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!).
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.
What Makes Cookies Chewy, Crisp, or Cakey?
My free guide reveals the ingredients and tweaks that matter.
As a trained chef, it surprises people to learn brownies are among my favorite things to bake at home. I don’t need something fancy, I need something satisfying and that chewy texture is where it’s at.
I have shared over 50 Brownie Recipes over the years. My Ultimate Brownies are rich, dense, and fudgy. My Brown Butter Brownies have the most stunning crackly crust. And my Toffee Brownies are have a unique crunch.
But these brownies are my everyday go-to reicpe. Check out just one of the 1,000+ 5-star reviews for these best homemade brownies:
Reader Love
I have been using this recipe for about a year now! It is the easiest recipe I have ever used, I get so many compliments on these brownies!! Thank you thank you thank you!!! ❤️
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Tessa’s Tip
Struggling with gummy, collapsed, underbaked, or dry-edged brownies? Ditch the glass pan and use a light-colored metal baking pan instead. Learn more about the differences between Glass vs. Metal Baking Pans here.
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Chewy Brownies
The Cocoa Powder
I recommend using Dutch-processed cocoa powder for a deeper flavor and fudgier texture. Natural (aka unsweetened) cocoa will offer a milder chocolate flavor and a slightly drier but chewier texture. My favorite Dutch cocoa powder for brownies is Penzey’s or Guittard. Learn more about how Natural and Dutch-process cocoas affect your baking here.
The Chocolate Chips
I prefer semisweet chocolate chips, but you can use any kind you like–just keep in mind it will affect the sweetness of the brownies. You can also add 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans in addition to the chocolate chips. Just don’t skip the chocolate chips entirely, as they’re key to achieving that shiny, crinkly crust on top of brownies. Learn my top FOUR methods for achieving a shiny thin brownie crust here.
The Fat
- Melted butter plus vegetable oil provides the best taste and texture.
- You can use avocado oil or any other neutral-flavored oil instead of vegetable oil.
- Make sure your oil is fresh to avoid any off flavors.
- Check out my side-by-side baking experiments with Butter vs Oil here.
The Sugar
Don’t reduce the sugar in this Brownie Recipe, as this will cause dry, crumbly brownies that will stale faster. Learn more about sugar’s functions in brownies here.
The Eggs
These Chewy Brownies use two whole eggs plus an additional egg yolk for EXTRA chewiness and richness. Using cold eggs prevents doming and increases moisture.
The 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 overmeasuring. If you don’t have a digital scale, use the spoon-and-level method described here.
Secret Ingredient: Cornstarch!
Cornstarch mimics the texture of box mix brownies, creating thicker, chewier brownies with a nice shiny crust. Don’t skip it if possible!
Avoid Leavening for Fudgy & Chewy Brownies
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!
Can I Double this Chewy Brownies Recipe?
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.
Storing & Freezing Brownies
Store 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!
To freeze, wrap the cooled whole slab or individual slices of brownies in plastic wrap inside an airtight container. Freeze for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, or for a couple hours at room temperature, before serving.
Brownie Substitutions
This Chewy Brownie recipe is written to yield a perfect chewy brownie. Altering any ingredients will change the outcome. If you can’t use one of the ingredients listed, check out my extensive brownie recipe index for tons of other brownie options (including coconut oil brownies).
More Brownies Recipes You’ll Love:
- Malted Brownies – made with brown butter!
- Toffee Brownies
- Copycat Cosmic Brownies – ultimate nostalgia!
- Peanut Butter Stuffed Brownies
Best Ever Chewy Brownies
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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.
Recipe Notes
The Ultimate Cookie Handbook
Learn the sweet SCIENCE of cookie baking in a fun, visual way to customize your own recipes frustration-free. Plus, my best 50+ homemade cookies!
This recipe was originally published in 2017 and has been updated with additional baking tips and new photos. Recipe photos by Joanie Simon and Baking Science photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
This is the BEST brownie recipe I’ve found on the Internet. And I’ve tried a whole lot. So soft and gooey, sweet enough to make me want to eat the batter. Thank you so much Tessa!
This makes me so happy, Lana! So glad you enjoyed.
I was super excited for these brownies as I was craving a chewy, dense, fudgy brownie. Unfortunately, like many times I have made brownies before, they turned out more like a dense chocolate cake. While still delicious, I am not sure what exactly contributed to the cakey texture. I did alter the recipe, I reduced the sugar by a 1/2 cup but I also made sure I reduced the flour a little too. The only other thing I might have done is over-mix the batter, I tried to fold in the ingredients very gently and not over-mix it though. I wish I knew what the issue is!
Hi Anna, I’m sorry your brownies didn’t turn out! I would follow the recipe exactly as written if possible, reducing the sugar and flour throws off the science of the recipe. Cakey brownies are usually due to too much flour – do you use a kitchen scale to measure your flour correctly? Check out this article on how to do so. Let me know if you have any more questions!
Really nice 4ecipe, best brownie I have made so far. The texture is beautiful. I did not have any chocolate but it still tasted amazing.Thank you!!!
So glad you enjoyed these brownies!
Slightly tweaked the recipe and put brown sugar and white sugar at a 50/50 ratio. It was AMAZING!! I loved the texture and taste. Thank you so much for this recipe!!!
So glad you loved these brownies!
They turned out fudgy and crispy at the edges. I love them!
I didn’t have enough cocoa powder, so I added a little extra flour so the dough wouldn’t be too runny.
So happy you loved this brownie recipe!
I made them again, after buying more cocoa powder. They were even more delicious this time, the chocolate flavour was out of this world. Thank you for teaching us, chef 🙂
I’m so glad to hear this, Melisande!
I spent today handling my post-election anxiety by doing a brownie bakeoff with myself. My first effort was Maida Heatter’s All American brownie. I followed that with yours. Both are good, but, in my view, you win because hers are slightly more cake-like and I prefer a chewier texture. I used a silicone pan so I needed to bake them for about six minutes longer. I did not add the chocolate chips but did add about 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. The only technique that I added was to put the measured cocoa through a sieve to get the lumps out (which can be a problem with cocoa). My scientific conclusion: baking brownies (especially yours) is the cure for election anxiety.
I’m so glad baking was able to bring you some comfort during these stressful times! Hang in there! And I’m so pleased my brownie recipe was so enjoyed 🙂
I’ve made this recipe many times and as long as u follow step by step it’s amazing! I’ve made it quite a few times now I actually know it by heart LOL My friends say it is the best brownie they have ever had and I agree tbh . My favorite brands of cocoa powder and chips to use for this are Ghirardelli or toll house
This makes me incredibly happy! YAY!
This are the best recipe I’ve found yet to make delicious brownies
Thank you!
So glad you loved these brownies!
We loved this recipe! I did make substitutions (even though I know I wasn’t supposed to!) and they worked perfectly for us. I added the two extra tablespoons of whole wheat flour and the third egg white. Then I decided not to add the chocolate chips. They were delicious!
So glad you enjoyed this brownie recipe!
After scouring the internet and opening about 30 tabs in attempt to find what (I feel) will be the ideal brownie recipe, yours was the first I looked at, and I already know this is the one I’m going to go with! Definitely bookmarking your blog!!
My question is, after reading this post, that since my only 8×8 is a GLASS pan and my only metal pan is 9×9…can you possibly give me a little tip telling me if and how I can adjust baking temp and time for the 9×9 pan?
it looks like chocolate cakes I made at home, I wonder how it will taste, it must be so good
Can we use 3 eggs instead of 2 eggs and one yolk?