The BEST brownie recipe! With crispy edges, fudgy middles, and rich chocolate flavor, these homemade brownies will disappear in no time.
For years, I couldn’t seem to find a recipe for brownies that met my standards. Anytime I made homemade brownies, I wanted them to be just like the ones I ate as a kid – super fudgy, moist, and chocolaty, with crispy edges and crackly tops. But the thing is, these brownies didn’t come from a recipe. We always made them from a box. Nowadays, I prefer to bake from scratch, but no brownie recipe I tried could live up to the chocolate brownies of my childhood.
So this fall, as I flipped through Michelle Lopez’s new book Weeknight Baking, her recipe for Boxed Mix Brownies, From Scratch caught my eye. Would I finally be able to make homemade brownies that would be just as delicious as the ones from a box?
The verdict: yes! I’ve had this brownie recipe on repeat since the first time I tried it. It calls for basic pantry ingredients, and it’s hardly more difficult than using a mix. As for the brownies, they’re true perfection – glossy, fudgy, and filled with rich chocolate flavor. Trust me, you’re going to want to make them ASAP!
Another thing you should do ASAP is check out Weeknight Baking! This book is packed with crave-worthy recipes that are meant for busy weeknights. Each one comes with fun variations (I have my eye on the matcha snickerdoodles) as well as tips for becoming a more efficient baker. After years of juggling a 9-to-5 job and running her blog, Hummingbird High, Michelle is full of wisdom on how to bake on a busy schedule. She writes, “We’re all doing the best we can with what we have. And I’m going to help you bake any night of the week that works for you.” If you love baking, you’ll love this book.
Homemade Brownie Recipe Ingredients
Back to Michelle’s recipe for brownies! In order for it to turn out like (aka better than) the boxed mix, Michelle uses granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, salt, and chocolate chips. Then, she adds these key ingredients:
- 2 eggs + water – Michelle uses a bit of water with the eggs to achieve the moist, gooey texture of boxed mix brownies without any commercial emulsifiers. And because this recipe doesn’t contain any baking powder, eggs are essential for helping the brownies puff up in the oven.
- Powdered sugar – The trick to making homemade brownies that are just like ones from a box! Powdered sugar contains cornstarch, which helps thicken the batter without the chemical additives you’d find in a mix.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder – Michelle recommends using Hershey’s Special Dark Dutch-processed cocoa powder (I used Whole Foods’ 365 Cocoa Powder). Make sure to sift it if it’s lumpy!
- Oil – While many recipes for brownies use unsalted butter, Michelle’s calls for canola oil, just like the boxed mix. I use olive oil because it’s what I keep on hand, and I love the rich flavor.
- Vanilla Extract – 1/2 teaspoon vanilla really amps up the chocolate flavor.
That’s it! These fantastic homemade brownies are so easy.
How to Make Brownies from Scratch
First, mix together the dry and wet ingredients in two separate bowls. Combine the sugar, flour, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and salt in a medium bowl. Then, whisk together the eggs, olive oil, and water in a large one.
Next, combine the wet and dry ingredients. Sprinkle the dry mixture over the wet one, and fold until just combined. The batter will be thick!
Then, pour the batter into an 8×8 inch baking pan lined with parchment paper. Use a rubber spatula to spread it to all four sides of the pan and to smooth the top. The mixture will be very thick – that’s ok.
Finally, bake! Transfer the pan to a 325-degree oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few crumbs attached. Allow the brownies to cool completely before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. They also freeze well for up to a month. Last time I made these, I doubled the recipe and stored the second batch in the freezer. It was so fun to have them on hand for a quick and easy dessert or afternoon treat!
Best Brownie Recipe Tips
- Better chocolate chips = better brownies. In her book, Michelle writes that one of the biggest secrets to making great brownies is using large, good-quality chocolate chips. She recommends Ghiradelli’s 60% Cacao Bittersweet Baking Chips, while I love Enjoy Life’s Dark Chocolate Morsels. Either brand would fantastic in this recipe!
- It’s better to pull them out too early than to leave them in too long. No one likes dry brownies, so err on the side of caution when you’re making this recipe. Bake them until a toothpick inserted comes out with just a few crumbs attached. If you’re on the fence, go ahead and take them out of the oven. They’ll continue to firm up as they cool!
- Wait for them to cool. Try your best to resist eating these guys straight out of the oven. Letting them cool makes them gooier and fudgier, and they’ll be less likely to crumble when you slice them. Plus, they’ll have an even richer chocolate flavor. Trust me, it’s worth the wait!
More Favorite Desserts
If you love this brownie recipe, try one of these yummy treats next!
- Perfect Oatmeal Cookies
- Easy Sugar Cookies
- No-Bake Cookies
- Best Peanut Butter Cookies
- Orange Zest Shortbread Cookies
- Vegan Coconut Macaroons
Best Homemade Brownies
Equipment
- 8x8 Baking Dish (this is the one I use so they don't overcook)
- Cooking Spray (I love this avocado oil one from Chosen Foods)
- Parchment Paper (this makes it so much easier to remove the brownies from the pan)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar*
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted if lumpy
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
- 3/4 teaspoons sea salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup canola oil or extra-virgin olive oil**
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly spray an 8x8 baking dish (not a 9x9 dish or your brownies will overcook) with cooking spray and line it with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, chocolate chips, and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, olive oil, water, and vanilla.
- Sprinkle the dry mix over the wet mix and stir until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan (it'll be thick - that's ok) and use a spatula to smooth the top. Bake for 40 to 48 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with only a few crumbs attached (note: it's better to pull the brownies out early than to leave them in too long). Cool completely before slicing.*** Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. These also freeze well!
Notes
Do you recommend lowering the oven temperature and baking a little longer if using a glass 8×8 pan!? Have you tried adding chopped nuts in the recipe? These brownies are delicious!! (My first batch tended to crumble a bit, but they were fantastic anyway!)
Hi, so glad you enjoyed them! I’ve added 1/2 cup walnuts to this recipe, and it worked great. I’ve always kept the oven temp the same when I’ve made these in a glass pan, but you could try that adjustment for slightly softer edges. If you try it, let us know how it goes!
Can I use cake flour instead of all purpose flour?
Hi Baila, I’ve never tried using cake flour here, so I’m not sure how it would work.
I love baking. Give me a recipe and I can do it. EXCEPT brownies. For years I’ve tried so many recipes hoping to find that perfect recipe that comes out of the oven just like boxed brownies. After trying and failing so many times over the years without success I gave up. But by luck I came across this recipe and it is the only brownie recipe that should come up when brownie recipe is searched. These are the perfect brownie. They are easy and fast to make. I had everything I needed. Everyone loved them.
Hi Jen, I’m so glad you love the brownies!
I’ve made these a bunch of times and have never had an issue. That’s why I’m back to get the recipe again.
Hi Avery, I wrote you below after i took the brownies out. Here is the things I did just alittle different. I added a mixture of dark and regular cocoa. Used butter instead of oil. Mixed the sugars and butter along with the cocoa before adding eggs and flour. And only baked them 35 min because my oven runs hot. They did puff up and I also took them out with batter left alittle on the toothpick. So they are very good served still abit warm with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of hot fudge on the top. So I just tweeked it alittle and they came out great.
I must say I’m wondering that myself why no baking powder or even baking soda. Mine are in the oven now. I used melted butter instead of the oil. I hope I didn’t waste all my ingredients on this recipe. I hope I’m wrong….sorry yours didn’t turn out. I will let u know.
Super fudgey, just like I wanted! They’re a little too sweet for me though – next time I’ll try using 1 cup of sugar instead of 1.5.
Hi Nicole, glad you liked the brownies! I find that the 1 cup of sugar is a nice level of sweetness.
Best brownies ever! So easy and satisfy my sweet tooth every time.
So glad you love them, Sayonna!
These are absolutely the fudgiest brownies I’ve ever eaten, which was exactly what I was looking for. If you like cakey and/or fluffy brownies, these are not for you. (I am convinced any negative reviews must be from people who don’t actually like fudge brownies.) I used the olive oil, as I like the slightly fruity taste it gives baked goods. I used Ghirardelli cocoa powder and 60% chocolate chips. This will be my go to brownie recipe going forward. I think I may play around with adding espresso instead of water in a batch to see if it makes these even better!
Hi, I’m so glad you love the brownies!
I made these brownies for some friends last week and they haven’t stopped raving about them! Seriously this is the only recipe you will ever need for brownies I can’t recommend them enough!!!!
I’m so glad you loved them, Christina!
I substituted the vanilla extract for pure lemon extract because I wanted to make lemon chocolate brownies, I also omitted the chocolate chips as I had none. The batch I made is currently in the oven but from the bits of batter I licked out of the bowl they taste promising. I had to substitute two tablespoons of the cocoa powder with black cocoa because I ran out of the regular unsweetened. I also just smeared margarine into a ceramic dish that was approximately 9×9 inches because I couldn’t find a proper tin. Seems like despite my substitutions it’ll turn out well.
Fuck, I meant to type 8×8 inches.
made these 3x for christmas. got positive reviews from 3 sets of people (was told something tasted odd but not bad.. used the olive oil so i’m not surprised lol). totally making these again with canola oil (and maybe some extra chocolate chips!
would you recommend using these as a base for other brownie recipes that call for “box mix”? I prefer this to boxed for sure and would love to make it work!
Hi Alex, I’m so glad you love the recipe! I’m not sure how using these brownies instead of a boxed mix in other recipes would work. What other types of recipes did you have in mind?
delicious – amazing texture. Chewy and soft yet firm.
So glad you loved them!
Best brownies I ever had
So glad you loved them, Isabel!
I have never made homemade brownies. Glad I came across this recipe when having a chocolate craving tonight. I didn’t have dark chocolate chips but I did have Lily’s White Chocolate chips so threw those in instead. I didn’t read ahead in the recipe and couldn’t wait 2 hours for the brownies to set. Mine were very gooey inside after 50 minutes in oven. I’m sure they’ll set more by the time I have another one! The flavor was delicious! My husband said he enjoyed them better than boxed brownies. Guess I’ll have to make homemade more often!
Hi Danielle, I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe!
These brownies were absolutely wonderful—moist, dense, fudgy, and irresistibly gooey. Since everyone has their own preference when it comes to brownies—some love them dense, others prefer them fluffy, and some settle for dry, boxed mix—I customized this recipe to suit my taste.
After reading reviews from others who tried this recipe, I made a few small adjustments. I reduced the sugar to 1 cup, added a tablespoon of instant coffee to enhance the chocolate flavor, and included 1/8 teaspoon of baking powder for just a hint of fluff while keeping that rich, gooey texture.
What I love most about this recipe is its versatility—it’s simple enough to customize, yet delicious enough to be perfect just as it is. Thank you for sharing such a fantastic recipe!
So glad you loved it, Jessye! Thanks for sharing your variation.
Hi Stephanie, the recipe is best using an 8×8 inch baking pan.
Very, very dense, and extraordinarily sweet. Far too much sugar in this and not enough wet. It also needs some baking powder and maybe a couple TB of instant coffee would give it a nice balance. Definitely won’t be making this again. Don’t understand the overwhelming positive reviews.
I agree, I cut my sugar down to 1 cup and cut the powder sugar back to about 1/4 cup and added 1 cup of water not 2 tbs.They came out fine to me. A GOOD RECIPE just added a few changes.
Hubby said these are the best brownies he has ever had!
Where exactly did you see in the directions to make muffins out of a brownie recipe? You clearly used an incorrect ratio of wet and dry ingredients, because they are not oily. You altered a recipe that’s to be made in a pan, used some liners in the muffin pan, which is a rookie mistake, and I’ll bet you over oiled with non-stick spray, and that’s where the oil came from. They are not muffins, they’re brownies. Perhaps look at the description, or use Google to find a chocolate “MUFFIN” recipe. It’s people like you, who don’t follow instructions, use the wrong recipe, most likely the wrong ratio of ingredients, then had to come up with your owning baking timing, because you decided to just completely go off book. I have no faith that you even know how to properly read a measuring cup, or, read in general. Don’t blame the poster, author, or recipe, because you’re just some random “Karen” twunt.
lol. Recipe is solid. Comments on baking sites are often not as solid.
Completely agree, make recipe as it was laid out or keep your comments to yourself.