I think if you read some of the comments for these best homemade brownies below you’ll want to make this recipe ASAP. Just see what Susan said:
How to Make Chewy Brownies
Let me explain exactly what makes these brownies so chewy and easy. You can skip this if you don’t care WHY these brownies are the way they are and you just want the printable recipe asap.
Chocolate & Cocoa Powder
Unlike my Ultimate Fudgy Brownies, which utilize two types of melted chocolate, these brownies get their main chocolate flavor from cocoa powder with semi-sweet chocolate chips stirred into the batter. Cocoa powder definitely yields a chewier brownie and has a flavor reminiscent of boxed brownies.
The photos on this post show what the brownies look like if you use regular unsweetened cocoa powder. In the recipe video, I used Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder. It gave the brownies an ultra dark chocolaty appearance with a little less sweetness.
Since creating this video, however, Hershey’s has changed the formula of that specific cocoa powder to a Dutched cocoa powder. I recommend sticking with a natural cocoa powder, such as Ghirardelli Cocoa Powder or Penzey’s Natural Cocoa Powder, for best results. Learn more about the differences between Dutch-process cocoa powder and natural cocoa powder here.
Feel free to fold in any kind of chocolate chips you want from dark chocolate or milk chocolate, but semisweet is my favorite. Whatever you do, don’t skip the chocolate chips! They help to develop that shiny crust on top of brownies.
Fat
With any cocoa powder-based brownie recipe, we need quite a bit of fat to prevent the cocoa powder from drying the brownies out and making them crumbly. In looking at what makes box mix brownies so chewy, it appears that the combination of saturated (solid) fats and unsaturated (liquid) fats is the winning answer. According to Cooks’ Illustrated, boxed brownies have the saturated fat component covered which is why you add oil (unsaturated) to the mix. I opted for a combination of melted butter and vegetable oil for the best marriage of taste and texture.
Make sure your vegetable oil is fresh to avoid any off flavors and use unsalted butter so you can fully control the level of saltiness. I haven’t tested these brownies with canola oil.
For a full breakdown on these two types of fats and how they affect flavor, tenderness, and texture, check out my Butter vs. Oil in Baking article. There are lots more side-by-side comparisons like this one (and not just with brownies!):
Sugar
I stuck with granulated sugar here because although I love the taste of brown sugar, I didn’t want to add any more moisture (brown sugar contributes more moisture due to the molasses that’s added in) to these already very moist and rich brownies. Too much moisture creates brownies that have lots of holes on top instead of that shiny tissue thin crust.
Eggs
2 large eggs is pretty standard for an 8 by 8-inch brownie recipe, but I just had to add in an egg yolk for the extra dose of chewiness and richness it gives. The protein and the fat in the egg yolk helps achieve those textures. We use cold eggs, instead of room temperature, to prevent the brownies from doming and to increase moisture with a tighter crumb texture.
Flour
All-purpose flour is the way to go here, cake flour makes these brownies way too tender and light. We can achieve enough chewiness without having to use bread flour, which can prevent an extra trip to the store for a lot of people. To make chewy AND fudgy brownies, we only need to use a little bit of flour. Any more flour will create drier or cakier brownies. If you want to be super accurate and weigh your flour, 1/2 cup equals 63 grams or 2.25 ounces. Check out my How to Measure Flour article for step-by-step instructions for weighing dry ingredients using a digital scale.
If you live in a very humid environment, or really dislike any kind of “greasiness,” you may want to add an extra 2 tablespoons of flour to your brownie batter mixture.
Leavener
With my brownie recipes, I usually prefer a very small amount or no chemical leavener (baking soda or baking powder). The reason is because I like brownies to be very rich and on the denser side, not even remotely cakey. Since they lift and give a lighter airier texture to baked goods, we’re only using 1/8 teaspoon baking soda here for just enough leavening to get a nice thick texture.
Cornstarch
This little secret ingredient really helps to improve the texture of these brownies so they’re that much closer to the box mix kind. 1 tablespoon of cornstarch makes the brownies thicker and improves that crust on top.
Make sure to measure correctly, and don’t skip this ingredient! When shooting the photos for my article on how to make brownies with a shiny, thin crust, my food photographer captured the shocking differences between a batch made with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch vs brownies made with an accidental amount of 1 teaspoon cornstarch. The bottom brownies also had no chocolate chips. Take a look:
Can I Add Nuts to Brownies?
Yes! You can add 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans. You can add them either in addition to the chocolate chips or in place of the chocolate chips. Just note if you remove the chocolate chips your crust on top may not be as shiny. For best flavor, try toasting the nuts on a lined tray in a 350°F oven for about 6 to 8 minutes, stirring once.
How Long to Bake Brownies:
Bake these brownies in a 325°F oven for about 30 minutes to avoid overbaking. There will absolutely be moist crumbs attached to a tester by the end of the baking time. That’s what we want. Even after 30 minutes if the middle still seems too moist, just remove the brownies from the oven. Carry-over cooking, the residual heat of the oven and pan, will continue to cook the brownies.
Some readers have said their brownies were really undercooked after 30 minutes. I’m guessing they used a glass baking pan, which I DON’T recommend for this recipe. I recommend a metal baking pan like this one lined with foil or parchment paper. Learn more about the differences between Glass vs. Metal Baking Pans here.
Also, you might want to check your oven temperature with an oven thermometer as many home ovens run cold (especially when they say they’ve just preheated).
For best results, allow the brownies to cool completely before slicing and serving.
How to Store Brownies:
The brownies definitely taste best the day they are baked, but can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature or up to 5 days in the fridge. They are even more fudgy when they’re chilled.
Brownies Substitutions:
This brownie recipe is written exactly the way it is for very specific reasons, as noted in the explanations above. If you can’t use one of the ingredients listed, take a look at my extensive brownie index for other options (including coconut oil brownies). If you try to reduce the sugar, use a sugar substitute, use a butter substitute, or make this recipe vegan the results will NOT be the same. Feel free to add in nuts, chips, toffee bits, or anything else to the batter (1/2 cup to 1 cup, depending on how much you’d like).
This recipe was the May 2021 pick for our monthly baking challenge! Every month you can join the challenge by baking the recipe and snapping a photo for a chance to win prizes! Learn more about my monthly baking challenges here. Check out everyone’s brownies:
The VERY BEST fudgy brownies I have tasted and made. Always a hit whenever I bring them to share. I did add an extra bit of flour as suggested (I added 1 tablespoon) which indeed cut down on the greasy/oily feel. I also placed it in the center of my oven and did not bake a second batch at the same time – took it out right at 30 minutes and it cooked more from residual heat; cooled it and the consistency turned out perfect. THANK YOU for this wonderufl recipe!
These were the best brownies ever!! I’ve gotten rid of all my other brownie recipes. Perfect chewiness, perfect shine, perfect taste! Next time I may try adding chocolate chips with more cocoa so less sweetness since I read that I shouldn’t reduce the sugar amount.
I doubled the recipe and added 10 minutes total to the baking time. They were perfect!
If I add walnuts, would I have to reduce the amount of chocolate chips?
Hi Felicia! Yay, we’re so happy to hear that you love these brownies! It’s totally up to you how many walnuts you add, but just reduce the chocolate chips by the same amount, so you end up with the same total volume of mix-ins; eg. if you add 1/4 cup walnuts, only add 1/2 cup chocolate chips, so there is still a total of 3/4 cup mix-ins. I hope that helps! Happy baking 🙂
I followed the recipe but had to make substitutions. Brown sugar and powdered sugar, I know, who runs out of sugar. No butter, instead all oil as I was using infused oil to make them cosmic. The chips and pecans, I have HIGH hopes.
Made it last night and chilled it overnight….came out perfect!!! This is now my go to brownie recipe! The perfect chewiness! Followed the recipe exactly. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I used 3/4 cups of sugar, unsweetened cocoa and salted butter and the brownies were prefect. This is now my go to brownie recipe.
Love the Chewy Brownies.
So easy to make and Delicious, will surely help any chocolate lovers feelings. Helped mine in this Hot July heat.
I made this with a splash of espresso in it. So good!
classic brownie never gets old! gonna make this for the upcoming birthday party!
hey! so i have a question
the only type of chocolate that is available for me is milk chocolate and i was worried if adding milk chocolate would sweeten the brownies too much, so do you have any advice on how to reduce the sweetness cause on the internet it say to reduce the amount of sugar you are adding but since you said that reducing the sugar will not give me that shiny top so I’m confused now.. what should i do??
Hi Hani! As you mentioned seeing in Tessa’s notes about this recipe, reducing the sugar will have much more of an impact on these brownies beyond just sweetness; less sugar impacts the shiny top and the overall texture and mositness of these delicious brownies – so we definitely don’t recommend reducing the sugar. If you can’t get a semisweet or dark chocolate anywhere (online, perhaps?), I recommend just trying it as written, using your milk chocoalte. Personally, I don’t think milk chocolate makes these brownies too sweet, but it’s entirely personal preference. Let us know what you think of these brownies once you’ve given them a try! 🙂
This is the first time I made brownies. It was super easy and super sweet. Thank you very much!
Can these brownies be frozen? There are only 2 of us, so we can’t eat them all at one time. They tasted great.
I followed the recipe as written and the flavor and texture was good, but it was just way way too sweet for me. I read all the comments asking about reducing the sugar and the author suggested to avoid reducing the sugar and instead using unsweetened (or higher cacao/darker chocolate) chips, which I will be doing next time for sure and perhaps sprinkling some medium-coarse Celtic salt on top before baking.
Hi Geeh! We definitely think you’ll enjoy these brownies more with the unsweetened/bittersweet chocolate as you noted, so we hope you give them a try with that swap next time. Adding a little salt on top is also a great idea! Let us know how it goes next time 🙂
hi any tips once mybrownies cooled down fully they had sunk quite a lot in the middle, is there anything can do to make that not happen?
Hi Jessica! I’m sorry to hear that your brownies sunk significantly. Were they baked all the way through? Some ovens run cool – do you have an oven thermometer to check that? Check out Tessa’s article about ovens here. Also, did you bake these in a metal pan? Glass pans aren’t recommended for baking brownies – learn more about that here. Lastly, how did you measure your ingredients? Measuring by volume (using cups) can accidentally add too much or too little of an ingredient, which can throw off the chemistry of the recipe – learn more about that here. I hope that helps 🙂
I’m baking for someone who has a pretty serious dairy allergy. I know we shouldn’t substitute ingredients, but if I were to use vegan butter, would I have to modify the recipe to account for that? (For brownies and any other recipe!)
Hi Kimmy! I’m sorry, but as we don’t bake with vegan substitutions, we really can’t say for sure! It may take a little experimenting. Good luck and let us know how it goes!
Baking and I don’t get along but I was surprised how good these brownies turned out.
Recipe was straightforward and easy to follow.
I followed the recipe exactly as printed, the only thing I would change is adding a bit more flour due to my local environment making the recipe alittle more fudgy than I expected.
Will make it again definitely!
The flavour was incredible, but the texture was far too gooey. I couldn’t get a clean toothpick even after 35 minutes in the oven. I wrapped it with foil and let it sit until cooled overnight on the counter. Upon cutting, it was still extremely fudgy. I expected slightly more crumb, even with the minimal flour content. It just felt underdone to me. Would make again for a fudgy request, but not what I was hoping for. I did use a metal pan and scale, so I’m certain it just wasn’t the recipe for me.
Hi – I haven’t made the recipe yet, and I don’t know if yours might have been underdone, but I do know that covering/sealing the warm pan would have allowed the brownies to further steam and hold in moisture that was meant to evaporate. This recipe is rated highly enough that it might warrant another go, but, of course, there are lots of options… Best!
Oh my goodness. This is the best brownie I have ever made. Moist and so chocolaty! I doubled the recipe and let it bake for 5 minutes longer in a glass pan. I used a half of a dark chocolate bar instead of chips. Saving this!! ❤️
if baking in a 9 x 13 pan, how much longer do I bake for
Hi Bonnie! Doubling the recipe for a 9×13 pan will bake for just a few minutes longer than specified in the recipe. Let us know what you think once you’ve given these brownies a try! 🙂
Do you think you could triple the recipe and cook it in a 11×15 metal “Fat Daddio’s cake pan?
Hi Robbye! We haven’t tried that, so I can’t say for sure! We typically recommend doubling this recipe for a 9×13 pan, but feel free to experiment in the larger pan and let us know how it goes 🙂
wonderful recipe… after making it a 2nd time (and reading the directions that time) and not making up my own rules! thank you!
Best chewy brownie I’ve found so far! Made it twice already.
I made this recipe this weekend but with some changes (graham cracker bottom and toasted marshmallow cream and marshmallows on top). I also made them in a pan with 12 cavities, so the recipe made 14 individual brownies. It was my first time making brownies from scratch and they came out delicious, thanks to your recipe.
I didn’t see the comment about doubling the recipe for a 13×9 pan until after I’d doubled the recipe and baked it. (8×8 pan = 64 sqin, 13×9 = 117 sqin). My question is this: When I doubled, I used 5 whole eggs instead of 4 whole eggs and 2 egg whites. What impact would this have on the brownies?
I’m sitting here typing this as I am waiting for the brownies to cool. They look absolutely gorgeous!
(FYI – I am shocked and pleased to see new comments and replies)
Hi Jim! So glad to hear that your brownies look so wonderful – hopefully they taste amazing too! The additional egg whites could cause your brownies to be slightly cakier than they would have been with the additional yolks only, as egg whites add additional moisture without much fat. They should still taste great, though! We hope you enjoy your brownies and please let us know how they compare if you give the recipe a try without the added egg whites. Happy baking!
It would SEEM that my second reply wiped out my first reply…. so I’m creating a THIRD reply that incorporates everything…
Welp…. to be honest, I must have done something wrong. As I said, the original recipe called for 2 whole eggs and 1 egg white. I doubled this for a 13×9 pan standard thickness aluminum pan. But instead of 4 whole and 2 whites, I used 5 whole eggs. well….
I discovered (too late) that my oven (which is an “analog” dial with lines for 300, 325, and 350) was about 20 degrees too cool when set at 325. I did the “toothpick” test in the center after half an hour, but it came up “batter.” I tried again at 45 min, same thing…. and same thing after 55 min.
Worrying about baking too long, I took it out. It still looked great, but it’s definitely not cakey. Not sure what I did wrong.
Hi Jim! I’m sorry to hear that your brownies didn’t turn out as they should, but I’m glad they weren’t cakey! The original recipe calls for 2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk, so ideally, a doubled recipe will use 4 whole eggs plus 2 yolks. The difference in eggs will account for some alteration in texture, as that will mean a difference in fat, protein and moisture. Unfortunately, the difference in oven temperature will also mean a longer bake time and can mean the edges dry out before the center has a chance to bake through, and will take longer to bake all the way through. It sounds like something else may have gone wrong if your brownies took almost an hour to bake through – perhaps another ingredient was accidentally mis-measured? In any case, I hope you give these brownies another try sometime! Happy baking 🙂
What I was hoping for is a chewy cake texture (along the lines of fresh chocolate chip cookies). The center was closer to a chewy fudge texture (and crunchy on the edges due to the extended bake time LOL). I wouldn’t have thought substituting an egg yolk for an egg white would make THIS much difference, but I’m by no means an expert.
I will be making these again, being super careful about measurements. Next time, I’ll set the over to 375 in order to get it close to 350, checking after 30 min
Sounds great, Jim! We can’t wait to hear how it turns out next time 🙂
This is a really good recipe! Usually, my homemade brownies or even the box recipes turn out mushy in the center and hard along the edges of the pan. I didn’t have chocolate chips and these still turned out chocolatey and chewy. My grandson loved them!
Such a great recipe to elevate a brownie. The dutch processed cocoa makes a difference is scent and flavor. The batter smells richer! I will say I needed to double the recipe for a 9×13 pan and needed to bake them way longer than 30 minutes. Is there anyone else that had this issue? I realize it could be an oven issue or maybe it was due to using a disposable aluminum pan. Either way they were delicious!
Hi Mary! Both things you mentioned could account for your longer bake time – disposable pans won’t conduct heat as well as a regular light-colored aluminum pan (our recommendation for brownie baking), and ovens often run a little warmer or cooler than they’re telling you. We recommend investing in an oven thermometer for this reason – they’re inexpensive and ensure you’re baking at the right temperature. Personally, my gas oven runs about 20°F cooler than it says, and takes at least 10 minutes longer than the oven’s beep to actually preheat! Read more about this in Tessa’s article here. I’m glad you still enjoyed these brownies! Happy baking 🙂
Have you ever tried baking these in a brownie pan? (The pans with 12 squares, so that every piece is a corner piece)
What would you recommend for timing in a smaller pan like that? I typically do 18 minutes and my box mix brownies always come out perfectly moist and fudgy – would that do for this recipe?
Hi Genevieve! We haven’t used that type of pan ourselves, so I can’t say for sure how long you’ll need to bake for. If the pan is a dark metal, I would recommend reducing your oven temperature a bit (25°F) – but keep the temperature the same as written if your pan is a light-colored metal like Tessa recommends. Let us know how it goes 🙂
Husband is a HARD critic of brownies. Loves lehi roller mills, barely likes Ghirardelli’s, and loves Betty Crocker. I love homemade and have tried countless homemade recipes and this is the first one that he said he liked. Chewy really great chocolate flavor and as my husband said doesn’t taste too bittersweet. It’s a good mix. And I bonus for it being so so simple to make. Thank you so much. This is our new staple recipe!
i don’t have an 8×8 pan but do have a metal 9×13
can i double the recipe and use the 9×13?
Hi Kim! Yes! As noted in the recipe notes (right below the recipe itself), “To double this recipe, use a 9×13 pan and bake for the same amount of time.” Enjoy!
I’ve made hundreds of brownies in my life and this ranks up there at the top! I ran out of dark chocolate chips but had some white chocolate chips and added some milk chocolate baking bar broken into chunks. Taking them to a BBQ so we’ll see what the reviews are like.
Quick question, I only have glass and silicone pans, which would you recommend between the two. I also have some foil throw away pans, but no metal sheet pans.
Hi Diane! Unfortunately, none of those pans are ideal for brownie baking. Learn more about this in the pink tip box above the recipe. I would recommend checking out this article (also linked in the pink tip box) for how to adjust your temperature and bake times if you only have glass, as the oven adjustments will be your best bet. Good luck and happy baking!
Thank you for answering, Kiersten. I ended up using the foil throw away pans and thankfully they turned out pretty good. Not as pretty as yours, but not bad. The recipients were happy so all was good. I will invest in another metal pan, if only to make brownies. I stopped buying them because the non-stick coating would start to peel and/or food would get stuck in the crevices. I don’t always want to use parchment paper, hence the food in crevices. Nonetheless, brownies deserve the best and if metal is best, then metal they will have!
So glad to hear that you enjoyed the brownies, Diane! 🙂 Happy baking!
I love the texture but they are a little bitter. How much should I increase the sugar by?
Hi Kaitlyn Marie! I wouldn’t recommend increasing the sugar as this will alter the structure and texture of the brownies – learn more about that here. If the brownies aren’t quite sweet enough for you, here are a couple suggestions: try a different cocoa powder, as different cocoa powders contain different levels of fat and also contribute different flavors to baking, and also try using a milk chocolate chip or a different sweeter chocolate bar, chopped, in place of the chocolate chips. These modifications will give you a sweeter outcome without changing the structure of the brownies themselves. I hope that helps! 🙂
I’ve made many brownie recipes and adapted/combined many versions of. This recipe was amazing as is… I love the combination of butter for taste and oil for moistness. The addition of cake flour and yolks for extra richness and fudginess. It was incredible. The second time I made it, I substituted a third of the granulated sugar for brown sugar and liked it even more…
Would they still turn out if I halved the sugar?
Hi Christine! No, sugar is vital to the moisture and structure of these brownies, and important beyond just sweetening. Learn more about that here! If you’re worried about the brownies being too sweet, feel free to use a bittersweet or unsweetened chocolate chip or chopped chocolate bar, instead of the chocolate chips in the recipe. This will help lower the overall sweetness, without compromising the structure, moistness and chewiness of the brownies. Let us know what you think once you’ve given these brownies a try 🙂
So freaking good, they really satisfied my craving!
HOT DAMN THESE ARE GOOD!
Like soooooo soooo sooo good! These are definitely the best brownies ever! Only one thing, in the instructions it says let cool completely……….. Now that is funny!! LOL
My go-to recipe. I love love LOVE these brownies!! So easy to make and deliciously chewy!
I just made these brownies over the weekend and they were amazing. I did’t have vegetable oil so I used canola and they were still very good. However, by mistake, I used baking powder instead of baking soda but all in all, a great brownie. My wife said it was the best she ever had. 🙂
I have these baking right now, and cannot wait until they come out of the oven and cool! The recipe was very easy to follow, and the article was helpful for informing why certain ingredients and techniques are used.
I’ve made this a dozen times. It fulfills that box-brownie perfection. Everybody loves them. Don’t leave out the chocolate chips!
I hadn’t made brownies often and was very insecure about the batter; it was incredibly thick and pasty. I thought it would bake dry and and wouldn’t rise; however, it turned out to be the perfect consistency – a bit of a crust, a papery top, and a fudgy middle. – and rose to a good brownie height. I baked it in a round cake tin as I didn’t have anything square and metal that was the right size. With ice cream or whipped cream it was perfect; without, it was almost a bit bitter from the cocoa, so my sweet tooth would maybe adjust that slightly next time. Overall, this was great, I was just really taken aback by the texture of the batter. I love all the helpful pictures in this recipe. It might be nice to include one of the batter before baking, so people can know what to expect…I almost just threw it away!
Best brownie I have ever made. Great
the best from scratch brownies I’ve ever made!
Just made these! I can’t stop eating them. I added some espresso powder about 1/2 tsp idk if that did anything to them.
HI,
I discovered the recipe on tiktok and i think it’s safe to say it’s a hit for the right reasons. I made this recipe in norway with nordic/european ingredients which is maybe why i felt the cacao was a lot in my case and made the brownies taste dark chocolaty. But could you help me in understanding why i did not get the top layer crispy. Mine had a great texture, very dark color and taste, but that top did not look like how you have it in the pictures. Please help because i’m definitely going for another round hehe.
Thank you and hugs from norway
Hi Gunika! We’re so happy to hear that you enjoyed these brownies so much! Take a look at Tessa’s article here, all about how to achieve that thin, shiny crust on the top of brownies! I hope that helps! Happy baking 🙂
really love this kind of chewy brownies! thank you for the recipe.
can you also please make this kind of chewy brownies but in matcha flavor?
Hi Izza! So glad to hear that you enjoyed these brownies! Tessa doesn’t currently have a matcha brownie recipe, but I’ll be sure to pass along your suggestion. Thanks again and happy baking 🙂
my favorite brownie recipe 🙂 i thought i just didnt like brownies but clearly i was stuck in an endless cycle of cakey brownie recipes. cant go wrong with these and the glass-like crust that i get on the top is so inviting and it got me so many compliments! 🙂
Yay!! So happy to hear you found your preferred texture brownie! These are definitely a favorite of ours too 🙂
Hello! Can you use canola oil if that’s all you have?
Hi Erika! Yes, any flavorless oil should work just fine 🙂
Too gooey. I followed the recipe to a tee and it was just too gooey for me. I cooked the brownies longer and it still wasnt the consistency I would have liked.
Hi Valencia! I’m sorry to hear these brownies didn’t turn out as they should. Did you bake these brownies in a light-colored metal pan? We recommend this pan, but something similar will work too! Using a glass or ceramic pan will change the baking process, as these types of pans conduct heat differently and less evenly – which could be the reason your brownies had an overly-gooey texture. Your oven also could be running too hot or too cold. Ovens are almost always lying to us about their real temperature, and when your temperature is off, it can give you the illusion that the brownies are baked through when they’re not. We recommend using an oven thermometer, to ensure accuracy, and make sure your baked goods are baking correctly! Tessa talks about the importance of oven temperature accuracy and using an oven thermometer, in this article here! Hopefully something here helped! Feel free to reach back out to us with any further questions – we are always happy to help!! 🙂
is it okay if I don’t choose chocolate chip cookies in this recipe?
Hi Arwa! You can skip the chocolate chips, but it will make the brownies thinner, less chewy and the shiny crust may not develop. Check out the pink tip box above the recipe for the reasons this happens! Let us know what you think after you give these brownies a try 🙂
I also don’t want chocolate chips. But I do want the brownie you describe! Can I add a little more butter as coco butter or whatever fat is in the chips is solid? I also want to say that I LOVE A BLOGGER WHO DOES THEIR OWN WORK!!!!! Your experiment articles are so informative. Very glad I found you! Thanks for doing what you do.
Hi Lisa! So glad you enjoy Tessa’s recipes, research and experiments! I wouldn’t recommend adding additional butter or cocoa solids to a recipe unless you’re up for some experimentation. This recipe was crafted very carefully and specifically to yield the brownies we describe – perfectly chewy and delicious. We always recommend making the recipe as written once, just to get a baseline for how they should turn out. You might be surprised and enjoy the brownies even with the chocolate chips! You can then experiment as you like, to see the differences and adjust accordingly until you reach your version of perfection! I hope this helps. Happy baking 🙂
These brownies were super easy and quick to make, and they were wonderful; I will absolutely make them again. I enjoy and appreciate that Tessa shares tips, and backs them up with photos (e.g. glass pan vs. metal pan) to illustrate the point. I love this website and have recommended it to others.
these are really good. I tried 3 other recipes and these are the best.
thanks
I haven’t made them yet but will definitely be trying it later this week. I am encouraged by Tessa’s enthusiasm and I love reading her comments, all the tips she shares, and the science behind all of it. Thank you for being so generous with your time, your talent, and your knowledge.
We can’t wait to hear what you think of these brownies, Angie! 🙂
These make huge wonderful chewy brownies. I loved them. prefect amount of crispy on outside and moist in middle.
I’ve used this recipe for years. My son in law and grandkids LOVE it. Thank you so much. I’ve tweaked it very little and they’re still great. I will now buy a metal pan and see if it truly makes a difference in the height. We live in Texas and humidity plays a huge roll in ALL my baking (ugh).
so we started making them but they are a sort of cakepops texture is that normal
Hi there! I’m sorry, but I’m not sure exactly what you mean by ‘cake pops’ texture – but these brownies should be a little fudgy and perfectly chewy. How did you measure your ingredients? By volume (using cups), or by weight (using a digital kitchen scale)? When measuring by volume, it’s so easy to mis-measure ingredients (particularly flour) and throw off the entire chemistry of a recipe, resulting in a totally different texture. Check out Tessa’s article here, where she talks about how to best measure ingredients to ensure accuracy every time. Be sure to check out all the tips and information Tessa has packed into the pink tip box (above the recipe) for more details. Happy baking 🙂
These were so good, but mine didn’t come out very chewy. I followed the recipe to the letter and even used a scale to weigh all ingredients, and the top was shiny and crackly but the brownies themselves were more cakey than chewy.
Hi Melissa! I’m sorry to hear that these brownies didn’t turn out as they should. Did you bake these in a light-colored metal pan? Glass pans can drastically change the texture of brownies. Did you use large eggs (56 grams in shell)? Different sized eggs can also impact the outcome of your baking greatly. What type of cocoa powder did you use? Some brands contain lower percentages of fat, and the higher the fat content, the better the texture and flavor. I recommend reading through all the tips and info Tessa has in the pink tip box above the recipe, for more info. I hope you give these brownies another try sometime – they really are so good! Happy baking 🙂
Do you let the melted butter/sugar mixture cool at all before adding the eggs? I’m a little worried about getting cooked egg pieces! Also, just curious, why do you add the sugar before microwaving? Thanks!
Hi Emily! You don’t need to wait for your butter/sugar to cool because we’re using cold eggs, so that will bring the temperature down quickly – but you can wait a few minutes before adding the eggs if you’re worried. You want to heat the butter and sugar together because this separates the butter’s water from its fat, and the water then goes on to dissolve the sugar slightly. When eggs are then added, the sugar further dissolves in the moisture that exists in the egg whites. Finally, during baking, this liquid sugar makes its way to the top crust, forming a beautifully crackly, shiny crust. I hope this helps! Happy baking!
Do you have a duck egg ratio?
Hi Rae! Typically, large chicken eggs in the US weigh about 56 grams in shell, or 50 grams out of shell (about 18.6 grams for the yolk) so you will need to weigh your duck eggs to ensure you have the correct weight of eggs. I hope this helps! Happy baking 🙂
I consider myself a brownie connoisseur. I have been baking them for the past 40 some years, and have 30+ different brownie recipes in my permanent collection. I tried these after reading Tessa’s e mail. Only 1 or 2 recipes in my permanent file call for oil rather than butter, and not one has as great a ratio of cocoa to total batter. Tessa does a great job of explaining the science behind each of her little tweaks. My final assessment is that this is as good as a brownie gets. You can trick brownies up with cream cheese, peanut butter, avocado, etc etc. For basic brownies, this recipe cannot be beat.
So glad these brownies were a hit for you, Mike! 🙂
These were okay taste wise, a bit too sweet for my liking. I was disappointed in the amount of chewiness, it wasn’t nearly as much as I was wanting, and more cakey. It had the crinkle top but I was really looking for a dense, very chewy brownie. So I was disappointed:(.
Hi Kiran! I’m sorry to hear that these brownies didn’t turn out as they should. They shouldn’t be cakey at all, and be perfectly chewy. It sounds like you may have accidentally added too much flour. How do you measure your ingredients? By volume (using cups), or by weight (using a digital kitchen scale)? When measuring by volume, it’s so easy to mis-measure ingredients (particularly flour) and throw off the entire chemistry of a recipe. Check out Tessa’s article here, where she talks about how to best measure ingredients to ensure accuracy every time. Were the brownies also baked in a metal pan? Using glass can be detrimental to the texture of the brownies, as Tessa explains in the pink tip box above the recipe, and in greater detail in this article here. As for the sweetness, I recommend using a darker or even bittersweet chocolate chip next time, to help offset the sweetness further. I hope this helps, and I hope you give these brownies another try – they really are amazing! Happy baking 🙂
I made these today with a little bit of change. I used 2 tsp of vanilla bean paste and instant espresso. I also added about 1/2 cup of milk, and increased the cocoa powder to 1 cup. These are great cake style brownies, and they will be my go to brownies from now on.