These Fudge Brownies are my absolute favorite brownies as an adult. They hit all the right notes - rich and decadent, full of chocolate chips, with a texture that strikes a perfect balance between fudgy and slightly cakey.
I've made a lot of brownies over the years. My go-to for potlucks and parties remains Hershey's Best Brownies, which I've been making since I was 10, because they're such a crowd-pleaser (and my daughter prefers them, since she sometimes finds these a little too chocolatey). But when forty-something me wants a rich, deeply chocolatey brownies, this is what I crave.
What makes these moist brownies so special? Their high ratio of cocoa powder to flour, plus lots of chocolate chips - some of which melt into the batter, while others remain intact and give us chocolate bites throughout each square.
As a bonus, I transformed these brownies into a one-bowl, no mixer recipe for easier cleanup. Because when we want brownies, we don't want to fuss in the kitchen - we just want to eat brownies.
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Why I Love These Brownies
I adore these brownies because they're:
- A simple one-bowl recipe made with shelf-stable ingredients
- Rich and decadent, perfect for grown-up chocolate lovers
- Moist and deeply chocolatey, with pockets of chocolate throughout
- Fudgy yet slightly cakey, for a texture that's just right
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Ingredients You'll Need
Unsalted butter makes brownies moist and tender while also adding flavor and depth that vegetable oil can't provide. We melt it for an easy, one-bowl recipe.
Granulated sugar provides sweetness and makes for a crackly, shiny top after being dissolved into hot butter.
Unsweetened cocoa powder blooms in the hot butter-sugar mixture, which enhances the chocolate flavor.
Vanilla extract rounds out the flavor. Skip it if you like, but brownies taste flat without it.
Eggs tenderize the brownies while also binding them together. There's no good substitute for them here.
All-purpose flour provides structure and bulk. I believe a gluten-free flour blend with xanthan gum could work, but the brownies may be more fragile.
Baking powder keeps the brownies from being overly dense, while table salt balances the flavors.
Chocolate chips make this brownie special. Chilling them keeps them from completely melting, so you get pockets of chocolate throughout the brownies while still enriching the batter.
Does Chocolate and Cocoa Brand Matter?
Yes and no.
I've used a variety of cocoa powders throughout the years - including Trader Joe's, BJ's warehouse club, Hershey's, and Saco - all with delicious results. Some are Dutch-processed, others are natural; they both work well in this recipe.
Since some chocolate chips melt into this batter while others remain intact, be a little choosy with your chocolate. Use chips made from real chocolate, and not a chocolate-flavored candy; check the ingredient list to see what you're getting.
Beyond that, use what you enjoy eating. While I usually find Nestle semi-sweet chips to be too sweet and not chocolatey enough, they still work here. (I just like Nestle dark chocolate chips better.) I'm partial to Ghirardelli, but they're a splurge if I can't find them in bulk. More often than not, I buy whatever's cheapest - including store-brand chocolate chips - because they still taste great, and that's the most important criteria.
How to Make Fudge Brownies
For best results, place the chocolate chips in the refrigerator or freezer to chill when you begin. Chilling them keeps some chips intact while the brownies bake, so you have pockets of chocolate throughout.
- Melt the butter, then stir in the sugar. Microwave the mixture - I use a 8 cup glass measuring cup (affiliate link) - for 1 minute, stopping it if it begins to bubble. (See notes below if it does.) Whisk again to help the sugar dissolve.
If using the stove, just heat the butter and sugar together, stirring until the butter is melted and the sugar's dissolved.
- Use a wire whisk (affiliate link) to stir in the cocoa powder and vanilla, mixing until combined. Let the mixture cool until it's warm, not hot - you don't want to curdle the eggs - and then whisk in the eggs one at a time.
- Switch to a rubber spatula to gently stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt, mixing until just combined. Then add the chocolate chips. Scrape batter into a greased 9x13-inch pan (affiliate link).
- Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the brownies comes out mostly clean.
Cool on a wire rack. You can remove a fragile brownie after 1 hour if you can't wait to eat one. Otherwise, cool completely - about 2 hours - before cutting into squares and removing them from the pan.
Start checking for doneness 5 minutes early if you're using a dark or glass pan, if your oven runs hot, or if the sugar bubbled while heating. You can always bake underdone brownies longer; you can't unbake brownies.
The Toothpick Test
At the early range of baking time, use a toothpick to check brownies for doneness. Stick a toothpick into the brownie (not a chocolate chip). If it comes out with lots of moist, sticky crumbs, the brownies are done. If there's gooey batter, bake for another 1-2 minutes.
Storage and Freezing
Store the brownies in an airtight container at room temperature. They'll still be moist and delicious after 3-5 days, although the cut edges might dry slightly.
Brownies freeze well. Cut them first if you plan to use them for sundaes. Wrap them snugly in a layer of aluminum foil. Cover with a tight layer of plastic wrap, then store in a freezer bag in the freezer. They'll last for a few months.
To thaw for desserts:
🍰 Use them Brownie Cheesecake or Chocolate Espresso Tiramisu. Unwrap completely and let them come to room temperature, at least an hour. Before adding thawed brownies to cheesecake or ice cream, make sure that they're dry and free of condensation - I've messed up cheesecake by adding wet brownie pieces before!
To thaw for sundaes:
🍨 Unwrap and microwave a brownie in a bowl for 5-10 second increments until warm, then top with ice cream.
Tips for Fantastic Brownies Each Time
⏲️ Don't overbake. Check the brownies early, and use the toothpick test.
✨ Dissolve the sugar. Stirring the sugar into melted butter helps create a shiny, crackly crust.
◼️ Bloom the cocoa. Adding cocoa powder to warm butter deepens the chocolate flavor.
🧊 Let the mixture cool. Make sure the cocoa mixture is warm, not hot, so it won't curdle the eggs.
🥣 Mix gently. Stir in the flour until just combined to avoid adding air or developing gluten.
🍫 Chill the chocolate chips. Cold chips give you both melted chocolate and intact chocolate bits throughout the brownies.
Brownie FAQ
I prefer melted butter for flavor, but you can swap in an equal amount of oil to make the brownies dairy-free. Mix room temperature oil, sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla together, then add eggs one-by-one; proceed with the rest of the recipe as written. Brownies made with oil will be more dense than those made with melted butter.
If the sugar bubbles in the microwave, the mixture is overheating and losing moisture. The sugar turns slightly syrupy, making the batter a little stiffer. With less moisture in the batter, the brownies bake faster and the edges can brown too much, so start check for doneness early.
Sugar bubbling happens to us all, so don't worry - they brownies will still taste great. They just won't be as perfect or as pretty as they could be.
Simple, Everyday Baking
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Have you tried this recipe? Or have a question about it? Rate it or leave a comment below! (PS: rating my recipes helps other people find them, too!)
📖 Recipe
Fudge Brownies
Equipment
- Microwave-safe mixing bowl
- wire whisk (affiliate link)
- rubber spatula
- 9x13 inch pan (preferably light metal and not non-stick)
Ingredients
- 16 tablespoons butter (227 grams/2 sticks)
- 2 ¼ cups sugar (440 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla (5 grams)
- 1 ¼ cup cocoa powder (100 grams)
- 4 eggs
- 1 ½ cups flour (180 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 2 cups chocolate chips (340 grams/12 ounces; chilled)
Instructions
- Place the chocolate chips in the refrigerator or freezer when you start, so they don't dissolve entirely when you add them later.
- Melt butter in a large, microwave-safe mixing bowl, for about 1 minute or until the butter melts. Stir in the sugar and microwave for another 1-2 minutes, stopping it if it starts to bubble. [See notes for instructions on if it bubbles.] Stir to help dissolve the sugar; it's okay if the mixture separates.
- If not using the microwave, heat butter and sugar together on the stove until the sugar dissolves.
- Remove butter and sugar from heat. If your mixture and bowl are very hot, wait a few minutes to let cool so you don't scramble the eggs.
- Use a wire whisk (affiliate link) to mix in cocoa powder and vanilla, stirring until combined. Add eggs one at a time, mixing each one in completely.
- Use a rubber spatula to fold in flour, baking powder, and salt, mixing gently until completely mixed in. Stir in chilled chocolate chips.
- Scrape batter into a greased or parchment-lined 9x13 inch pan, and bake for 30-35 minutes at 350F. Start checking for doneness at 25 minutes if the sugar bubbled, you're concerned you overmixed, or your oven runs hot.
- Use a toothpick to test the brownies for doneness. A toothpick inserted into the brownies will come out with moist crumbs but not batter; test a different spot if you hit a chocolate chip. Brownies will look set on top and may have started to pull away from the edge of the pan. DO NOT OVERBAKE.
- Wait at least 1 hour, all I can ever stand, before cutting a square to eat right then; those brownies will be fragile and fall apart. Cool at least 2 hours, or until cool, before cutting squares to remove from the pan and serve.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Brownies stay good for 3 days, although the edges may stiffen up. Freeze for longer storage.
Notes
Nutrition
[Originally published August 23, 2015 and redone in July 2018. Restructured and updated slightly March 3, 2026.]
Leona Konkel says
Of all the brownie recipes I ever make, these are the brownies *for me.* They're what I compare all other recipes to, because these are just so rich and delicious. I hope that you find them as easy and worthwhile to make as I do. I'd love to hear how they turn out!
Carrie says
I made this recipe a few weeks ago and it came out great but tried it again today and it came out totally different. It was really thick and didn't fit into a 13x9 pan. Any ideas why that might be?
Leona Konkel says
Did you have trouble spreading it out to the edges? Or was the pan somehow too full?
These have always turned out the same for me. I can't think of much unless you somehow measured the ingredients differently or omitted something somehow. I guess if your chocolate chips were colder, they could have melted into the batter less and made it thicker/more difficult to spread. Is the weather drastically different from then? Perhaps your flour or cocoa is drier than usual, making the batter thick. Did the butter and sugar bubble or heat longer than usual? You could have lost some moisture there.
I hope this helped, and that you still enjoyed the brownies even if they didn't turn out as you expected!
Carrie says
There wasn't enough batter, but once cooked it expanded to completely fill the dish and was the texture of cake. I think I must have whisked the eggs too much. I was waiting for the butter to cool down and kept mixing them, which must have whipped in too much air and make it more cake like. The flavor was also a bit off, which I put down to not dissolving the sugar completely.
Will be making these again today, since the first batch was so delicious and this batch just wasn't good enough.
Leona Konkel says
That's strange. I do wonder if something was mismeasured somehow, since the taste was off. Too much baking powder might give an off taste to them. That said, I've certainly whipped eggs too much while making brownies, and it does make them too cakey and disappointing.
I'm glad you liked your first batch enough to give them another try. I hope your next batch turned out better!
Leona Konkel says
I just made these again and caught an error in the weight measurements. I had a typo and said that it was 240 grams of sugar, instead of 440 grams of sugar by weight. 440 grams is correct, and I've fixed the recipe now. I don't know if you measure by volume or by weight, but I wanted to let you know in case that helps! I hope they turned out when you tried them again.
Kathryn says
My favorite brownies are the Applebee's brownie bites. This recipe comes as close to those rich chocolaty delights as I've ever found. Thank you for the big smile on my face with the first bite. (I caved after 35 minutes)
Leona Konkel says
I'm so glad you tried them and enjoyed them!
Irene says
Great post! Have a nice weekend:)
irenethayer.com
Leona Konkel says
Thank you!