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!
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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.
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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.
Would you mind sharing the size of the pan recommended to prepare this recipe? Thanks in advance!
Hi Beatriz! This recipe uses an 8×8-inch light-colored metal baking pan. Please see instruction #1 🙂 Excited to hear what you think of this recipe when you give it a try!
This is it! Brownies of my dreams! Chewy, chocolately, moist, crunchy top. Used 200-215 g of sugar and they were still amazing!
It’s good I didn’t have any Dutch process cocoa, so I use regular cocoa. All the the cocoa give it a dark chocolate taste.
This is the best brownie recipe I have ever tried! The texture and flavor of these are outstanding!! Great job! Thanks for sharing!! 10/10 would recommend trying.
Made it for church. I have made other recipes before and this one hands down the best brownies I have ever had in my life including those fancies one I ate outside, people from church said the same. They said I can sell them. I mistakenly added 10% more sugar and people didn’t find it too sweet (Hong Kong people eat things less sweet to start with).
The texture is heavenly. I used Hershey’s creamy milk chocolate and whole pecans.
I also baked it around 5 mins more because the chopstick came out a little wet. It resulted in a little crispy top people seem to enjoy, they said it’s crispy on top but chewy at the bottom
Literally the BEST brownies I’ve ever made. Made them gluten free, and none of my family could tell they were gf! Gone within a day! So delicious. Great flavor and consistency. To make the flavors more dynamic, I browned the butter, used flaked sea salt instead of regular salt, and added a little bit of vanilla bean paste on top of extract. SO YUMMY! I cooked the brownies for 5 minutes longer than recommended, due to being a little raw. Other than that, so spectacular!
So happy to hear your substitution worked and that they were such a hit! Your additions sound delish.
BEST BROWNIE RECEPIE EVER!!
These taste great but 325 for 30 minutes was nowhere near enough time for them to bake, only the top shell was barely formed and I have an oven thermometer too as I bake frequently so I know it was at temp. Overall they were okay, just adjust accordingly.
How long and what temp should it be at then?
Hi Allison! Thanks so much for trying the recipe and for your feedback. We recommend using a metal baking pan for these brownies, as it conducts heat more quickly and evenly. If you used a glass or ceramic pan, that could explain the longer bake time—those materials often require adjustments to both baking time and temperature. You can check out more details on that here. We hope you’ll give them another try!
Can I use powdered sugar instead of regular sugar?
Hi Ollie! For best taste and texture, we recommend sticking with granulated sugar in this recipe; however, you’re welcome to experiment! You can read more about using powdered sugar in brownies here.
Can I replace the vegetable oil with more butter? How much would I add to replace?
I love this recipe, but I only 325°. It took about 50 minutes to cook! I preheated my oven oven for about 40 minutes as well as I realized we were out of chocolate chips and had to run out to get them.
Hi, Nicole! I’m so glad you liked the recipe. A couple tips: I would strongly recommend investing in an oven thermometer to check the accuracy of your oven. It sounds like it may run a bit cold if it took that long to cook your brownies. Also, a glass or ceramic pan will take longer to bake than metal, which is why I recommend metal for this recipe. Hope that’s helpful!
I usually don’t leave comments but……… THIS RECIPE IS GOING IN MY PERSONAL RECIPE CATALOG💯 IT IS SUBLIME! THANK YOU!!!!