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Brownies are the dessert I can make from memory, and these are the fudgiest, most chocolatey ones we have ever pulled out of the oven, with shiny crackly tops and dense gooey centers. I started baking a pan every time Maddie and Lizzie had friends over because they vanish faster than anything else I make. If you love a rich chocolate treat, you will want these next to our homemade Oreo brownies.
No mixer, no fancy steps, just one bowl and pantry staples for the best fudgy brownies from scratch.
Brownies Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 60 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 15 brownies
- ⚡ Calories: 488kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Deeply chocolatey and ultra fudgy with shiny, crackly tops
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, even easier than our Butterfinger brownies
Quick Answer
Melt chocolate chips and butter together until smooth, then stir in sugar, eggs one at a time, and vanilla. Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl, then fold the dry into the wet just until combined. Spread the thick batter into a parchment-lined 9×13 pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 50 to 60 minutes. Let the brownies cool completely before cutting for clean, fudgy squares.
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Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Melting the chocolate makes them fudgy. Real melted chocolate plus cocoa powder gives these brownies a dense, gooey, fudge-like center instead of a cakey crumb.
- No mixer needed. Everything comes together in one bowl with a spoon, so there is almost nothing to wash and no fussy creaming step.
- Lots of sugar means shiny crackly tops. Beating the sugar into the warm chocolate is what creates that signature glossy, paper-thin crackly top everyone fights over.
- Pantry staples only. Butter, sugar, eggs, flour, cocoa, and chocolate chips are probably already in your kitchen right now.
- They stay fudgy for days. The high ratio of chocolate and butter keeps these brownies moist and rich well after baking day.
- Easy to make your own. The simple base takes add-ins beautifully, so you can fold in nuts, swirl in caramel, or pile on frosting.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- They are the fudgiest brownies from scratch, with dense gooey centers and shiny crackly tops.
- They come together in one bowl with no mixer and only pantry staples you already have.
- They are endlessly customizable, so dress them up with nuts, caramel, or our chocolate cream cheese frosting.
Key Ingredients
Here is what makes these brownies so rich and fudgy. Just a handful of simple baking staples.
- Chocolate Chips: melted right into the batter for deep, real chocolate flavor and that fudgy texture; semi-sweet is the classic choice.
- Cocoa Powder: unsweetened cocoa doubles down on the chocolate and helps give the brownies their dense, fudgy crumb.
- Salted Butter: melts in with the chocolate for richness; if you only have unsalted, add a pinch more salt.
- Granulated Sugar: a generous amount sweetens the brownies and creates the shiny, crackly top.
- Eggs: added one at a time to build structure and that signature chewy-fudgy bite.
- All-Purpose Flour: just enough to hold everything together without turning the brownies cakey, like the base in our Oreo brownies.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
These brownies are a perfect blank canvas, so make them your own.
- Add nuts: fold in a cup of chopped walnuts or pecans for crunch.
- Make them extra gooey: press a few squares of chocolate or a handful of extra chips into the top before baking.
- Swirl in something: dollop caramel, peanut butter, or cheesecake batter on top and swirl with a knife.
- Go mint or espresso: add a little peppermint extract or a teaspoon of instant espresso to deepen the chocolate.
- Frost them: once cool, spread on a layer of our chocolate cream cheese frosting for a bakery-style treat.
How to Make Brownies
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper. Place the chocolate chips and cut up butter in a large bowl and microwave in short bursts, stirring between each, until melted and smooth.
- Stir the sugar into the warm chocolate until combined, then add the eggs one at a time, mixing fully after each, and stir in the vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt until evenly blended.
- Pour the dry mixture into the wet and stir just until combined, with no dry streaks left and the batter thick and glossy.
- Spread the thick batter evenly into the prepared pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Let the brownies cool completely in the pan before lifting them out by the parchment and cutting into squares.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Do not overbake. Pull the brownies when a toothpick has a few moist crumbs; they firm up as they cool and stay fudgy.
- Line the pan with parchment so you can lift the whole slab out and cut clean squares on a board.
- Use a hot knife wiped clean between cuts for bakery-neat edges.
- Let them cool completely before cutting, or the centers will be too gooey to slice neatly.
- Measure the flour lightly, spooning it into the cup so the brownies stay fudgy and not dry.
- Stash leftovers in an airtight container so they stay soft for days, the way our Butterfinger brownies do.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
These brownies are pure comfort warm from the pan, and they go over the top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate sauce.
For a real dessert spread, serve them next to a bowl of no churn cookie dough ice cream or our oatmeal cream pie ice cream bars and let everyone build their own plate.
They also pack beautifully for lunchboxes, bake sales, and parties, and a square wrapped up with a little chocolate cream cheese frosting on top makes the simplest homemade gift.
Brownies FAQs
Fudgy brownies use more chocolate, butter, and sugar and less flour and leavening than cakey ones. Melting real chocolate into the batter and not overbaking are the two biggest keys to that dense, gooey center.
That glossy crackly top comes from fully dissolving the sugar into the warm chocolate mixture. Stir well so the sugar melts in, and the brownies will bake up with that signature paper-thin shine.
Insert a toothpick into the center about two inches from the edge. For fudgy brownies you want a few moist crumbs clinging to it, not wet batter and not totally clean. They continue setting as they cool.
Keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to four days. Pressing a piece of plastic wrap against the cut edges helps keep them soft and fudgy.
Yes. Wrap cooled brownies individually or in a single layer, then freeze in an airtight container for up to three months. Thaw at room temperature, or warm one for a few seconds in the microwave.
Absolutely. Double everything and bake in two 9×13 pans, or use a large sheet pan and watch the timing closely since a thinner layer will bake faster.
Craving more chocolate? Try our homemade Oreo brownies next for another rich, crowd-pleasing pan of treats.
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hot chocolate cookies
Craving chocolate? Our best fudgy brownies are rich and gooey.
If you like these fudgy, my chocolate cupcakes pair that rich crumb with a fruity buttercream.
When you want a dressed up pan, my frosted brownies layer strawberry buttercream over the same fudgy base.
For a no bake treat with the same crowd appeal, my golden grahams smores bars disappear by the panful.
For a berry loaded blondie style bar, my raspberry brownies tuck fresh raspberries and white chocolate into every square.
Best Fudgy Brownies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter
- 12 ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 6 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper, set aside.
- Cut the butter into tablespoons. Place the chocolate chips in a large bowl and add the cut-up butter on top. Place in the microwave and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir, microwave for another 30 seconds, and stir again. Continue to microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring in between until everything is melted and smooth.
- Add the sugar into the chocolate mixture and stir to combine. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing them in completely before adding the next. Stir in the vanilla.
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir until combined with no dry patches left.
- Spread out the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let cool completely before cutting into bars.
Notes
- You can add any mix-ins you’d like, see my tips above.
- This recipe can be cut in half, just bake in a 9×9-inch baking pan.
- These will see undercooked in the middle but they will not be!
- Top with ice cream, frosting or powdered sugar for an added touch.
- These can be frozen, see my tips above on how to do that.
Nutrition
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