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.
The Very Best Brownies.
- Author:
- 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!
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Amy
I definitely missed something. Even while mixing, I kept thinking something was off and looked to check the recipe multiple times. The timer just went off and they aren’t even close to cooked with no sign of crispy top.
Kate
Hmmm… Interesting. Do you know what you think you missed for ingredients? No issues with your oven heating?
Catherine
Yes! I’ve had the same issue too. I kept checking the recipe to see if I had done something wrong. When the brownies are baking, is it normal for the butter to boil up at the top of the brownies? I had to pour out some of the butter when I took the batch out of the oven.
★★★
Susan Brodie
HI I made these brownies, browned the unsalted butter as you said, took it off the heat and added the cane sugar, cocoa ext, but the sugar didn’t melt? The butter had been boiling as I stirred it.
The batter was very thick after eggs, vanilla and flour were added.
Are there different kinds of and sugar. What I have is not very fine
Thanks
Kate
Hi Susan, I’m sorry to hear about your sugar troubles. That’s strange, since sugar usually dissolves when mixed with very warm liquid. I am not sure what went wrong, but I used organic fine cane sugar for these.
Andrea
I had the same problem but it was because I was using regular sugar in the raw (which is fairly course.) I made them again with plain white sugar (which is far finer) and it resolved the issue. However, if you want to use sugar in the raw, just run it through the food processor until it is fine.
★★★★★
Bella
These brownies tasted ok but as I like very fudgy brownies, these didn’t do it for me. They were dry and cakey. My perfect brownie recipe search continues!
Kate
I’m sorry you weren’t happy with these! How long did you leave them in the oven?
Eric Buch
I followed the recipe to a “T”, though I did have to use a 9″ x 9″ pan. The brownies didn’t rise much at all – turned out almost fudge-like. Still good, but hardly the brownies that I was anticipating. What might have happened?
Eric
★★★
Kate
Hi Eric, I’m sorry to hear that! Is there a chance you forgot to add the baking powder, or could your baking powder be expired? It helps the brownies rise.
Sofia
The brownies came out pretty well! The browned butter adds a nice flavor. I baked them for 25 minutes, but the middle still seemed gooey and uncooked. However, after they cooled they were completely fine. I used instant coffee crystals, but they wouldn’t dissolve in my butter and sugar mixture. I recommend dissolving in a small amount of hot water first. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Sofia!
Angela Pearson
Hi Kate we made your recipe for the very best brownies we liked the flavor but when eating they had a gritty texture kind of like the sugar didn’t dissolve do you know what we might have done wrong to cause this ? Thank you Angela & Allie
Kate
Hi Angela, I’m so sorry to hear that. Quick question—did you use a glass pan or a metal or stoneware pan? I have a hunch that glass pans might cause that issue, but I’m really not sure.
Diane Gatt
Hi! Could you send us the measurements for this recipe in grams/ml for all of us EU brownie lovers please? Thank you!
Kate
Hi Diane – You can find an online converter. Try this one: http://dish.allrecipes.com/cup-to-gram-conversions/. Let me know how it works!
Yilam
We prefer less sweet, so I only used half cup of sugar instead of 1 ¼ cups. Didn’t get much crust as expected, but still turned out delicious! just a little tricky to measure out 10tablespoons of butter, cups or weight would be easier. thank you so much for sharing!
★★★★
Kate
The decrease in sugar would likely change them slightly, but I’m still glad you liked it so much! Thanks, Yilam for sharing.
Simran Jain
What could I substitute for eggs?
★★★★
Kate
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.
Adrianna
Hi! I mjust want to tell you that I’m looking forward to baking brownies and banana bread tomorrow! I can’t wait to try your recipie,it sounds delicious!!!!
I have a question…Do you have a bakery? If so…how did you start your business ?
Kate
Hi Adrianna! I don’t have a bakery, but that’s so kind you think I do. My job is as a food blogger. :)
Denise R.
Hi Kate, just made your brownie recipe almost exactly as written and they came out great. Cracks, swirls and all. Used Guittard Cocoa Rouge powder (awesome stuff), cut back on sugar a bit and baked a little longer since I have to use an old, cr*ppy apartment oven.
Would send you a pic but I don’t do social media, aka Instagram, Facebook, etc.
Thanks for the recipe; my brother-in-law will be thanking you later also while indulging. LOL
★★★★★
Kate
I love when that happens! I’m glad they were just as great for you, Denise.
Hania
I’ve tried a lot of brownie recipes, trying to eliminate my preference for boxed mixes (brownies are the only thing I never liked better from scratch!). I think I can finally say I don’t need to ever buy boxed brownies again, thank you!!! This recipe was wonderful, a beautiful crackly top, not too dense or too cakey, just a perfect brownie. I didn’t have that much cocoa on hand, so I reduced the cocoa and sugar and replaced it with more chopped dark chocolate. I also threw in some walnuts, and it was perfect. Thank you again!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad this worked well for you! Thanks for sharing, Hania.
Snigdha
Hey, what’s the substite for cane sugar? Or what is cane sugar? I can’t find it in UK supermarkets.
Also, isn’t most sugars from sugar cane? Gah I’m desperate to make these!
Kate
Hi Snigda, so sorry for the confusion! Use your regular grocery store sugar. It will work!
Leah
Just made these, they were really really good- super rich and decadent. I added toasted walnuts. I also added an extra egg as suggested to make them “cakey” however they were not at all cakey, they were like fudge. I also swirled some almond butter across the top. Next time (and there will definitely be a next time) I will bake them 3-5 minutes longer than the reccommended 25 minutes. Premium quality chocolate and cocoa powder are worth it and will really shine through in this recipe.
★★★★★
Kate
Oh, toasted walnuts. Lovely! Thank you for sharing, Leah!
Colleen
The brownies I was raised on always had a crispy top. I hated when people would make boxed mixes because they were too gooey! I love seeing other crispy top fanatics. I still have my mom’s recipe, that is my go to, but maybe I will have to try yours as well! Oddly we don’t use butter at all in our brownies, we use Crisco.
Kate
Thanks for sharing, Colleen!
Zephy
Hi Kate.
I would like to ask why do we need to beat the batter for the 50 strokes. Because most recipes say to mix until just incorporated after adding the flour as the gluten may form. So I really want to know what is the science behind it.
Thank you in advance.
★★★★★
Kate
Hi Zephy, the amount of butter used here keeps the batter from getting tough. Beating the mixture ensures that the batter is fully emulsified before baking. You’ll find some more insight here!
Zephy
Thank you so much, Kate!
★★★★★
Zephy
BTW, doors it matter what time you put the baking powder in?
★★★★★
Kate
Mix with the dry ingredients as it says in step 3. :)
Hiroko
I love your brownie recipe! Made it many times:)! I have questions that once I cut it and leave it to room temperature, the brownies’ surface gets dry.
-do I keep it in fridge after cutting?
-should I take out from the oven earlier than your mentioned time?
-should i wrap it when it’s still warm to make moisture?
I want keep it as fresh as long as possible!
I would appreciate that if you could answer my questions.
★★★★★
Kate
Hi Hiroko! I’m so glad you love these brownies. I’m not exactly sure how to answer your question without getting a good look at the dry surface you’re describing. The brownies should be glossy and dry to the touch on top, and moist on the inside. If that’s how yours are, then that’s how the recipe is designed to turn out. I’m afraid they’ll turn soggy (and potentially moldy) if you wrap them when they’re still warm. Once it’s cooled, you might want to press plastic wrap against the surface or wrap individual brownies. Not sure if refrigerating will help. Hope this is helpful somehow! :)
Elon Hawkins
Looks amazing. I know it will be so delicious as looking. I can’t wait to try this recipe at home. I am big fan of cakes.
★★★★
Kate
Let me know what you think!
Madison
I had a brownie craving so I searched “best homemade brownie” then as I was scrolling I was like “what am I doing??” And immediately added “Cookie and Kate” to my search bar.
Of course you had a delicious and different sounding recipe!
I accidentally heated the butter in a pan not a pot, but I think that helped speed my Browning process along. I was a bit worried that it didn’t appear that my sugar totally melted but it didn’t seem to do any harm.
I used “the saco pantry” cocoa, a blend of salted and unsalted butter based on what I had – so used a little less salt, and Trader Joe’s dark chocolate for the chunks.
I don’t haven have an 8×8, but rather a weird IKEA pan (maybe 8×4?) so had to improvise on time. Did it for about 35-40 minutes until a toothpick came out clean.
These are exactly what I wanted. They’re fudgey but not too dense. I don’t really taste the coffee grounds but I’m glad they’re in there. They taste so good and and I’m so glad I didn’t buy a boxed-mix to satisfy my craving. These are divine!
Thanks again!
★★★★★
Kate
I love that! Thanks so much for sharing and I love being a go-to for you. I appreciate the review, Madison!
Emily
I followed the recipe exactly and even after 35minutes cook time and 10minutes cooling time, these were a goopy mess. I double checked everything, used chocolate chips and King Arthur whole wheat.
★
Annie
These are dangerously good and worked out perfectly. I used cacao powder instead of cocoa, and it took an extra 10 minutes in the oven. This is my new House Brownie for sure!
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks for sharing, Annie!
Jaymie
Hi Kate! I am going to try to make this recipe this coming weekend for my boyfriend’s b day, he loves brownies. I am a little bit nervous, and I live in Denver Colorado. Can you help me plan for how I should adjust for baking at altitude? (5280 feet, to be exact) : )
Thank you!
Kathy Compton
I also found this recipe strange. It was incredibly thick when mixing the browned butter with the sugar. It thickened up more after adding each egg, so that the mixture was thick enough to stand a wooden spoon in. Due to the thickness, it did not change shape or rise at all when it was smeared into the pan. That said, the taste was not bad, it just felt more like a chocolate spread than a baked good. I will look elsewhere for a crackly top, but still have belief that browned butter is part of the secret!
★★
Kate
Hi Kathy! I’m sorry these didn’t turn out for you. I’m actually testing these to see what has been happening. Would you mind telling me the type of baking dish (material) and size you used.
Kathy Compton
Hello! Thanks for the reply:) I used a porcelain dish. So curious as to what happened with this recipe. Maybe there is a cutoff point for browning the butter- although I did think I was within the zone. It’s a real mystery…
★★
Sandy G
Hi – I baked these brownies with love, however, they came out very dry and with a bit of a grainy texture. I did cut them about 8 minutes out of the oven and I am not sure if this is the reason. I was disappointed in myself so I threw the entire batch out before they were cool….
What do you think I did wrong?
Patty
Hmm. Followed exactly, but used white flour and added 1/3 cup peanut butter chips along with 1/3 cup chocolate chips. The batter was very gritty and thick. Had to press it into the pan. No shiny top, no cracks. Not appealing looking. Cooling now, hopefully they taste better than they look.
Mira
This recepie doesn’t specify that you should probably be using very fine cane sugar, and I’m hazarding a guess that that was my problem here. I used the stuff you can get at The Bulk Barn which is slightly larger grains and it was an absolute disaster. Tried my best to salvage things by using regular granulated sugar, and mixing the butter in normally for round 2, but I guess that method increased the bake time some because after 25 minutes, the entire middle of the pan was still uncooked. It’s still in the oven right now, but I’m pretty disappointed with this recepie overall.
★
Erin
I never do this, but this recipe is terrible. I went with it because it was the first recipe that popped up on google and I have no idea how it made it so far up on the list. Grainy terrible fudge is what I’m left with. Followed the recipe and I’m an avid cook. I should have read the reviews first. Will never attempt this again.
Kate
I’m sorry to hear that, Erin! I’m actually working on testing this again to see if I can find the issue. What type of baking dish did you use(material) and size?
Rachel
Hi Kate – I love your creations – you never leave us disappointed!
I just made these brownies for my husband’s birthday. I typically don’t follow recipes (i’ll sub honey for sugar, or use less butter than is called for, etc.), but I followed this one to a tee. I think my one mistake was using a glass dish (rather than a metal pan)… like others said, when I went to pull it from the oven at 25min, it looked the same as it did when I put it in the oven. I left them in for an extra ~10 min or so, but never got the flaky top. They still taste good… just not very pretty to look at :)
★★★
Linda
Cannot wait to try these! Every recipe I’ve tried from C + K has come out amazing.
I was scrolling through the desserts and couldn’t seem to find the spiced pear cake made with oat flour that I swore was by you about two years ago. If I’m mistaken, please forgive me! If not, would love to see a repost and this time I will jot down the recipe for keeps :) Many thanks in advance and keep up the delicious work!
Kate
Let me know what you think of them when you do, Linda! Here are my pear recipes: https://cookieandkate.com/search/?q=pear. No cake that you are mentioning. Interested thought though!
ST
Made these, and they came out very well. Given some of the other comments, I was mindful to put in a lot of muscle into the stirring and mixing steps. Thank you for the recipe.
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, ST! I’m glad the comments were helpful.
Dani
Hi, can I use vegan butter for this? like Earth balance sticks?
Kate
Hey Dani, this recipe is a little finicky to begin with, and the butter needs to be browned, so I think that would be pretty risky. Sorry to disappoint!
Claire Margaret Allen
Followed this recipe exactly and they turned out terribly. They didn’t rise, “crackle”, or have any fudgey results. More like a dry cake.
★
Sarah
Cooked 5 minutes longer than recommended and they’re divine! Yum!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m so happy they turned out for you, Sarah!
Tooba hassan
I made brownies for the first time ever with ur recepie and it turns out amazing its super moist, chewy, chocolatey and heaven ❤❤ i baked it on stove top and still it truns out amazing ❤ thank you ❤❤
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks for the review, Tooba!
Meredith
Not an advent chef to any degree, but I followed this recipe and the result was exactly what was described. Absolutely nothing wrong with these. No shame in admitting you made a mistake. I certainly do regularly. Keep on Kate.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad they worked out for you! Would you mind telling me the type and size of pan you used? I’m currently working on retesting this recipe.
Sara
These turned out great! They had the crackly top and were fudgy, but not stick to your teeth gooey.The chopped chocolate is a nice touch and gets melty again if you pop individual brownies in the microwave for 5 seconds. They are very rich chocolatey and go well with ice cream.
Notes:The batter is THICK! No joke about the arm power needed. The regular table sugar I used didn’t melt in the brown butter but I didn’t notice it in the baked brownie. Will still try grinding it in the blender next time. I used a round 9″ light color, heavy weight cake pan. I was nervous beacuse there was barely enough batter to cover the bottom. They did rise a little in the oven to about 1/4″ baked. My oven runs hot so I took them out at 25 min and let them cool for 2 hours before taking them out of the pan. Parchment paper helped get them out of the pan, don’t skip it! I don’t like coffee at all and opted for high quality, NON-alkali, natural cacao powder (Scharffen Berger). It’s worth it to get the good cacao as cheap ones can be too harsh. Also, if you use Dutch processed alkali cocoa powder it will react to the baking powder in these brownies and might not taste as good.
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks for your comment, Sara! I really appreciate it.