The Best Homemade Brownies

Make brownies that are perfectly crackled on top, rich and fudgy on the inside, often called the best homemade brownies in the world – thanks to the helpful tips shared in this post. 

Best Homemade Brownies

Today, I’m giving you what I believe is the Best Brownie Recipe that you can make from scratch. I’ve shared so many brownie recipes, you probably have caught on that brownies are my go-to dessert for just about every occasion.

I’ve made countless pans of brownies over the years in search of THE best homemade brownie recipe.

So, I decided to focus on the characteristics I think that the best brownies should have – and like I said, I’ve made a whole lot of brownies in search of that perfection.

What Makes The Best Homemade Brownie?

These are the characteristics I want my brownies to have. What is your favorite kind of brownie? Cakey? Fudgey? Gooey?

• Be rich and fudgy with chewy edge pieces
• Taste like a box mix, (except for that chemical flavor)
• Have that characteristic crinkly top

This recipe nails all three. Read on for the ingredients and techniques you should use.

Making the best homemade brownies is actually very easy. All you need is about 10 ingredients and 10 minutes to stir them up. And you’ll need just a little patience while you wait for them to bake. 

How To Make The Best Homemade Brownies In The World

First, collect your ingredients. You’ll need butter, bittersweet baking chocolate, white sugar, vanilla extract, eggs (room temperature), cocoa powder, all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and chocolate chips or nuts (if desired). 

Begin by melting your butter and chocolate. You can do this in a skillet on the stove, but the easiest way I’ve found is to microwave it for 15 seconds at a time, whisking until melted.

Once it has melted, whisk in the sugar. Then, you’ll want to make sure the mixture is almost room temperature before you add the eggs, you don’t want to scramble them. 

When the butter mixture has cooled to room temperature, add the eggs and vanilla. And beat the mixture very well. I use an electric mixer, but you can also use a sturdy whisk and some elbow grease.

This is an important step in order to achieve that beautiful and delicious crackly crust on top of your brownies. 

How to get the crackly crust on top of brownies?

The crust on brownies is formed by beating the eggs in well. Beating the eggs turns them into a slight meringue that makes a crust on top when the brownies are baked.

I use an electric mixer to beat the eggs on high for about 1-2 minutes. 

What kind of cocoa powder is best for brownies?

After beating in the eggs and vanilla, you’ll add the dry ingredients to the batter: flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder.

I find that dutch process cocoa is best for getting that rich, chocolatey flavor like the box mixes.

Dutch-process cocoa is less acidic and has a deeper chocolate flavor. The color is darker and closer to what you expect from a box mix.

Can I use regular cocoa instead of dutch process in brownies?

I’ve made this recipe with regular cocoa powder many times and the brownies turn out great that way as well. The brownies will be lighter in color and with a slightly different chocolate taste, but will still taste amazing. 

As you stir in the dry ingredients to the batter, take care over-stir them. Stir only until the flours are incorporated.

Over-beating brownie batter will incorporate more air into the brownies and make them less fudgy.

Did you know that you can make brownies with only cocoa powder? Next time you’re out of chocolate chips, you’ll want to remember this recipe Cocoa Powder Brownies too.

How to tell if brownies are done?

I think the hardest part of baking fudgy brownies, is deciding when they are done. Over bake them and they will be dry, and nobody wants that.

It’s also hard to tell because they are so dark in color, you can’t see them starting to brown. 

I bake brownies in a glass pan lined with parchment paper. If you use a metal pan or even a metal pan with a dark coating, they will cook faster, so keep that in mind. 

28 to 30 minutes is about the perfect time to bake an 8×8-inch pan of brownies.

You’ll know to take them out of the oven when the top of the brownies is shiny and starting to crack and the center of the brownies doesn’t wiggle when you jiggle the pan.

You can not use the traditional toothpick test on brownies, because by the time the toothpick comes out clean, the brownies will be over baked. 

What makes brownies fudgy?

This brownie recipe is fudgy rather than cakey thanks to a high fat to flour ratio. 2/3 cup of butter to ½ cup flour and ½ cup cocoa.

Cocoa acts like flour in brownie recipes and the melted chocolate adds a bit more fat. With almost as much fat as flour in the recipe.

You can rest assured these brownies will not be cakey. If you’re looking for a cakey brownie recipe, this one is not for you. 

How to store brownies to keep them soft?

Brownies will keep on the counter for about 2 days in a tightly sealed container.

If you want them to last longer than that, place them in an airtight container with wax paper between the layers and freeze them. Brownies will keep in the freezer for several weeks. 

If you’re anything like me and enjoy brownies best when they’re warm, allow them to thaw completely after freezing. Then reheat for a few seconds in the microwave.

Is there anything that beats a warm brownie topped with cold ice cream? 

Why are my brownies dry? 

The two biggest culprits of dry brownies are over baking them and measuring the flour wrong. I test and write my recipes using spoon and leveled flour.

To correctly measure flour, spoon it into the cup, and level off with the straight side of a butter knife. Scooping the flour out of the container with the measuring cup, packs it into the cup and the result is too much flour added to the brownies, making them dry.

The other reason may be over baking the brownies. Read the section above for more info on how to tell when brownies are done. The goal is to bake them only until the center is barely set, crackly, and they don’t wiggle when you gently jiggle the pan.

If you’ve taken care to do these things and you still end up with dry brownies, your oven temperature might be running hot. I recommend checking the accuracy of your oven temperature with a separate thermometer.

Brownie Add Ins

These brownies are even more delicious when you add nuts. My family has really liked walnuts added to theirs, but pecans are great too.

Nuts add a nice contrast to the richness of the brownie. For any chocolate purists, stick to high-quality chocolate chips and you’ll be in heaven.

I like to experiment with different flavors of brownies. Mint Chocolate Brownies,  Cookie Dough Brownies, Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies and Nutella Brownies are recipes that I recommend saving now for your next brownie craving.

Let me know if you make The Best Homemade Brownies and what you think. Tag me #chocolatewithgrace on Instagram and be sure to follow me there.

{originally published 2/4/19 – recipe notes and photos updated 1/14/21}