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Today I’m sharing how you can make the BEST brownie recipe from scratch. Brown butter brownies are so good – one bite will make you realize you’ll NEVER buy a box mix again.
Why this brownie recipe WORKS
Have you ever had brown butter? I’m in love with the stuff and this brown butter brownie recipe is my favorite way to use it. Homemade Brownies are rich, fudgy, easy to make (one pan!) with triple the chocolate because I added chocolate chips – but you can add anything you want!
The eggs add tons of moisture, making these super fudgy brownies that have 3 kinds of chocolate: baking chocolate, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips. These are rich and delicious and everyone who tries them raves about how good they are. They have crackly tops, are chewy with moist crumbs – they’re taste a million times better than that boxed brownie mix you normally use.
Ingredients Needed
- Unsalted butter: It is very important that you use unsalted butter in this recipe. Browning the butter in this way concentrates the flavor and if you use salted butter, the flavor will be very salty. It’s easiest to brown the butter if it’s room temperature.
- Unsweetened Baking Chocolate: You can also use semi-sweet but this will make the brownies sweeter so reduce the sugar by 1/4 cup.
- Sugar: YES a full 2 cups
- Eggs: 4 eggs gives these that fudgy center texture
- Vanilla extract and Salt: for flavor
- Natural cocoa powder: You can use regular natural unsweetened cocoa powder, Hershey’s Special Dark OR Dutch Process cocoa powder.
How to make an easy brownie recipe step by step instructions
1. I call these “one pot brownies” because you can make the batter in the same pot you browned the butter: no need to drag out other bowls. You can transfer the brown butter to a bowl if you prefer, but no need. Just make sure to remove it from the heat.
2. While your butter is still warm, add the unsweetened chocolate and stir until it’s melted into the butter.
3. Mix the granulated sugar into the chocolate with a wooden spoon or spatula until thick. The mixture will be grainy.
4. Add eggs, vanilla, cocoa powder and salt until well combined.
5. Stir in the flour (and chocolate chips, nuts, or other additions).
6. Pour the batter into a prepared 9×13” baking pan. I recommend baking these in a metal pan, not a glass pan. Metal conducts heat more evenly, ensuring your brownies bake properly. Bake – brownies are done when a toothpick inserted along the side comes out with just a few crumbs.
Tip From Dorothy
Expert Tips
- You can add one and a half cups of add-in options before you bake this brownie recipe. Make Walnuts Brownies, M&M Brownies, Oreo Brownies, add chocolate chunks, peanut butter chips, chopped pecans, or anything you like by adding chopped candy!
- Make sure to use good quality chocolate chips, cocoa, and baking chocolate. The better the quality, the better the chocolate flavor of the brownies. You can use any kind of chips, but I love milk chocolate chips!
- I like to line my pan with parchment paper or foil for easy removal.
- You can make gluten-free brownies by swapping 1:1 GF AP flour.
- To avoid cake brownies, Be sure to measure your flour correctly, not use and baking powder or baking soda, follow the recipe, and don’t over bake them!
FAQ for making the BEST Brownie Recipe
You can easily cut this recipe in half and bake them in an 8-inch square baking pan.
Store these in an airtight container for up to 3 days on the counter.
Yes, you can! I freeze them all the time – just place them in a gallon size resealable bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Use this recipe: with 3 kinds of chocolate and lots of brown butter this is the best brownie recipe in the world. They’re simple brownies with tons of flavor.
The Best Brownies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter
- 4 ounces (113g) unsweetened baking chocolate coarsely chopped
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (20g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ⅓ cups (165g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups (255g) chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13" metal pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, about 6 minutes, until it becomes brown in color. It will foam, reduce, then foam again. Once it’s done cooking the foam is a light brown and it will dissipate after you remove it from the heat. Once it starts to brown, keep stirring so it doesn’t burn. Once it gets to an amber color, turn off the flame.
- Add baking chocolate to the butter and stir until the chocolate is melted. Stir in sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt, and cocoa and stir until combined. Stir in flour then stir in chocolate chips
- Pour brownie batter into prepared baking pan. Bake for 25-35 minutes until a toothpick along the edge comes out with just a few crumbs. This results in very fudgy gooey brownies. Cool before slicing into bars.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- You can add one and a half cups of add-in options before you bake them. Make Walnut Brownies, M&M Brownies, Oreo Brownies, add chocolate chunks, peanut butter chips, or anything you like by adding chopped candy!
- Make sure to use good quality chocolate chips, cocoa, and baking chocolate. The better the quality, the better the brownies.
- Want to use brown sugar? Go ahead – swap it equally with the granulated sugar.
- I like to line my pan with parchment paper or foil for easy removal.
forgot to rate the recipe
Oh my! they are THAT good! WOW.
Overall they were pretty good brownies. I expected them to be super sweet with the amount of sugar but they really were not. Better than boxed in my opinion.
Delicious–super fudgy!! I actually had to add a little extra sugar, as well as increase the vanilla (to about 1 T) and salt (to about 1 t). Also, I would add the ingredients in a different order than she says–beat the eggs and vanilla for a few minutes to really help get that crackly top, then add all the dry ingredients at once and fold in. Very good!
These are definitely the best ever brownies. Brown butter yum!
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