Meet your new favorite brownie recipe! These Ultimate Fudgy Chocolate Brownies are moist, ultra-chocolatey, and have the perfect crackly crust on top. You’ll never want to use a boxed mix again!
Fudgy Chocolate Brownies
I’m not here to disparage boxed brownie mixes (put me in front of some Ghirardelli brownies and I’ll go to town with no shame), but can we all agree that homemade brownies are in a class by themselves? They might be a little less convenient than using a mix, but they more than make up for it with a deep chocolate taste and amazing texture.⠀
And honestly, they’re not even that much more work! You do need a microwave, because these brownies use both melted chocolate and cocoa powder, but other than that step, it’s just a little whisking and stirring–just like with a boxed mix. And trust me, that melted chocolate step is worth it, because these rich and fudgy brownies are mmmmmmgood.
Table of Contents
These Ultimate Fudgy Chocolate Brownies come from a recipe I re-discovered in an old baking notebook from about 5 years ago. I’d called them “Deep Dark Chocolate Brownies” back then, and decorated the recipe with stars all around the title. Apparently, good brownies bring out the middle schooler in me.
I decided to make them again, just to see what all the star-spangled fuss was about. Turns out my taste buds haven’t changed much in the last half decade, because I loved these just as much now! They’re basically my ideal brownie: they have the crackly top of a boxed mix (admit it: you love that crackly top!), but the flavor is pure chocolate bliss. The inside is moist and fudgy but not gummy, like some overly-chocolatified brownies are.
I know the world doesn’t need another brownie blog post, but this isn’t for the world. It’s for me, so that I’ll always have this recipe just one mouse click away. I don’t want to lose it, or have it be buried in a notebook for another five years. No amount of highlighter stars can save it from that fate! So here, for posterity and laziness’s sake, is my new favorite/old favorite brownie recipe. Maybe it’ll be yours too.
And look, if regular brownies aren’t exciting enough for you, here’s how you can up your dessert game and reduce your life expectancy in one quick move. Warm brownies: check. Cold chocolate ice cream: check. Hot fudge sauce: check. Chocolate sprinkles: check. One spoon, your face, three minutes of bliss. Yesssssssss.
If you are an ultimate-chocolate-dessert-loving kinda person, don’t miss my Chocolate Cheesecake, Epic Chocolate Peanut Butter Milkshakes, Chocolate Blackout Doughnuts and Hot Chocolate Floats!
Tips for Making Fudgy Chocolate Brownies:
- As with all things baking, you get out what you put in. Using great-quality chocolate and cocoa powder will produce a great-tasting brownie. You can use chocolate chips in a pinch, but I always recommend chopping up semi-sweet bars when possible. I like the Pound Plus bars from Trader Joe’s, and Cacao Barry Extra Brute cocoa powder.
- I always, always line my baking pans with foil going up and over the sides of the pans, then spray with nonstick cooking spray. Once the brownies are baked and cooled, just use the foil as handles and lift the block of brownies straight out of the pan. It makes it WAY easier to cut them neatly, and preserves the bottom of your pans as well!
- Speaking of cutting brownies – if you want neat squares, never cut them while warm! Ideally, refrigerate them until chilled, then use a large sharp chef’s knife. Wash the knife often between cuts so it doesn’t drag through the brownies.
- These brownies freeze well, so make a double batch and keep one in the freezer for dessert emergencies! (And yes, there IS such a thing as a dessert emergency!)
🤎More Brownie Recipes You Will Love:
🤎Make Some Ice Cream to Go With Your Brownies!
Peppermint Lava Cakes
Brownie Lava Bites
Leave a Review!
If you make this recipe, let us know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on the recipe below, and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram @elabau, or use #sugarhero on IG!
Ultimate Fudgy Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
- 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 5 oz unsalted butter
- 8.75 oz granulated sugar, (1 1/4 cups)
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2.25 oz all-purpose flour, (1/2 cup)
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 0.75 oz unsweetened cocoa powder, (1/4 cup)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with foil, extending it up and over the sides, and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
- Combine the finely chopped chocolate and butter in a large bowl, and microwave it in 30-second increments, stirring after every 30 seconds to prevent overheating. When the chocolate is mostly melted, with just a few pieces remaining, stop heating it and stir until the chocolate is fully melted and smooth.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar. Add the melted chocolate mixture, and whisk that in as well. Finally, sift the flour, salt, baking powder, and cocoa powder over the bowl, and stir it in gently with a spatula. Spread the brownie batter in the prepared pan.
- Bake the brownies at 350 F for about 20 minutes, until the top is shiny and crackly, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Let the brownies cool to room temperature before taking them out of the pan and cutting them.
Video
Measuring Tips
Our recipes are developed using weight measurements, and we highly recommend using a kitchen scale for baking whenever possible. However, if you prefer to use cups, volume measurements are provided as well. PLEASE NOTE: the adage “8 oz = 1 cup” is NOT true when speaking about weight, so don’t be concerned if the measurements don’t fit this formula.
Want to learn more about baking measurements and conversion?
I for one, am very happy you posted this. We LOVE brownies in our house, and I admit – I usually stick with the boxed mix (I can’t even think what might be in there) because we like the texture and the crackly top crust so much. We’re always a little disappointed with the homemade versions. I’m going to try these – I’d so much rather have homemade! So I’m really glad you did this for you! 😉
Real talk, box mix brownies are good! I am eager to hear what you think if you give these a try–maybe a side-by-side taste test?? 🙂
Omg that brownie stack with the chocolate ice cream?? yes please! I totally agree, maybe the world doesn’t need another chocolate chip cookie recipe, but sometimes it’s nice to have one of those baking staples in the archives. And now you’ll never lose the recipe! 😀
Thanks June! It’s always a debate between having the recipe for the archive and wanting to create something totally new…at least this way, I got to eat brownies with lots of chocolate ice cream. 🙂
These look MAGICAL! I am so with you, every time I post something I am always thinking, what twist can I do? But sometimes original recipes are best! Besides now I am thinking of all the amazing twists I could do to these beautiful brownies!
Thanks Jess! I would LOVE to see what twists you come up with!
Those look like perfection!
Thanks Katrina!
Chocolate decadence at its best! It looks so good, Elizabeth! Well done!
Thank you, Oana!
I need another recipe for brownies! Especially if you are saying that they are so good 😀
There’s no such thing as too many brownie recipes, right?? I hope you’ll give them a try sometime!
Yummy
Thank you, Michaela!
Is there a temp/cook time option for an 8″x8″ pan?
Hi Kate! Are you talking about halving it for an 8×8 or using the full recipe and making really thick brownies? I haven’t tried it in an 8×8 myself, but I would keep it at 350 F and start checking around 15-16 minutes for a half recipe. For the full recipe in an 8×8, maybe 45? Definitely keep a close eye on them and use the toothpick test. Let me know how they turn out!
It’s kind of why I started blogging — so I don’t lose my favorite recipes. Weird, huh? These look perfect, and while the world may not NEED another brownie blog post, it definitely needs more photos of oozy ice cream like that. Daaaaayyyuuum.
Not weird at all! I’ve never thought of it that way, but I guess that’s part of my reasoning too? And while the world doesn’t need another brownie blog post, I definitely need brownies in my face regularly.
Wow looks yummy Elizabeth 🙂 such beautiful photos… Thank you!
Thanks!!