing they used a glass baking pan, which I DON’T recommend for this recipe. I recommend a metal baking pan like this one lined with foil or parchment paper. Learn more about the differences between Glass vs. Metal Baking Pans here.
Also, you might want to check your oven temperature with an oven thermometer as many home ovens run cold (especially when they say they’ve just preheated).
For best results, allow the brownies to cool completely before slicing and serving.
How to Store Brownies:
The brownies definitely taste best the day they are baked, but can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature or up to 5 days in the fridge. They are even more fudgy when they’re chilled.
Brownies Substitutions:
This brownie recipe is written exactly the way it is for very specific reasons, as noted in the explanations above. If you can’t use one of the ingredients listed, take a look at my extensive brownie recipe index for other options (including coconut oil brownies). If you try to reduce the sugar, use a sugar substitute, use a butter substitute, or make this recipe vegan the results will NOT be the same. Feel free to add in nuts, chips, toffee bits, or anything else to the batter (1/2 cup to 1 cup, depending on how much you’d like).
Tessa’s Favorite Tools for This Recipe
- A metal baking pan (not glass) to avoid under-baking
- Digital kitchen scale to ensure your brownies don’t end up dry, dense, or cakey
- An oven thermometer is a game-changer as many non-commercial ovens run colder than the gauge displays
More Brownies Recipes:
Become a Baking Genius!
Sign up for our free email newsletter for NEW recipes & baking science secrets.
Best Ever Chewy Brownies
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 vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup (75 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup (63 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon 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, egg yolk, and vanilla. Stir in the oil and cocoa powder.
- With a rubber spatula, stir in the flour, baking soda, 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.
Recipe Notes
This recipe was originally published in 2017 and updated in 2021 with more tips and new photos. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
May 2021 Baking Challenge
This recipe was the May 2021 pick for our monthly baking challenge! Every month you can join the challenge by baking the recipe and snapping a photo for a chance to win prizes! Learn more about my monthly baking challenges here. Check out everyone’s brownies:
Excellent brownies!
I’ve been baking for many years and do know about calibrating ovens, quality of cocoa, etc. but I still needed to bake the brownies an extra five minutes, and then another four minutes at 350 because I couldn’t get any crumbs on my tester stick.
I’m only mentioning I had to do this because these brownies are so delicious and I wouldn’t want someone to think they won’t turn out. Sometimes ovens have a mind of their own.
Fantastic! I used 1:1 KA GF flour and they were great! This recipe is a keeper! I also used Kerry Gold no-salt butter as my husband struggles with both enriched processed flour and regular processed butter/dairy.
Is 1/3 teaspoon of baking soda too much? My sister made them, and accedentally did 1/3 tsp. I havent tried one though.
Hi Kaylee! Additional leavening agent may make these brownies rise a little more, and make the texture a little more cake-like. They should still taste good, though! Let us know how it went 🙂
I followed this recipe EXACTLY! Measured everything using measuring cups. First time I made them was last week.. they were so perfect & my family loved them. The last 2 days I’ve made these they are still doughy in the middle. Yesterday I baked them an extra 20 mins & finally took them out .. still doughy but you could tell they tasted over-baked. Today again, took them out after 30 mins & still doughy
Hi Michelle! I’m sorry to hear that you’re experiencing sporadic issues in making these brownies. It sounds like a couple things may possibly be happening here. Firstly, do you have an oven thermometer to check that your oven is running accurately? They are inexpensive and really help your baking so much! This oven thermometer is one of Tessa’s favorites. Most home ovens are inaccurate – mine sometimes runs 10 degrees hotter than it’s set to, and sometimes up to 50 degrees hotter than it’s set to! So I really have to keep an eye on my thermometer, to ensure the temp is correct, and to ensure it stays that way throughout the whole bake. Check out Tessa’s article here about ovens, full of tips. I also wonder what type of pan you’re baking the brownies in? Glass vs metal pans can make a big difference on the baked result, as Tessa shows in this article here. I hope something here helps, Michelle, and I hope you’re able to nail the problem down so you can make delicious, perfect brownies every time! Good luck and happy baking!
These are amazing!! I made just as the recipe states and my family was in heaven definitely making a double next time, Thank you for sharing!!
Literally the best brownies I’ve ever put in my mouth
Hi,
Do you think it’s possible to substitute the butter with a plant based butter? I was looking at Miyokos unsalted plant milk butter. Any recommendations would be appreciated, I am making these for someone that cannot have dairy.
Thanks,
Maddie
Hi Maddie! We don’t bake with dairy-free ingredients, so I can’t say for sure! Let us know how it goes if you give that a try 🙂
I have successfully done this recipe with both regular butter and county crocks olive oil plant based butter sticks
You could try margarine are a plant base butter from cashews
Question! 1/3 cup of vegetable oil is mentioned a few times (Ingredient list and ‘Fat’ notes), but isn’t mentioned anywhere in the actual baking instructions… does the recipe need the 1/3 cup of vegetable oil PLUS the 5 tbsp of butter?
Thank you!
Yaz
Hi Yaz! Yes, the oil + butter is essential here – it’s added after the eggs, mentioned at the end of Step 2: “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, egg yolk, and vanilla. Stir in the oil and cocoa powder.” Let us know what you think of these brownies once you have given them a try 🙂
Yes! So sorry – I caught it after but couldn’t delete or reply to the comment until it had been approved.
Thanks so much!
Yaz
No problem at all! Enjoy your brownies 🙂
I found these to be just ok. They were somewhat bitter and (maybe this is just me) they were almost TOO sticky and somehow dry at the same time? I say that because I found myself having trouble swallowing these – it’d get stuck in my esophagus lol. not in a choking-hazard way, I just noticed I was struggling to get it moving
Hi Brittany! I’m sorry to hear that these brownies didn’t turn out as they should! Here are a few tips for next time:
– How do you measure your ingredients? By volume (using cups), or by weight (using a digital kitchen scale)? When measuring by volume, it’s so easy to mis-measure ingredients (particularly flour and cocoa powder) and throw off the entire chemistry of a recipe – resulting in dry brownies. Check out Tessa’s article here, where she talks about how to best measure ingredients to ensure accuracy every time.
– What type of pan did you bake the brownies in? Glass vs metal pans can make a big difference on the baked result, as Tessa shows in this article here. This could be why your brownies had a strange texture.
– If you’re noticing a bitterness, that’s likely your cocoa powder. I recommend giving a different brand of cocoa powder a try! Learn more about cocoa powders here.
I hope something here helps, Brittany, and I hope you’ll give these brownies another try – they really are fantastic!! Good luck and happy baking 🙂
Finally a brownie recipe that works flawlessly! They were so absolutely delicious and looked perfect! The dream brownies! And they were so easy to make. I basically devoured them on my own. Thank you!!!
very yummy and easy
Amazingly good! I’ll never buy boxed brownie mix again! These came out almost perfectly – something I could never accomplish before. Of course that’s just one dragon to slay when baking any type of dessert. The main desire is how it tastes.
These brownies are ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️!!!
Thanks for reading
Thrilled to hear that these were such a hit for you, Kim!! 🙂