Brownie Recipe

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This is our favorite, ultra-fudgy, ridiculously chocolatey, insanely rich Brownie Recipe! Plus, I'm sharing all the tips and tricks to prepare you to be the ultimate brownie maker -- you'll never want a boxed mix again!

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American, Vegetarian

Keyword brownie recipe, brownies

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Setting Time 3 hours

Total Time 4 hours 5 minutes

Servings brownies

Calories 211kcal

Author Chelsea Lords

Cost $5.62

Ingredients

4 large eggs
1 egg yolk
18 tablespoons unsalted butter (two sticks plus two tablespoons)
2 cups dark chocolate chips 53% cacao (or use semi-sweet chocolate chips -- see Note 1)
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder Note 2
2 cups white granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup white, all-purpose flour Note 3
1 teaspoon fine sea salt Note 4
2 cups milk chocolate chips Note 5

US - Metric

Instructions

PREP: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a light-colored 9x13-inch metal pan (See Note 6) with nonstick cooking spray. Line the pan with parchment paper (do not line with foil or wax paper -- wax paper will melt, foil often leaves a metallic taste).
EGGS: Crack 4 eggs into a small bowl. Add 1 egg yolk. Discard the whites or save them for another recipe. Use a fork to briskly whisk the eggs and then set aside.
MELT CHOCOLATE: Add the 18 tablespoons butter and 2 full cups of dark chocolate to a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds; then stir with a wooden spoon for 20 seconds. Repeat, microwaving for 30 seconds and then stirring for 20 seconds until chocolate is fully melted (this takes about 80-90 seconds in my microwave).
COCOA POWDER AND SUGAR: As soon as the chocolate and butter have melted and incorporated, add in the 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons cocoa powder. Mix with a wooden spoon until fully incorporated. Next, add in the 2 cups sugar. Stir until completely incorporated.
REMAINING INGREDIENTS: Use a spatula to scrape every bit of the whisked eggs into the bowl. Mix until fully incorporated. Add in the 1 tablespoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon fine sea salt (only use 1/4 up to 1/2 teaspoon if using table salt). Stir to mix. Finally, add in 1 cup flour and 2 cups milk chocolate chips. Stir until just incorporated, being careful to not overmix the batter. Use a spatula to scrape all of the batter into the prepared 9x13 pan and to smooth the top.
BAKE: Bake in a preheated oven for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick when inserted into the center comes out with moist (not wet) crumbs. We like these brownies best very fudgy which is 40 minutes in my oven. Remove from the oven and let pan cool on a wire cooling rack at room temperature for 2-3 hours. They are very fudgy at this point and continue to firm up and set up more as they cool. (At about 3-5 hours out of the oven they are quite firm and set up.)
CUT AND SERVE: Using the overhang of parchment paper, lift the bars from the pan and use a sharp knife to make decisive cuts in the bars. Run the knife under warm water, dry on a kitchen towel, and repeat for each cut.
STORAGE: Store brownies in an airtight container at room temperature; store in the fridge if you'd like fudgier bars. Brownies are best enjoyed within 3-4 days of being baked.

Video

Notes

Note 1: I recommend 53% cacao chocolate chips, which is not very dark or bitter tasting. These brownies are still very sweet (especially with all the sugar getting added in). Nestle makes 53% cacao dark chocolate chips and that's what I use in these brownies. You'll need a little more than one (11-ounce) bag to get a full 2 cups. If you don't want to use dark chocolate chips, I've also tested these brownies with semi-sweet chocolate chips -- bars are a tiny bit sweeter but taste fairly similar (testers either preferred dark chocolate chips or could not tell a difference).

Note 2: Be sure to use unsweetened cocoa powder, NOT Dutch-process (also called "Special Dark") cocoa powder. If you only have Dutch-process cocoa powder, you can use it, but you'll need to add 1 teaspoon baking powder to the brownie batter (Dutched cocoa has the acid stripped out, so the baking powder adds the needed acid into the brownies).

Note 3: If you press a measuring cup into a bag of flour and scoop, you will pack in way too much flour, resulting in more cake-like brownies. To accurately measure the flour, spoon the flour into the measuring cup until it's overfilled. Then use the back of a table knife to level the measuring cup at the top.

Note 4: If using table salt, reduce to 1/2 teaspoon.

Note 5: We love milk chocolate chips in these brownies, but know that these brownies are very sweet! If you'd like to control sweetness, use semi-sweet or even add nuts instead. This amount can be reduced to 1 cup if desired.

Note 6: Bake time will vary with a dark-colored metal pan or glass pan, so you'll just need to keep an eye on the brownies. Light-colored, shiny pans will produce the best results (they conduct heat much more evenly).

Nutrition information is for 36 very small brownies. This is an appropriate size due to their richness.

Nutrition