The Best Brownie Recipe
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If you’ve been searching for the ultimate homemade brownie recipe, look no further. This is it!
The best brownie recipes start with real melted chocolate, which is why store-bought brownie mixes made from cocoa powder lack the rich, fudgy flavor of homemade brownies. My all-time favorite brownie recipe comes from pastry chef Nick Malgieri’s cookbook Chocolate: From Simple Cookies to Extravagant Showstoppers. Made with melted bittersweet chocolate bars, the brownies are fudgy in the center, cakey on the surface, and just plain out of this world. The recipe has been around for decades and praised by top cooking publications such as The New York Times, Saveur, and The Splendid Table, to name just a few, so you don’t have to take my word for it—try for yourself and see!
Table of Contents
“The name does not lie!! These are hands-down the BEST brownies I have made!!! My entire family devoured them.”
What You’ll Need To Make The Best Brownie Recipe
- All-Purpose Flour: The base of your brownies, providing structure. Be sure to measure it using the spoon and level method for accuracy.
- Sugar and Brown Sugar: White sugar adds sweetness and a light texture, while brown sugar contributes to moisture and a deeper flavor due to its molasses content.
- Eggs: Essential for binding the ingredients together. Eggs also add moisture and help create a rich texture in the brownies.
- Unsalted Butter: Adds richness and flavor. Using unsalted butter allows you to control the amount of salt in the recipe.
- Vanilla Extract: Complements the chocolate and adds depth of flavor.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness and enhances the overall flavors of the brownies.
- Semi-Sweet or Bittersweet Chocolate: The star of the show. It’s crucial to use good quality chocolate, like Ghirardelli or Guittard, because the chocolate flavor is prominent in brownies. Opt for real chocolate bars instead of chocolate chips. Chocolate chips contain stabilizers and are designed to retain their shape when baked, making them less suitable for recipes that require melted chocolate.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by melting the butter in a microwave-safe bowl.
Add the chopped chocolate. (You can just break it apart with your hands; no need to dirty a cutting board.)
Whisk until the chocolate is melted. The heat of the butter should be enough to melt the chocolate completely, but if not, heat the mixture in the microwave for 20 seconds or so and whisk again.
Meanwhile, whisk the eggs in a large bowl.
Add the sugars, salt and vanilla.
And whisk to combine.
Whisk in the chocolate-butter mixture.
Then add the flour.
Whisk until just combined.
Line a 9×13-in baking pan with parchment paper, then either spray the paper with non-stick cooking spray or grease with butter. Be sure to leave an overhang; this makes it easy to lift brownies out of the pan before cutting. Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the top has formed a shiny crust and the batter is moderately firm.
Cool completely on a rack, then use the parchment overhang to transfer the un-cut brownies to a cutting board.
Use a sharp knife to trim the hard edges (those are for the cook!).
Cut the brownies into squares and enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
To keep brownies fresh, store them in an airtight container at room temperature. They typically keep well for up to 4 days. Brownies can also be frozen for up to 3 months. After they are completely cooled, cut them into squares, wrap tightly in foil, and then place them in an airtight container or sealable plastic bag. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving.
Absolutely! You can customize your brownies by adding a variety of mix-ins. Popular choices include chopped nuts (like walnuts or pecans) or chocolate chips or chunks.
The main reason cocoa powder is often used in brownie recipes is due to its convenience and ease of use. Cocoa powder, being a dry ingredient, can be easily measured, and it eliminates the extra step of melting chocolate. However, in my opinion, brownies made with melted chocolate are far superior—fudgier, denser, and just much more delicious!
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Video Tutorial
The Best Brownie Recipe
If you’ve been searching for the ultimate homemade brownie recipe, look no further. This is it!
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (½ pound) unsalted butter
- 8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped (I use Ghirardelli bars)
- 4 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled off with knife
Instructions
- Set the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Line a 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan with parchment paper (bring parchment up sides of pan so there is a slight overhang) and grease with butter or nonstick cooking spray.
- Place the butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl and melt in the microwave until bubbling. Add the chocolate and whisk until the chocolate is completely melted. The heat from the butter should be enough to melt the chocolate completely, but if not, place the chocolate-butter mixture in the microwave and heat for 20 seconds or so, then whisk again. (Alternatively, combine the butter and chocolate in a heat proof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally until melted.)
- Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Add the salt, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla; whisk until smooth (be sure no lumps of brown sugar remain). Whisk in the chocolate-butter mixture, then add the flour and whisk until the batter is uniform.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for about 45 minutes, until the top has formed a shiny crust and the batter is moderately firm. Cool completely in the pan on a rack. If not serving right away, store them at room temperature, for 3 to 4 days. To extend their shelf life for a day or two, you can refrigerate them.
- To cut brownies, first lift them out of the pan using the parchment overhang and transfer them to a cutting board. Separate the parchment from the edges. Using a sharp knife, trim away the edges and cut the brownies into 2-in squares.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The brownies can be frozen for up to 3 months. After they are completely cooled, cut them into squares, wrap tightly in foil, and then place them in an airtight container or sealable plastic bag. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 brownie
- Calories: 212
- Fat: 11g
- Saturated fat: 7g
- Carbohydrates: 27g
- Sugar: 22g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Sodium: 66mg
- Cholesterol: 51mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I made these brownies & they’re delicious- chewy chocolatey awesomeness!! I followed the recipe as written but did add walnuts. I think I baked them a bit too long as the side ends were crispy😳 at 45 minutes so maybe the next time take out a few minutes before?
Hi Georgia, it’s not unusual for the edges of brownies to get crispy but did you happen to use a glass or dark-colored metal pan?
Hi Jenn!
I love your recipes! I got the ingredients for this brownie recipe to make today; purchased the Guittard 65% bars. I just notice that the bars are only a total of 6 oz – the recipe calls for 8oz 😳 so my question is I have a Hershey milk chocolate bar could I add 2oz of the Hershey to make up the difference?
Thanks so much!
Georgia
Yep that should be fine — and so glad you enjoy the recipes!
Yay! As I wanted to try the brownies today!
Would it be possible to use Unsweetened Chocolate and adjust the amount of sugar? I have 100% Cacao Ghirardelli baking chocolate in the cupboard.
Hi Kate, While you could use unsweetened chocolate here, you’d need to add some sugar (and I’m not certain how much). For the best results, I would recommend sticking with bittersweet or semisweet chocolate.
My husband took these to work and everyone in the office LOVED them, especially my husband!! The only change I made was that I toasted 1 1/2 c walnuts in the oven and chopped them and added them last to the batter. These will be the only brownies I make from now on!!
Great recipe as usual. Taste really good and very moist.
I made these brownies this week end and everybody absolutely loved them. They are delicious! I had been using another recipe for years but decided to try this one and so happy I did. It is crispy on top and soft in the middle just like on the picture.
Thank you Mrs. Segal for this recipe
Hi Jenn,
I have a question for you. I found some Ghirardelli bars in my pantry that expired more than 6 months ago and I’m wondering if it’s okay to use them in your brownie recipe. The packaging says “Best Before” by the date. I had bought the bars specifically for your recipe but I forgot about them. Can you please let me know if it’s okay to use them or if I should throw them away?
Thank you
Hi Rosy, They will be perfectly fine – definitely use them!
Tried these again today. I reduced the sugar by almost half, and the brownies were a bit sweet for my taste. I still ate way too many already 😂 so they are quite good.
They were done in 35 minutes. My problem is that they still do not really look right, in the sense that they are more like cakes than brownies. I can’t get that top thin crust that should be there. My guess is the whisk added too much air. I’ll try mixing the eggs, sugar, etc, with a wooden spoon next time. Any other suggestion?
Hi Anne, While it’s okay to reduce the sugar a bit in a recipe, cutting it in half is likely the culprit. Sugar actually adds moisture to baked goods, so reducing it by half would result in brownies that are more cakey (drier) than fudgy. Hope that clarifies!
Thanks! I was afraid of that. I tried it again today with gluten-free flour, before I saw your note. They are in the oven, and again with much less sugar. I’ll tell you if it works out. Should I just switch to 85% cocoa chocolate and more sugar?
Sure, Anne, what you’ve suggested regarding the chocolate/sugar makes sense. 😊
Because Jenn’s recipes have never failed, I decided I’d make these despite not being a baker. Then I read the reviews and saw more negatives than I’ve ever seen on any of her recipes, so I did a Google search on what makes a good brownie. The only post that stood out was mixing the sugar with the chocolate: the reasoning being that the sugar dissolving in the warm chocolate bound the ingredients together so they’d be fudgy. I tucked that in the back of my mind and went back to Jenn’s recipe, which I made. Did I do it right? Not really. Jenn preps her ingredients beforehand. Me? I tend to measure as I go. So when it came time to add ingredients to the chocolate/butter mix, I put it in the microwave for 5 seconds to be sure it was warm, in case the bit about the sugar was right. Another piece of Jenn’s directions I didn’t follow was to use a knife to level off the flour but that’s just because I forgot. And finally, I could smell the brownies after about 32 minutes of baking. I wound up taking them out of my gas oven (with the thermometer reading 350°) after baking for 35 minutes: a toothpick test came out clean, and there wasn’t any wobbling, so I was worried they wouldn’t be as great as I’d believed they’d be. I let them cool on a rack, the I let them sit overnight before cutting them. It wasn’t until I cut them that I learned — despite my slip-ups — that the brownies are fabulous: the outside has a nice crunch and the inside is perfectly fudgy.
The negative reviews may be due to differences in ovens, or in “measuring as you go” instead of prepping properly, but even with a few missteps on my part, these are as wonderful as Jenn’s recipes always are.
Made this today for a treat dessert tomorrow.
Recipe followed, oven times worked perfectly.
They are simply delicious, lovely and fudgy. They will be perfect with some vanilla ice cream tomorrow.
Cut the recipe in half and baked it in an 8×8 pan for 25-30 minutes. It was divine. My friends raved about it. Crispy top and fudgy, rich chocolaty brownie. Thank you!! Was such a hit.