This easy, one-bowl recipe for my homemade brownies creates thick, chewy, fudgy brownies everyone will love! This is my favorite from-scratch easy brownie recipe!
Look. I’m no stranger to a boxed brownie mix. Growing up, I’m pretty sure that’s all I ever saw my mom make. And I’ll admit that I have at least two boxes of brownie mix in the pantry right now. (Ghirardelli is my favorite brand of boxed mix!)
But sometimes, you want to make something from scratch. Sometimes, you want a homemade brownie recipe. And when you want that, you want this recipe! Personally, I think this is the best brownie recipe… but that’s just me.
In general, folks fall into two categories when it comes to brownies: the fudgy category and the cake-y category.
I happen to think there’s only one kind. For me, the perfect brownie recipe has to yield brownies that are thick, chewy, fudgy, and super chocolatey. I included a scratch recipe in my cookbook, but over the last few years, I’ve tweaked the ingredients a bit and perfected the method to produce brownies that check all the boxes for me. And the best part is, they’re super easy – all made in one bowl!
4 Tips for Making Brownies with that Shiny, Crinkly top:
Getting that glossy, crackly top on your brownies is sort of the holy grail of brownie making. While I’ve never turned down a homemade brownie based on its matte finish, I do understand folks eat with their eyes first. And it doesn’t have to be super complicated. So here are a few tips to get that gourmet look every time…
- Use the Right Amount of Sugar: A good amount of sugar in your brownie batter helps create that shiny top. Typically, recipes with a higher sugar-to-flour ratio tend to produce a shinier surface.
- Melt the Butter: Melting the butter and incorporating it with the sugar very well is crucial. It helps create that fudgy texture and contributes to the shiny top.
- Whip Those Eggs: Whipping the eggs into the butter and sugar until they’re light can help to achieve that shiny, crinkly crust. It introduces a bit of air into the batter.
- Add Chocolate Chips: I’m not sure if it’s the additional fat or what, but I always have better luck getting that shiny top when I add chocolate chips to the batter. All that chocolate helps to keep them fudgy, too, so it’s a win-win.
How do I know when my brownies are done?
Knowing when your brownies are done can be a bit tricky, but fear not, I’m here to help you nail it…
- The Toothpick Test: Stick a toothpick or a wooden skewer into the center of your brownie batch. If it comes out with a few moist, fudgy crumbs clinging to it, your brownies are perfectly baked. If the toothpick is clean, they might be overdone.
- The Gentle Press: Gently press the center of the brownies with your finger. If it springs back and doesn’t leave a dent, they’re done. If your finger sinks into the brownie, it needs more time.
- The Visual Check: Take a peek at the edges. They should be set and slightly pulling away from the sides of the pan. The top should be firm but not overly dry or cracked.
- The Timer: Follow the recommended baking time in your brownie recipe as a general guideline. However, remember that ovens can vary, so keep an eye on them toward the end of the suggested time.
- Don’t Overdo It: It’s better to slightly underbake your brownies than to overbake them. Brownies will continue to cook a bit as they cool in the pan.
Remember, it’s all about personal preference. Some folks love their brownies gooey and fudgy, while others prefer them cakey. So, adapt your baking time to achieve the brownie bliss you desire.
Should I use a metal pan or glass baking dish?
The hard and fast of it is to use a metal baking pan, specifically a light-colored aluminum pan.
Yes, I know that the video shows me using a glass pan. This is a case of do as I say, not as I do. Will a glass pan work, of course it will. Does metal work better, yes. Yes, it does.
With that being said, I’ve been cooking for more than 30 years and have been working on Southern Bite for more than 15 of those. And though I feel pretty confident in my culinary capabilities, the idiosyncrasies of using a glass versus metal vessel for baking escaped me for most of my Southern Bite years.
Needing several batches of Pecan Chewies for an event several years ago, I baked one in a metal pan and another in a glass dish. What I noticed is that the chewies in the metal pan cooked more evenly to a beautiful golden brown and had nice clean, straight edges. The ones in the glass dish rolled over on themselves around the edges, resulting in less-than-attractive tops.
A quick Google search proved that the world knew this and just left me out. But when you think about it, it just makes sense…
Metal pans heat up and cool more quickly since metal is a good conductor of heat. This means more evenly baked goods.
Glass pans retain heat better, which makes them great for keeping things like casseroles warm after taking them out of the oven. This can result in overcooked baked goods, too, though as the retained heat can cause things to continue baking even after being taken out of the heat.
All of this to say, I now recommend the use of a light-colored aluminum pan. Dark-colored pans can cause the outside of baked goods to get too hot and too dark, like with this Strawberry Bread I showed y’all a few years back.
For things like casseroles, pasta bakes, etc, I recommend using glass baking dishes.
Just keep in mind that you don’t want to use acidic things in metal pans as the acid will react with the metal. Fruit cobblers, crumbles, and other acidic ingredients should always be baked in glass or ceramic.
Recipe Card
Homemade Brownies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or flavoring
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F and spray an 8×8-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray or line it with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Place the butter in a large bowl and cover the bowl with paper towels. Microwave until the butter is melted and very hot. (Butter has a tendency to splatter in the microwave as the water particles get super hot and explode, so keep it covered.)
- Add the sugar to the melted butter and whisk for about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and continue to whisk for another minute.
- Add the salt, cocoa powder, and flour to the mixture. Stir until just combined.
- Add the chocolate chips and vanilla and stir until just combined.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake on the center rack of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until the center of the brownies is just set.
- Cool before slicing and serving. Store leftovers at room temperature in an airtight container.
Nutrition
Please note:
If nutritional values are provided, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands used. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, I recommend grabbing your favorite brands and plugging those ingredients into an online nutritional calculator.
These are wonderful! I got so many compliments on them! Your recipes never fail.
Thank you so much! I’m so happy to hear that!
I have to confess — I haven’t gotten to taste these yet. However…. Everyone who has tried them has positively raved about them! Guess I have a way to use up all the cocoa powder I found in the pantry 😁 Another five-star recipe from Southern Bite — thank you, Stacey! ❤️
Thanks, Beth! I hope you’ll get a bite, too!
Made these in glass pan, Took them to church dinner. They were warmly received. Fabulous ! I think they are better than the name brands of box mixes. 📦 wonderful,will be making them again. You have the best recipes.
Thanks, Charleen! So glad everyone enjoyed these!!
Made these today to take to dinner at church. DELICIOUS, plam to make them again fir my grandson s wife. She doesn’t have an oven. Hands down glorious taste!!!!!
So glad they turned out great for you, Charleen!
These look scrumptious. I’ve never made brownies from scratch, time to start!
I have a question about cutting them, how did you get yours to cut so smoothly? Mine always look shaggy after slicing, your lines are so clean and pretty, any tricks you can share would be appreciated. Thanks!
I hope you’ll enjoy these, Susan! Cutting them has a lot to do with the texture of the brownies, but here are a few tips: Use a sharp non-serrated knife, rinse it with warm water between each cut, try to cut in one large downward motion rather than sawing along. Hope that helps!
I love a good brownie and these sound (and look) divine. Can’t wait to try them out!
Thanks, Joanne! Hope you’ll enjoy!
Great post with all those good tips!
Thanks, Rob!
This sounds like my kind of brownie.. but I have a question… I’ve always been told by my granny who every time you make anything its with love and from scratch!.. however she always made her brownies with 1 egg to keep them fudge and chewey… anymore eggs will make it cake like… was my granny wrong? P.s. been making brownies fron scratch since I was 12 years old… pushing 70 years young…
No, your granny wasn’t wrong. Eggs do make them more cakey. In this case, there are several other ingredients that help to keep them fudgy in spite of the extra eggs. That being said, you can reduce the eggs, if you wish.
Stacey, I did not know that about the metal vs glass pan! No wonder my snickerdoodle bars didn’t bake well the last couple of times. I couldn’t figure out why. They did what you described, they kind of rolled in on themselves around the edges and sunk in the middle a bit.
Also, thank you for the tips on the best brownies! I will save this recipe. 🙂
Glad you found that helpful! Hope you’ll enjoy these!
So metal pans are better for brownies and cookies?
Yep!