Ultimate Fudgy Brownies

How to Make the Ultimate FUDGY Brownies

Let me explain the madness behind this brownie recipe. You can skip this if you don’t care WHY these brownies are the way they are and you just want them in your mouth like, now.

What kind of chocolate is best in brownies?

With fudgy brownies, melted chocolate is key. If we add cocoa powder to this recipe they become more cakey or chewy instead of rich and dense.

In this recipe there are two types of chocolate: semisweet chocolate chips and unsweetened chocolate. They’re melted together with the butter to form the base of this recipe.

I find it gives the perfect balance of chocolate flavor without tasting too bitter or intense. Plus the chocolate chips play a secret role… they help to form that brownie crust on top!

Be sure to let the melted chocolate cool slightly before adding it to the batter, you don’t want to scramble your eggs with molten hot chocolate.

Butter for Brownies

The recipe takes 1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter (6 ounces, 170 grams, or 12 tablespoons) and melts it down with the chocolate. This helps prevent the chocolate from seizing if melted by itself, and allows the ingredients to become homogenized.

To make these brownies ultra thick and tall, we’re basically baking a 9×13-inch pan worth of batter in an 8×8-inch pan. That’s why there seems to be so much butter.

The reason we melt butter in brownie recipes instead of beating room temperature butter with sugar is because that helps give a rich, chewy, fudgy texture. Beating butter incorporates air and gives a more light, airy, cakey texture which we don’t want in a brownie. Well, you might want that but I don’t!

I actually recently experimented with Butter vs. Oil in Brownies to see how the type of fat used affects the final result. Check out my Butter vs. Oil in Baking article for a full breakdown on each of these fats and how they affect tenderness, flavor, and texture in baked goods (and not just brownies). You might just understand why I opted to only use butter in these Fudgy Brownies!

Can I use salted butter instead?

Yes, just omit the salt called for in the recipe.

How much sugar in brownies?

1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar is called for in this recipe. Again, if this seems like a lot that’s because these are very tall brownies so there is a lot of batter. Also, we’re using a large amount of unsweetened chocolate so we need to sweeten the brownies up a little.

Important to note: the sugar doesn’t just provide sweetness, it also affects the texture. Sugar is essential to creating ultra moist and rich brownies. If you reduce the sugar, the brownies become more dry and cakey.

How to get brownies with that crackled crust on top?

In this recipe we whip the eggs with the sugar.

That’s right, we use an electric mixer to beat the sugar with the eggs for three whole minutes until the mixture is light and ribbon-thick. Why? This ensures the sugar is dissolved into the batter, enabling a soft yet fudgy texture and crackly crust. I learned this technique from this brownie recipe. More tips for achieving those perfectly crinkly crusts in my How to Make Brownies with Shiny, Thin Crust article. Lots of shocking side-by-side comparisons included, like this one below:

Note: the amount of time it takes for your mixer to beat the eggs and sugar will vary. You’re looking for the mixture to become lightened in color and really thick. This can take anywhere from 3 to 8 minutes depending on your machine.

Want fudgy brownies? Add an extra egg yolk!

As you may know, eggs not only act as a binding agent in baked goods but they also add structure, richness, and enhance texture. This recipe calls for three whole eggs plus one egg yolk. Why the yolk?

The fat in the yolk creates a rich, moist, fudgy, chewy texture that just melts in your mouth. I love adding an egg yolk to my cookie recipes too to get them really chewy. Try it!! Also be sure to use large eggs. I was so pleased when I discovered I was able to add an egg yolk and STILL get that tissue-thin crust on top. Beating the eggs and sugar is pretty magical.

Which flour to use for brownies?

All-purpose flour is the way to go here. Cake flour makes these brownies way too tender and light. To make chewy fudgy brownies, we only need to use a little bit of flour. Any more flour will create tougher or cakier brownies.

If you want to be super accurate and weigh your flour, which I highly recommend, 3/4 cup equals 94 grams or 3.3 ounces. Otherwise be sure to use the spoon and level method to measure your flour to avoid dry brownies.

IMPORTANT: How to tell when brownies are done baking?

Bake these brownies in a 350°F oven for 35 to 40 minutes. There will absolutely be moist crumbs attached to a tester by the end of the baking time. That’s what we want. The brownies will continue to set as they cool. This recipe must be served after they’ve cooled to room temperature completely. In fact, they solidify into even more fudgy brownie bits if you chill in the fridge before slicing and serving.

If you prefer less rich and gooey brownies, add 5 to 10 minutes to the baking time.

Use a METAL PAN for this recipe!!

Glass and ceramic pans will not work for this recipe. They take longer to heat up and will prevent the center of the brownies from cooking before the outside edges are too hard. You’ll be left with gooey gummy brownies instead of perfectly fudgy brownies. This is my favorite pan to use for brownies.

Learn more in my Glass vs. Metal Baking Pans article.

How to cut brownies perfectly:

Science has shown our visual perception of food actually influences how tasty we perceive food to be. If you want to get perfectly clean, neat, and even brownie slices, check out my How to Cut Brownies Cleanly in 5 Steps article. Don’t worry – even if you don’t follow all these tips, your brownies will taste just as delicious.

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 2 days at room temperature or up to 4 days in the fridge. They are even more fudgy when they’re chilled.

Substitutions

This brownie recipe is written exactly the way it is for very specific reasons, as noted in the explanations above. 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, chocolate chips, toffee bits, or anything else to the batter.