Let’s rewind to Valentine’s Day. I’m single. I’m not feeling well. My mom is in town and our plan is to eat dinner and watch movies. As the sun goes down, I decide that I need a brownie—like I really need a brownie, for aforementioned reasons—and proceed to pull every baking book off of my shelves in my search for my ideal brownie recipe.
I wanted rich, dark, chewy, legit café-like brownies with crackly tops. I didn’t want gooey, fall-apart, stick-to-your-front-teeth brownies. I also didn’t want health-ified brownies or brownies swirled with cheesecake. I wanted one perfect brownie. Sometimes a girl just needs a brownie, you know?
I finally found a promising recipe in my copy of Alice Medrich’s Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts. It was a thinner brownie than I wanted, but it looked dark and delicious and had the most magnificent shiny, crackly top. The recipe contains a fair amount of butter, as legit brownies should, and the butter is browned before the addition of sugar and cocoa powder. If you’re going to put a lot of butter in something, you might as well brown it for extra flavor.
Alice’s recipe also called for a lower-than-usual baking temperature (325 degrees) and specified that the brownies be baked in the lower third of the oven. All of the chocolate flavor came from cocoa powder, too. Interesting.
Alice’s brownies made from scratch turned out beautifully. Crackly top. Dense, fudge-like interior. Rich, complex flavor. They weren’t quite matching my idea of the quintessential brownie, though. I wanted a taller brownie, one that is a little more like a brownie than fudge, with some chopped dark chocolate thrown in for textural interest. Thus began my obsessive quest for the quintessential brownie recipe.
Five batches of brownies and a bunch of brownie research later, I think I’ve found it. I learned a lot along the way. I learned that in order to achieve the shiny, crackly top, you have to stir the sugar into hot butter so it melts. Alice’s low baking temperature and rack positioning also seem to improve texture, but I couldn’t tell you why.
My final recipe calls for more flour and a little baking powder to help the brownies rise. I also used whole wheat flour, as always, but there’s so much chocolate in the brownies that I promise no one will be able to tell. I don’t make statements like this very often, but this really is the best brownies recipe I’ve ever encountered. (I’ve provided footnotes in my recipe so you can adjust the recipe to produce your ideal brownie.)
Ever since I started making simple baked goods from scratch, I’ve wondered how boxed mixes ever became mainstream. Sure, you don’t have to measure out flour and baking powder, but you still have to add liquid and crack the eggs. That hardly saves much time, and comes with the additional cost of preservatives and ingredients that should never be in your food. (Hydrogenated oil is the devil.)
Michael Pollan, my favorite food writer, came to Kansas City last summer to talk about his latest book, Cooked. He finally solved the boxed mix mystery for me.
Pollan explained that the first boxed mixes contained powdered eggs, which removed the step of cracking eggs into the bowl. I mean, why go to the trouble of cracking eggs into a bowl if you don’t have to, right? Wrong. American women initially wanted nothing to do with the boxed mixes. They felt like they were cheating when they used them. Once the manufacturers took out the powdered eggs so we could crack eggs over the bowl, we felt like we owned the final result. The baked good was then homemade enough to present to our loved ones.
If you have never made brownies from scratch, give these a try and I promise you’ll never reach for a box again. If you’re pinched for time, throw in chocolate chips instead of chopping the chocolate by hand. Ta da! Homemade brownies made from scratch and baked with love.
PrintThe Very Best Brownies.
- Author: Cookie and Kate
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 16 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Rich, dark, chewy and fudgy brownies made from scratch. These brownies are flavored with cocoa powder and brown butter and feature a beautifully swirled, flaky top. I don’t dare make claims like this very often, but this is the very best brownie recipe!
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch slices
- 1 ¼ cups cane sugar
- ¾ cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon espresso powder or very finely ground coffee (optional)
- 2 cold large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup white whole wheat flour or flour of choice
- 2 ounces dark or semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped, or ⅓ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit with a rack in the lower third of the oven. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with two criss-crossed pieces of parchment paper, making sure that the paper is long enough to go up the sides a couple of inches. Grease the parchment paper.
- Brown the butter: Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter, while whisking constantly, until it’s a pale golden brown and the particles suspended in it are reddish brown. This usually takes me about 10 minutes.
- Remove the pan from heat and stir in the sugar. Then add the cocoa powder, sea salt, baking powder and espresso powder. Stir until the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. Let the mixture cool for 5 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating vigorously with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula after each one. When the mixture looks thick, shiny and well blended, add the vanilla extract and the flour. Stir until you no longer see streaks of flour. Then beat vigorously (put those arm muscles to work!) for 50 strokes with the wooden spoon or spatula.
- At this point, the mixture should be no more than slightly warm (if not, let it cool for a few more minutes). Fold in the chocolate chunks or chips.
- Spread the batter in the lined pan, then use a knife to make light swirls in the top of the batter. Bake on the lower rack for about 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Cool the brownies in the pan on a baking rack.
- Once the brownies are completely cool, lift the edges of the parchment paper and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Use a sharp chef’s knife to cut the brownies into 16 or 25 squares.
Notes
- Adapted from Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts and King Arthur Flour.
- These brownies freeze well. Store them in a freezer-safe bag and let them defrost at room temperature.
- For more dense and fudge-like brownies, cook the brownies a minute or two less.
- For more fluffy and cake-like brownies, add another egg.
- For less rich brownies, skip the chopped chocolate.
- If you like nuts in your brownies, fold in 1 cup walnut or pecan pieces along with the chopped chocolate.
- I haven’t tried, but I think an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend could be substituted for the whole wheat flour with good results. (Update! Here’s proof that Cup4Cup flour works great in this recipe.)
▸ Nutrition Information
P.s. If you really want health-ified, naturally sweetened brownies, I have some dark chocolate zucchini brownies over here. Note that they don’t have the crackly top that these brownies do and that the zucchini hardly adds much nutrition because it’s almost entirely water. If I made them again, I would try skipping the zucchini altogether, upping the cocoa powder to 2/3 cup and decreasing the baking powder to 1 teaspoon for richer and less cakey results. 5/2/14: sorry folks, Terri says the brownies don’t turn out well when made this way!
Maria
I mistakenly used only 6 tbsp of butter but it still turned out fantastic!!! My family went crazy for these and giving the rest to my friend for her birthday, if they last that long that is. This is a keeper!!!
Matthew
I love your health conscious recipe for Banana Bread, thanks, I love it.
This recipe for Brownies uses 10 tbsp. butter. Unfortunately I was looking for something MORE healthful than my current recipe which uses 2.5 tbsp. butter and 2.5 tbsp. sunflower oil and are delicious.
(I also use 2.5 tbsp. honey and 1/2 cup brown sugar.)
The original recipe for the brownies came from a package of Nestle Tollhouse Morsels, from which I added my modifications. Nestle’s is a much simpler but all too delicious recipe! Awesome! I love simplicity, goodness and above all healthful, thanks again!
Erin
Made these tonight and they were fantastic!! I had never made brownies from scratch before and now I’ll never use a mix again. Thank you!!!
Ty
Hey! Thanks for the recipe! I’ve never actually had a brownie craving till today (?!) and searched up the web for a recipe. Not really a sweet tooth but this recipe was perfect! Love the taste and all~ but yeah it was a little crumbly, but I guess t might have been because the sides were not leveled out haha. Thanks again! (:
irem
I really wanted to enjoy making these brownies but appearently adding 10 tablespoons of butter made it not. they turned out SUPER buttery so I reccomend everyone to eliminate the amount of butter. good luck. :/
Nichole
Thank you for this delicious recipe, Kate. I made these tonight with my daughters. I can see how the recipe can yield some finicky results due to the high butter content but I’m really glad I didn’t let that deter me. At first I thought I had failed which wasn’t a surprise because I am totally not a baker. But alas, they just needed some extra time in my gas oven, like 40 min total. And then they were still pretty gooey, but once they cooled completely they took on a sticky, almost fudgey consistency with a crackly top that my husband just loved.
I accidentally used salted butter which I thought was going to be a total bust but because the butter was browned it ended up giving them a rich caramel flavor that I wasn’t expecting. Had a I added walnuts or pecans they may have been the best chocolate anything I’ve ever made! We ate them over a small scoop of vanilla bean frozen yogurt sprinkled with toasted coconut shavings. Superb.
Nina
I was nervous making these brownies, especially since a lot of people seemed to have problems. However, mine turned out absolutely delicious. I drizzled dark chocolate over the top of mine and my family told me they were the best brownies they ever had!
Erin
The very best brownies ever. They did need a little longer in the oven than stated, but the result was perfect. Be sure you obey the instruction to let them cool before removing or cutting. When they are hot they fall apart but when they are cool they cut very nicely.
Ravi
My 7-year old daughter was participating in a Brownie Bake-off competition at her school. Since I had never made brownies at home before, I searched & found your recipe as one that I could try – not too complicated. We decided to bake two batches, one as a trial & the second one for the actual bake-off.
Batch 1: We added 1/2 cup more of sugar to your recipe, since the batter tasted a bit bitter. Baked for @ 45 minutes. The end result was a brownie which had a consistent texture throughout & was easy to cut into slices once cooled. We got one of our Indian friends to taste it & she said that adding of ghee (browning the butter)may not go well with the taste-buds of Kiwis.
Batch 2: We added 1/2 cup more sugar (1 cup more than your recipe) – this was an oversight since we forgot how much extra we added for the first batch. We decided to only melt the butter & not brown it. Had to bake for @ 55 minutes. Once cooled, we found that the brownie top was much more crunchier but the insides were a bit gooey. This meant that cutting wasn’t so easy especially since this batch was for the bake-off!! So we cut 2 big pieces & dusted it with icing sugar in a heart design. The brownies were still good enough to win my daughter the first prize in her age range.
In future, I will stick to the recipe I made for batch 1.
Amy
I have made this recipe 3 times and Everyone loves them. My only issue is lining the pan, I use a cooking spray instead. Thanks for the 3lbs on my hips
Emily
Made these last night and they are absolutely my new go-to brownie recipe! I love the richness and chewiness of these brownies! SO SO SO GOOD OMG. My husband is a happy man :) Thank you for this fabulous recipe!
Christina
I so wanted to love these but I had a big oil separation problem as some of the other reviewers. My sugar didn’t melt into the butter, it became more of a paste, and the batter was more clay like than batter. I baked them off anyway since I had nothing to lose; They had almost no rise (maybe a cm thick) and had an oil sheen on top rather than any crunch. They’ll work as the bottom of an ice cream sundae but its too oily to eat alone. I’ve done brownies from scratch plenty of other times before and this is the first time I’ve had this issue, I think it’s something to do with browning the butter as this is the first brownie recipe I’ve tried that with.
Kate
Hey there!
Just made these and holy moly! I can’t picture my life without these now. They taste of perfection and the butter and coffee really add depth. My only issue is that (and maybe I should have cooked them longer?) they didn’t hold together well. They weren’t crumbly, they just never stuck together. Very gooey like I like them but maybe too gooey? Idk. But imma gonna try this again. For now, I’ll put them in a bowl and eat them with a fork ;)
Emily
I made these and they’ve just cooled .It is now half pass 1am and I wished I had made them earlier. Can’t wait to taste them tomorrow as they look promising. My hubby is going to be one happy man tomorrow being a chocolate lover!
Emily
Just tried it – still moist after a night of being in the fridge. However, I find the brownies a tad salty? I might try reducing the salt next time to 1/4 tsp.
Fila279
I’ve made the brownie and the banana bread and they definitely the best I’ve made so far, my children loves them so much I have to make another one the next day. Thank you!!!
Siena
I just made these and I absolutely loved them! I had been looking for a good brownie recipe and this is by far the best. I do recommend using baking soda instead of powder, or at least that is what worked best for me(:
Janine
I recently made these brownies and they turned out perfectly.. I shared them with friends and family, and we all felt they were the best brownies any of us had ever had… Simply amazing, simply delicious, simply made. Terrific recipe!! Thanks for sharing.
Laura
These brownies are the best I’ve ever made. I used dark chocolate cocoa powder, and I added about a 1 1/2 T water as some folks commented. They were perfect. Shiny, crackly top, and ooey gooey middle. THE BEST. Thank you!
sut
Your brownie looked SO moist, cakey and awesome. I have a question though, can I use an electric beater instead of using hand to stir the batter? I hope you can help me with this as I had never ever got a shiny top like yours. Thank you.
Erika
My brownies didn’t turn out as pretty as yours with the shiny crusty top, but they were really good. I wonder if it was my sugar. I had raw sugar.
Erin@WellPlated
So these brownies and I officially cannot be alone in the house together—I am powerless to keep myself away from the pan! I’ve long been a fan of cocoa brownies, but the chocolate chunks and flavor balance put this recipe over-the-top.. They tasted even better left over, though I can’t tell you how good they’d be by day four, because ours were long gone by then (and I live in a household of two). Thanks for a dynamite recipe!
danelle
This is the best brownie recipe I’ve ever tried. I will keep this and probably use it till the end of time. I used crushed roasted peanuts to add texture and aroma. AMAZING! Thank you very much for the recipe. Everyone loves it!
Richard
Tried it tonight and came out perfectly. Thanks so much from NZ
Barbara
Just tried these and I had to pull myself away from having more than 1. I baked them in an individual brownie pan, like a muffin pan but for brownies square, I had to watch the time a little more closely. I love the caramel flavour the burnt butter gives offset by the coffe notes. This will now be my go to for brownies. Note I used palm sugar instead of raw sugar because that’s what I had.
Anne
I made these today, and they were crumbly and consistency was different. I wonder if using my kitchen aid would mix them better. Have you tried that?
Gayathri
Hi Kate,
I tried this for the first time ever. First of all it was perfect and delicious !!! Thank you so much for this recipe !
I always use high quality (mostly organic too) ingredients. I didnt have any of the problems the others here have mentioned (I read the ENTIRE comments section !). In fact I had mistakenly used 150 grams of butter because I thought 1 TBSP was about 15 grams not 14. Anyway, it wasnt oily or anything. The only mistake I made though was that I didnt have the exact size pan. I had this big pie dish and I just plonked it on that, so I didnt get those perfect squares. But hey, it was good for a first time trial !
Mine did take about 8-10 mins more than the said time, as the toothpick was still coming out wet. But even though it was wobbly while taking out, it set perfectly once cooled. The trick is to WAIT until it cooled completely. There was a wonderful crust, and fudgey chocolate brownie on the inside !
I have one doubt though, the all-muscle-power-vigorous-beating made the batter quite difficult to handle – as in it was a little rubbery (I’m sorry I cant find a better word), i think the gluten gets formed – thats the reason it gets that way. Is this how the batter should be ? While the end product was perfect, so I guess I did it right, I’d like to know the final batter consistency because the only difficult part was spreading it on the pan, especially since its lined with paper, it keeps slipping.
Anyway, thanks again !
Regards,
Gayathri
Rinda
Hi Kate, I have tried this recipe for 4 times and yesss this is the best brownie recipe I baked. My kids love it so much. Its fudgy but not too much and not too cakey with the right sweetness. I shared it with my friends, they give it 2 thumbs up….I am so happy to find this recipe with lots of tips. i followed all your instructions except I used hand mixer when come to vigorously beat the batter :), tried using my muscle the first time then used hand mixer after that, result turn out smoother surface. Thank you for sharing this recipe…
Mariam Hassan
Hi i doubled the recipe the first time i made them and they turned out YUM!! as gooey fudgy and rich as described! Loved the recipe :)
Charlotte
Did you use a 9×13 pan and still use the parchment paper?
Aty
I just made these brownies and after 25 mins they were still raw in the middle, I put back in for an additional 10 mins and still raw. I googled some other brownie recipes and it sounds like baking at 350 for 25 mins may do the trick.
DanielleB
These brownies are AMAZING – wondering if the recipe would work in a mini muffin tray to create “two bite” brownies?
Kate
Thanks, Danielle! Glad they turned out well for you. I’m not sure, but it’s worth a shot!
Alyssa
I had no intention on baking today but was scrolling through your recipes and this caught my eye. Now I’m sitting here eating brownies in a very happy place. These are delicious. Thanks!!!
Cozs Kitchen
Hi Kate, These looked so good, I had to try!. Unfortunately I mistakenly doubled the butter (1 tbs of butter=14g, not 30g! Whoops..) so I ended up with brownie fudge, which still tasted good!. Will let you know when I have another go with the right amount of butter. I also used a grainy sugar, which didnt melt into the butter, so I will use a finer sugar next time as well.
Kate
Brownie fudge sounds tasty to me! I’m glad you figured it out for next time.
Kate
I was a bit worried about these because of the reviews that said the recipe was finicky but they turned out fantastic! Truly one of the best brownies I’ve ever had, definitely the best ones I’ve ever made myself. My family was raving about them and I know I’ll be getting requests to make them again in the future.
Kate
Thank you, Kate! I’m really happy to hear it!
Charlotte
I made this recipe after trying several different recipes. They required a longer baking time but I suppose ovens vary. The look was great and they hold together. Some of the other recipes I tried fell apart. Has anyone tried to double the recipe to fill a 9×13 pan? I loved these brownies, they had the look I was trying to achieve. They tasted rich and fudgy.
Andreea
I tried the receip, I don’t know what I did wrong but was a total failure :(
Andreea
* Recipe , sorry !
Kate
I’m sorry to hear that! Baking can be tricky.
Arielle
This really is the best recipe! I no longer have to search for another recipe! I think I will try adding some peppermint extract instead of mint next time too!!!
Liz A
Just made these brownies and disappointed by the texture. It tastes good though! I feel like the sugar didn’t melt completely and I should have used a mixer since I didn’t mix it 50 times. I also didn’t put it on the lower rack. If you make this recipe, you need to follow the directions exactly. I won’t be making this again; too buttery and seems like a finicky recipe :( I had hoped this was a keeper.
Eli
This is my new favorite brownie recipe! I’ve made them several times and never had a problem with texture. I think the browned butter is the key – lends to amazing flavor! Also, my husband is Gluten Free and I use Bloomfield Farms GF flour – no once can tell the difference. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this recipe! Thanks for all your research! :)
Heather
Hi Kate, I wanted to let you know these brownies are amazing and came out picture perfect! I read almost all the comments before attempting this recipe. I was a bit worried at first but since you made it seven or more times, I knew if I followed closely it would turn out. I bake by weight and I’ll provide what I used so it may be helpful to others.
140 g unsalted butter (Keller’s)
240 g cane sugar (Aldi)
60 g unsweetened cocoa (Hershey’s)
80 g white whole wheat flour (KAF)
2 ounces Ghiradelli 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips
I use an oven thermometer so I know that my oven runs 10 degrees hot. I adjust and preheat well in advance. I think many would be surprised of the actual oven temp when the oven beeps that it’s ready – it’s most likely not! It’s worth the investment!
I browned the butter and WHISKED in the sugar. This is different from your instruction. I whisked in the cocoa, salt and baking powder. I let it cool for 5 minutes. I whisked the mixture again. Then I whisked in the eggs, one at a time. After the first egg I knew what ppl meant about the batter sorta sliding around. I stirred in the vanilla and flour with a wooden spoon as directed. I stirred in the chips, spread in prepared pan and made some swirls with an offset spatula. Baked for 25 minutes turning pan at the half way point.
They are beautiful and delicious! Thanks for all the research! Heather
Trixie
Thanks for the gram measurements! I’m in the US but love the consistency of weighing my ingredients.
Morsal
Oh my God, I made these brownies and I am sad to say I will never make them again. I ingested way too many calories and I’m sure I gained about 10 pounds! They were sooo amazingly good and thick and chocolatey! I actually didn’t mix them as much as you said, just until incorporated because I am super impatient. Also I just melted the butter I didn’t brown it. I didn’t get a super crackly top but they were delicious so I don’t even care. Oh yum, thanks!
Kate
Well, I’m glad they turned out great! ;)
Nidhi
What temperature are we supposed to bake it on? It is not mentioned in the recipe.
Kate
325 degrees Fahrenheit, see step one. :)
Mike
Ried the recipe last night and the browmies were great but did not seem quite sweet enough? I think I may try a little more sugar next time. Has anyone tried this?
Kate
Hey Mike, a little more sugar should work. Some cocoa powders are stronger than others, too.
Valerie
Made these last night on a whim and they were awesome. A little fudgy on the inside and flaky on the top. Next time I will try a little less flour. I used brown rice flour and it substituted just fine 1 to 1, but it has a slightly grittier texture than wheat flour so a little less will give it a better mouth feel. Coconut sugar was nice in this too, and slightly healthier. Again a 1-1 sub. I added chocolate and white chocolate chips, yum! Baking time was spot on. I think I added more baking powder than it says but that worked out. I’ll be making these again!
Kate
Thank you, Valerie! Your brownies sound delicious!
Kat
Hi, Kate! Can I use maple syrup, honey, or molasses instead of sugar in this recipe?
Kate
Hey Kat, this recipe is a little finicky as written, so I would be hesitant to change the proportions of liquids to dry ingredients.
Allison
These brownies require a fair amount of elbow grease, and the batter is super thick so I did struggle getting it into the pan and spreading it out. That being said, they taste amazing- really chocolately, the browned butter gives them a great subtle nutty flavor, and the espresso powder kicks up the chocolate factor. I’ll definitely make them again.
Kate
Thank you, Allison! I’m so glad you enjoyed them.
Amber
Hi! Thank you so much for this recipe! I’ve made it in the past but never browned the butter, they still always came out amazingly, even when I would double the recipe. This time I browned the butter and wow the taste is so much more complex. I baked for the same exact time and they looked just like yours. I have no problems at all and they are so so delicious
Kate
Thank you, Amber! That’s awesome feedback.
Mary H
Is it ok to use my trusty Kitchen-Aid mixer to vigorously do the mixing for me? I’m curious as to why you’re hand-mixing and if there’s magic in doing so.
Kate
You probably could. I didn’t have a Kitchen-Aid when I made this one, and I just hate to lug it out. Most of my baked goods don’t require vigorous mixing—you actually don’t want to overdo the mixing on those, because you could end up with tough baked goods.
Katie
Absolutely delicious! I ended up trying this recipe twice. The first time I tried it, it did not turn out at all. It was a very chunky, thick batter. The second time I tried the recipe, I used a 9×9 pan and increased the recipe by 1.5 times. I also did not fully brown the butter and slightly decreased the amount of cocoa powder. I increased the baking time to about 45 minutes and they turned out beautifully! This is a fantastic recipe when done properly. Thank you so much for this recipe, I will definitely be using it in the future.
Kate
I’m glad it worked out for you the second time!
Casey
I know these got mixed reviews, but I took a chance and made them for my husband’s bday. They were a bit crumbly as other’s noted, but nothing terrible and mainly around the nut pieces I added. That my be because I followed Kate’s suggestions for method, If she said 50 strokes and she said a wooden spoon that is exactly what I did. I used WW flour and substituted half of the sugar for Swerve and we enjoyed them guiltlessly. The crumbs made a great topping on our Breyer’s carb smart vanilla ice cream. Thanks Kate!
Kitten Burton
Hi Kate (and Cookie!), I made this brownie recipe and it turned out beautifully! Chocolatey, chewy, and the perfect crispy top – just as promised. I followed the directions carefully, no substitutions, and really got an upper body workout in while I stirred. Rave reviews from my taste test crew too! Love your blog.
Lauren
These brownies turned out terribly for me – I’d used some brown sugar instead of all cane sugar because I ran out. But other than that, I did exactly what the recipe said. They were icky crumbly, and the taste was too dark, bitter. They also didn’t rise at all (maybe my baking powder is old?). Idk what happened, but I’m definitely not making these again!
Dave
I had exactly the same thing happen, twice. The hot butter cannot possibly hold the amount of sugar in the recipe, and sooks it into candy, causing the butter to fall apart. Then you /immediately/ add chocolate, as per instruction, and it burns. It’s just a bad recipe, as far as I can tell. The only way I can understand all of the “worked great for me” is if these folks are using watery/thin butter, or not following the instructions and letter the butter cool after browning and before sugar.
Seaaira
These are amazing! They are crunchy, just how I like them! I tried another recipe and it was more like a cake but this recipe is spot on! My husband and son loved them as well! I deffently recommend and I will be making these again!
Seaaira
They are a perfect blend of chewy and crunchy!! They did not fall apart for me. They had the perfect chocolaty taste, definitely not overpowering! Amazing!! I put them on a thin baking sheet on parchment paper, I was a little skeptical about that but it worked out great!
Reema
I tripled the recipe and made a big batch for a work event, worked beautifully! Rick, fudgy brownies with a crisp top and gooey center. Make sure to use good quality chocolate and cocoa powder for best results. I cut back on the cocoa and put 1/2 cup as opposed to the 3/4 and it worked just fine. Thanks Kate!
Allan
I’ve never made brownies before and I’m not a very good baker but I found this recipe to be really good. Wasn’t crumbly at all IMO so I’m unsure what the issue is. The top wasn’t as “crisp” as yours. Granted I might have used less butter because I’m unsure what 10tbsp of butter looks like when cutting from a block and I used brown sugar and cut back on the extra 1/4 cup thinking the molasses in it might change things…luckily I whisked the mix really well to a nice sheen cause you stressed the importance of that.
I’ll have to give this a few more tries to find the right amount of sweetness and texture. I DO have a question…how do I bake it but still have chocolate chunks in it?
Rosa
Kate do you have a good bananna bread recipe?
Aldo
Hey Kate!
My name is Aldo. I’m from Mexico and live in Mexico. I’ve always loved brownies. I surfed in the internet for several times until I arrived to your site. I tried your brownies recipe for the first time to have them as New Year’s dinner dessert. We definitely love them! I won’t never try any box mix to make brownies. Thanks a lot for sharing!
Sandra
I love these brownies…just made it! This will be my go-to brownie recipe!
Annie
Wow this is really a great recipe.. the bottom was burned a little but I just trimmed it. It still taste so so good, I will post it at Instagram.. x
Kate
Hey, Annie – Thanks! And I like a little crunchy to contrast the chewy, so who knows – could have been a happy accident :) Remember to use #cookieandkate on insta so I can find it!
Shami
These really are the BEST brownies. I am thrilled that I have finally found my
“go-to” and can stop searching. Thank you for the delicious recipe!!
Kate
You’re welcome, Shami! Happy they lived up to their name ;)
Jill
Since finding your recipe I’ve made it twice. I opted to not add the chocolate chips and found that the richness of the chocolate flavor using just the cocoa was perfect for me. I also baked for 35 minutes and the texture and consistency was just right. Theses brownies are absolutely delicious!
Kate
I’m glad you could adjust it to your tastes, Jill!
Nora
They came out just like you described! Incredibly chewy fudgy and rich . I used a dark cocoa powder and 85% dark chocolate bar to fold in . I wonder why some folks had trouble with this recipe. Thank you for sharing , my family loved them .
Kate
So glad it worked for you, Nora! Sounds divine.
Danuta
Just made those… turned out perfect! Thank you very much for the recipe. It’s s keeper
Jennifer
These are THE best!!!! Taste just like my fave boxed mix. I’m so excited to finally have a from scratch recipe that tastes this good!!!!!!
Kate
So nice of you, Jennifer! Happy you enjoy them.
Teena
I really loved the idea of adding browned butter..the flavor was yum..but i found the batter to be dry and i had to press it into the pan somewhat like cookie dough..what could i have done wrong.. any idea? (I used regular sugar instead of cane and regular wheat flour instead of white .could that be it?)
Michelle Guerra
I baked these delicious rich chocolate brownies tonight. My family, husband and kids loved them!!. My husband is anxiously awaiting me ti make the gingerbread pancakes tomorrow morning!!!
❤️
Thank you for these great recipes
Deb
I made these brownies last night and I’ve not been able to stop eating them since! They seriously are the best brownies! So addicting! I plan on making a double batch tomorrow and actually sharing this time with my grandsons because I know they will love them too! Thanks for sharing the recipe! :)
Kate
I hope they like them, Deb! Thanks.
jayan rose napoles
did you use regular cocoa powder or bensdorf?
Kate
Hi! I used regular cocoa powder, not Dutch-processed cocoa powder.
Tamar
These look amazing! Can I substitute margarine for butter for a dairy free treat?
Kate
Sure! You could also use coconut oil, and it’d work out just fine.
Arista
This is the 2nd recipe of your website I have baked. The outcome was good… the next time will be better. Here’s the story… I had a good laugh at my own blunder… I took a 1/3 measuring cup instead of 1/4 measuring cup to add raw sugar cane that I added into an empty dry bowl.. just before I added to warm, melted unsalted butter in the saucepan. My gut instinct was telling me that I had too much sugar… I was very stubborn and added half of 1/3 of cocoa powder into that bowl… then I looked down and saw my 1/4 measuring cup — I checked… 5 x 1/4 measured cup was a lot less! I still have the leftover “cocoa powdered” sugar — that I will use for my next baking round with this brownies recipe!
Anyway, I had to make adjustments to my error and the butter kind of waited too long before I added the sugar and cocoa powder. The outcome was good – better than I expected. This recipe is great with GF all-purpose flour and pecans added. I left off the 2 oz of semi-sweet chocolates. The taste was great… not too sweet… chocolatey enough for me! :) I have them sitting in containers in the kitchen.. so tempting to eat them all! :)
Thanks again! :)
Aileen
Hi Kate,
I tried your recipe it but the tops are not shiny the way they look in your picture. They are fudgy and delicious but they don’t look quite right. Is it because I used granulated sugar instead of cane sugar? It is what I had on hand.
Thank you for sharing the recipe! I, too, am in search of that “just right” Platonic brownie.
Kate
Hi Aileen, I’m sorry to hear that! Granulated sugar should have worked just as well. This recipe is a little finicky; I know that getting the butter to the right temp so the sugar melts into it is key, and so is mixing the batter as directed.
Jamie
Just pulled these out of the oven. I used brown instead of white sugar (what I had on hand) and omitted the coffee (I’m really sensitive to caffeine). Browning the butter? G E N I U S!!! I started imagining the spinoff recipes…
– orange zest for chocolate orange brownies.
– peppermint essential oil for peppermint patty brownies.
– swirling peanut butter into the batter during the final step for peanut butter cup brownies.
– swirling raspberry jam (like the PB) for a chocolate berry brownie.
Now the question remains…can I wait for them to cool before I dig in? :)
Kate
All of those sound delicious, Jamie! I’m glad this sparked some creativity in you. :)
Kimi
Just made these and they are to die for. Took a litter longer than the 25 minutes for me, that’s probably just my oven though as I find this with a lot of recipes.
Cannot wait to serve these tonight with Ice Cream.
Babita
Hi, I tried this recipe today. Came out really well… most of it is already consumed.
I realised that I didn’t have enough cocoa but still went and used 2/4 cup cocoa.. brownies turned out fine maybe because I used lots of Choco chips.
Also brownies seemed a bit buttery.
Overall yummilicious!!
Kate
Thanks, Babita! I like the butteriness, but you can always use less butter if you prefer.
Roshini
Brownies are just amazing. Did twice and I never go for any other recipe and I have been asked for the recipe every time by ppl and lots of praises..
Doubt- will it come out well without eggs? As my Frd wants egg free brownies?
Kate
So glad these are a hit, Roshini! Re: the eggs– you could try using some vegan egg substitutes, like flax eggs or aquafaba. Maybe poke around the comments here and see if another reader has had some success, as I have a lot of helpful folks that leave tips and tricks for substitutions for specialized diets.
Marcie
I made these but substituted 95g of ground almonds for the flour. Very yummy, & nice texture, so seems to have worked out fine. :-)
Kate
Great!
Lynn
Moist, rich and delicious brownies. I baked for 30 min. Always better a tad under baked- of course. Bye-bye box brownie mix. Caution: Highly addictive. I almost ate 1/2 the pan!!
Kate
Ha! This made me smile. Thanks, Lynn.
Anna
Hi! Thank you for sharing this tecipe, I cannot wait to try it tomorrow! Quick question, because we add the chocolate chunks/chips at the end, where the mixture is only slightly warm, by the time we mixed it, it won’t be melted in the dough right? When we finished stirring, we could see the chunks? (As it will probably melt inside the oven?)
Kristee
Hi, Kate! I’ve stumbled across your blog a few times now. I have occasional bouts with insomnia that are quite frustrating (especially in 3rd trimester of pregnancy!), and I usually end up on the couch with Pinterest. One thing led to another on one of these sleepless nights, and suddenly I was on the hunt for a great brownie recipe. My husband and I are English teachers abroad, so I knew it had to be a simple recipe with ingredients I could find here. These ones really looked perfect! I tried them out after reading all the comments, and they came out almost perfect, even in my little toaster oven. The beautiful tops never showed up, though the taste is unbelievable. Looking back, my batter looked grainy a few times. Are we supposed to completely melt the sugar in the brown butter? I stirred it really well, but it may not have been enough to dissolve the sugar, hence the lack of pretty, swirly, crackly tops. Definitely a keeper recipe, and I want to try it again for sure! Thanks a lot!
Madison
Just made these tonight and they turned out amazing. I tried to use the best ingredients I could find and it definitely paid off! I added a little bit of water to the batter (like 1/8 cup) and cooked them for about 32 minutes instead of the original 25. Will absolutely make these again!
Kate
I’m so glad these turned out so well, Madison! Thanks.
Afiq
I’d like to try this recipe. However, I have a very basic (kinda silly) question. When baking brownie (or any other cake for that matter), do we use top & bottom heat or just the bottom heat? Thank you for the delicious recipe!
Kate
Hi, Afiq! Not a silly question at all. If you have an oven that allows you to do both, I’d suggest doing that. If not, bottom heat will be make for a more evenly-cooked product than the top heat.
Cayla R.C.
This is my first time commenting even though I’ve been following your blog for some time now and even bought your book (yay!). I was nervous to make this recipe after reading comments about them not turning out well. I followed your recipe to the “t” excluding the use of espresso powder and they turned out great! Surprisingly bitter and skinny, the chocolate chips made it just sweet enough. I couldn’t get the perfect shiny top, but I love them nonetheless and will make again.
Kate
Great! I’m glad these worked out for you, Cayla.
Amanda
So far my batter came out too thick so I had to add a couple more eggs and it was still really thick; waiting to see the results but I don’t have much confidence at this point. It sounded like a great recipe though!!!
Kate
Sorry this was disappointing, Amanda.
Patricia Seddon
Hi Kate!
I made these brownies awhile back and they came out perfectly and I wondered what on earth was wrong with all these people who were getting weird, oily brownies. Then I made this recipe again and got weird, oily brownies.
I thought about what I might have done differently for the second batch. I was in a bit of a hurry so I turned the heat up a bit higher when I browned the butter. The butter browned faster but looked just like it did when I heated the butter on medium heat the first time. However, I did notice when I added the sugar and cocoa, the sugar caramelized more. I now suspect that my cooking pot was too hot even though the butter looked and smelled fine and I overheated the sugar.
Tonight I browned the butter on medium heat and was patient and I was rewarded with a beautiful pan of brownies. I think it’s very important to brown the butter slowly on medium heat and to follow your directions precisely to achieve excellent results.
Thank you so much for all the fabulous recipes!
Pat
Kate
Iiiinteresting. Thanks for all these notes, Patricia–hopefully it’ll help others avoid an oily result!
Kim
Turned out super well! I did change a few things because I am always trying to see if I can make things slightly healthier without decreasing the tastiness – I subbed some of the butter for coconut oil, used half a cup of cane sugar and half a cup of maple sugar, and subbed the whole wheat flour for a blend of oatmeal flour and almond flour. I will say the top was slightly less crackly, but it was just as delicious!
Kristee
Hi, again! Just a quick update, I’ve made these again since my first try – and I made a double batch, since the first trial run was gobbled up so quickly! This time, they came out absolutely perfect. I can second what Patricia said: you definitely need to be take your time browning the butter. Giving myself plenty of time to make the recipe makes them come out with those pretty swirly tops, unparalleled flavor, and I enjoy the process so much more (baking can be such a stress reliever for me!). Also, I did not add chocolate chips in my trial run, but did add them the second time. I think that also mad ea big difference in the texture (even though my batter was still a bit warm, and the chocolate melted a bit before going in the oven).
All that to say this: This is my new brownie recipe. I doubt I will ever make another! I may have to bake up a batch and freeze them before my baby arrives (in a couple weeks!). Thanks for all your research! It paid off!
Kate
Thanks, Kristee! Yep, it looks like browning the butter is the secret here. I’m so glad you enjoy these and that they bring some relaxation into your kitchen!
Vinita
Hi Kate, I made brownies today and followed your recipe totally. They turned out just as you described crumbly inside, cracky top and chewy. I wish I had a picture of it. Nevermind, will make them again. only one thing, I baked it over 35 minutes to become perfect. I guess every oven is different so difference in baking time. Thank you for the recipe. They really are best ever brownies!
Kate
I’m so glad these came out as described, Vinita!
Gayle
These really are the best brownies! The brown butter really adds to the flavor. I accidentally left out the additional 1/4 cup sugar and they were plenty sweet. This will become a new family favorite.
Kate
Thanks, Gayle! I’m glad these worked out sans sugar, too.
hassan iqbal
is pure cane sugar similar to brown sugar??
Kate
Hi, Hassan! No, it’s not. Brown sugar has molasses in it, while cane sugar does not. You can make white sugar into brown sugar by adding molasses to it in a food processor.
Stephanie Gibson
These brownies are great! I didn’t brown the butter, just melted it and didn’t have any problems with the emulsification. Thanks for doing all the work for us and then sharing your recipe!
Kate
Great, Stephanie! Thanks for commenting.
Chizari
These were awesome. I included wants and pecans. Thank you for the recipe!
Kate
Yum! Sounds great, Chizari.
Michaela
Just made these brownies (UK) and I changed all the metrics which made me a little nervous I have to say. I made another lot of brownies a few days ago but they weren’t exactly what I was looking for. I have made plenty of brownies in the past, but wow these are something else! We visited the Lake District just last week and there I bought a fantastic brownie which brought me looking for something the same and here it is!! They are rich,amazing texture – set but still gooey & a perfect hit for when you need that chocolate rush! My favourite recipe so far, thanks Kate!
Kate
Oh, I’m so glad you found what you were looking for, Michaela! These brownies live up to their name. :)
Christina L Brunnquell
It’s true — these are THE very best brownies.
Kate
Hooray! Thanks, Christina!
Flavia
I loved this recipe. It turned out perfect: moist, very chocolaty, sweet but not too too sweet. I did add the coffee, and all chocolate used was bakers/unsweetened. I made it in a square Pyrex dish, which increased the baking time by about 10 minutes, but they still turned out great.
I was thinking to make a double batch for a party this weekend, but was wondering how it might affect the baking. It would be more practical to make it in one bigger dish, but I’m worried that the bigger volume might mean that the edges come out hard and the middle too soft. Do you think that it’s ok to just double the recipe and use a bigger dish, or is it safer to stick to doing 2x a smaller dish?
Thanks for the tips!
Moises Ortega
Use it every time! Amazing! The brown butter trick is the key to this recipe!
Kate
Yes, it sure is!
Nicole B.
I made these a while back and the flavor was fantastic but they were suuuper fudgy. Like, they could have passed for fudge, fudgy. I’m not much of a baker so I assume it’s me and not the recipe. :) I’m hoping to give these another try this weekend and I wonder if you have any recommendations for slightly less fudginess.
Victoria
Everyone loved these!
Kate
Great! Thank you, Victoria for your review!
Dave
I don’t understand this recipe; I’ve tried it twice and it just doesn’t work. You can’t put that much sugar into hot butter, it instantly falls apart (even if you add a little at a time) and you end up with oily, burned-chocolate candy crystals. Disgusting. Total waste of good ingredients. Is there some liquid missing? Does this only work with watered-down, American-style butter? What’s the deal?
RM
These were not good. I had the same problem as others where the oil separated and I ended up with a hard, lumpy crust and way too much oil in the middle. I followed the instructions, used good ingredients, and didn’t add any chocolate chips. I was excited about making these for my kids as it has whole wheat instead of AP flour.
Kate
Very sorry to hear that, RM. I’ve made these many times and never experienced those issues myself, so I’m truly stumped on a way to prevent those results. Baking can be finicky sometimes.
Sona
I made this yesterday for thanksgiving get together, it was such a hit. Thank you!
Kate
That is great! Thank you, Sona for your comment.
Kyle
Like the recipe- I actually tried with using half the portion of all ingredients to make smaller one and somehow it came out like cookies, not brownie. Did I put it for too long? My oven is a bit weak that I always eneded up leaving food more than any other recipe so I put 28min for this.(i ve tried toothpick and it didnt come out clean at 25min) not sure which part was wrong-
Samantha
These brownies are AMAZING! I made them without the chocolate chips – awesome, and with pecans – just as good if not better! Will definitely be making these again, and again!
Kate
Love to hear that! Thank you, for sharing your variation. I appreciate your review, Samantha!