Best Brownie Recipe
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The search for the very best brownie recipe ends here. These brownies are fudgy, deeply chocolaty, and absolutely worth making from scratch.
I’ve made a lot of brownie recipes over the years, but I always come back to this one. The brownies are thick, deeply chocolatey, irresistibly fudgy in the center, and topped with a paper-thin, crackly crust. The secret? While most brownie recipes—and nearly all boxed mixes—rely solely on cocoa powder, this one is made with real melted chocolate for exceptional richness and flavor.
The recipe originally comes from pastry chef Nick Malgieri’s Chocolate cookbook. It’s been around for decades and featured in numerous cooking publications, such as The New York Times, Saveur, and The Splendid Table. Try it for yourself and see why people have been making it for so long.
Why You’ll Love This Brownie Recipe
- One bowl and no mixer required
- Perfectly fudgy with crackly tops
- Made with simple ingredients
- Easy to make ahead and freeze
- Perfect for parties, bake sales, and gifting
- A time-tested recipe that’s been loved for decades
“The name does not lie!! These are hands-down the BEST brownies I have made!!! My entire family devoured them.”
What You’ll Need To Make Homemade Brownies
- Unsalted butter: Adds richness and moisture, creating the brownies’ signature fudgy texture. Using unsalted butter lets you control the amount of salt in the recipe.
- Bittersweet or semisweet chocolate: Since chocolate is the star here, use a good-quality chocolate bar, such as Ghirardelli or Guittard. I recommend bars instead of chocolate chips, which contain stabilizers that prevent them from melting as smoothly.
- Eggs: Provide structure while keeping the brownies rich and chewy. Use large eggs, and let them come to room temperature if possible so they blend more easily into the batter.
- Granulated sugar: Helps create the brownies’ signature shiny, crackly top while adding sweetness.
- Dark brown sugar: Adds moisture along with a subtle molasses flavor that makes the brownies even richer and fudgier. Light brown sugar will work in a pinch, but you’ll get a milder flavor and slightly less moisture.
- Vanilla extract: Enhances the chocolate flavor without overpowering it.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness and makes the chocolate taste even richer.
- All-purpose flour: Just enough flour gives the brownies structure while keeping them dense and fudgy instead of cakey. Measure using the spoon-and-level method for the best results—packing the cup or scooping straight from the bag adds too much flour and dries out the brownies.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Melt the butter and chocolate. Melt the butter until it’s hot and bubbling, then add the chopped chocolate. Let it sit for about a minute before whisking; the residual heat from the butter is usually enough to melt the chocolate completely. If a few pieces remain, microwave the mixture briefly and whisk again until smooth and glossy.
Step 2: Mix the eggs, sugars, and flavoring. Whisk the eggs with the sugars, vanilla, and salt until smooth, making sure there are no lumps of brown sugar. You don’t need to whip a lot of air into the mixture—just whisk until everything is evenly combined.
Step 3: Finish the batter. Whisk the melted chocolate into the egg mixture, then stir in the flour just until no streaks remain. The batter will be thick and glossy. Avoid overmixing at this stage, which can make the brownies a bit tougher.
Step 4: Bake. Line the pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides so you can easily lift the brownies out after baking. Spray the paper with nonstick cooking spray, then spread the batter evenly into the corners and bake until the top is shiny and set. If you’re unsure whether they’re done, it’s better to err on the side of slightly underbaked than overbaked. The brownies will continue to set as they cool.
Step 5: Cool and cut. As tempting as it is to cut into warm brownies, letting them cool completely gives them time to finish setting, making them easier. Once cool, use the parchment overhang to lift them from the pan, then trim the crispy edges (chef’s treat!) and cut into squares. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days, or freeze for longer storage.
Choosing Your Pan
This recipe is written for a 9×13-inch metal pan (24 brownies). Some helpful adjustments:
- 8×8 or 9×9 pan: Halve the recipe. Start checking for doneness around 30 minutes.
- Two 8×8 pans: Keep the full recipe and split the batter between two pans (great for trying different mix-ins). Bake about 30 minutes.
- Glass or ceramic instead of metal: Drop the oven to 325°F rather than adding time at 350°F. Both retain heat more than metal and can burn at the edges before the center’s done. Glass is the more stubborn of the two; ceramic tends to be a bit more forgiving.
Variations and Mix-Ins
- Add nuts: Fold in ½ to 1 cup of chopped toasted walnuts or pecans along with the batter for crunch.
- Deepen the chocolate flavor: Add 1 teaspoon of instant espresso powder to the melted chocolate-butter mixture. You won’t taste coffee; it just intensifies the chocolate.
- Go extra chocolatey: Fold in ½ to 1 cup of chocolate chips along with the flour for pockets of melted chocolate throughout.
Video Tutorial
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Best Brownie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 8 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped (I use Ghirardelli bars)
- 4 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and set a rack in the middle position. Line a 9 x 13-in (23 x 33-cm) pan with parchment paper (bring parchment up sides of pan so there is a slight overhang) and grease with butter or nonstick cooking spray.
- Place the butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl and melt in the microwave until bubbling. Add the chocolate and whisk until the chocolate is completely melted. The heat from the butter should be enough to melt the chocolate completely, but if not, place the chocolate-butter mixture in the microwave and heat for 20 seconds or so, then whisk again. (Alternatively, combine the butter and chocolate in a heat proof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally until melted.)
- Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Add the salt, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla; whisk until smooth (be sure no lumps of brown sugar remain). Whisk in the chocolate-butter mixture, then add the flour and whisk until the batter is uniform.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for about 45 minutes, until the top has formed a shiny crust and the batter is moderately firm. Cool completely in the pan on a rack.
- Use the parchment overhang to lift the brownies out of the pan, transfer them to a cutting board, and separate the parchment from the edges. Using a sharp knife, trim away the edges and cut the brownies into 24 (2-in) squares.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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will they stay moist if the are made the night before you need them?
Definitely, Dee – they keep well.
can i use Enjoy Life brand non dairy chocolate chips instead of a chocolate bar in this recipe ?
Hi JC, I wish I could say for sure, but I’m not familiar with those and don’t know whether they will melt as nicely as the chocolate bar. If you do try it, I’d love to hear how they turn out!
The brownies using Enjoy Life Brand ( non dairy chocolate chips- from Whole Foods) were WONDERFUL ! I have renamed them ” fudgy freezer bites” and keep them in the freezer in a freezer bag for nightly snack/ treats !!
It was ready in 40 min. So yummy! Thank you for the recipe!
These are the best brownies I’ve ever made. It barely lasted a day in our house. I can’t wait to make it again and again!
These brownies are 100% amazing! I’ve been making them once a week since I discovered this recipe, and no one is complaining. Super easy too. It’s best if you make them with high-quality chocolate.
Hi Jenn, these are by far the best brownies I’ve ever tried, however, the last couple of times, they were quite stuck to the paper… I tried adding one extra egg to the recipe, tried to cook them for 5 extra minutes but I’m now quite sure that it’s a problem with the paper itself. I live in Uruguay and was using a Reynolds parchment paper that brought from USA and since I ran out of it, I could only find locally what we call “papel manteca” (wax paper). Do you think this might be the problem? What would you suggest to fix this issue? Maybe aluminium foil? Any other tip? Thanks! PD already ordered your book… just perfect!
Hi Andres, Yes if you’re using wax paper, it will stick. You might try nonstick heavy duty aluminum foil (be sure it’s nonstick!). Or you could bake them directly in a greased pan. Good luck!
I made two batches of these for a lunch with friends. One with bittersweet chocolate, one with semisweet chocolate. Both were great and well-received! Incredibly moist and perfectly gooey on the inside. The absolute BEST parts were the crunchy sides I cut off. My husband and I went to town on those!!! We have some in the freezer for another day… perhaps today!
I’ve tried a million other brownie recipes but will finally be able to stop looking for the perfect brownie recipe because this is it! It was so easy, and they were a hit at my friend’s party.
Using an AirBake Nonstick Cake Pan avoids the burnt edges. The edges are hard, but not burnt.
These brownies are totally delicious. I’ve been baking for a long time and have tried many brownie recipes. After making these last night, and not changing anything, I’ll throw all of the recipes away.
Thank you.
I meant to say, “I’ll throw all of the other recipes away and keep this one.”
Hi Jenn,
This is the first recipe which gave me fudgy brownies and the paper crust I’ve been longing for. I’d like to work on the crust, though:) I baked a half in an 8×8 pan and checked after 25 mins with a toothpick – it seemed almost overbaked so I took it out. The crust is fine but not as “crunchy” and shiny as yours. What could I do to perfect it while using this size of pan? Change the temperature, or perhaps place it a little higher in the oven? (My “middle” rack is a bit under the centre, the higher one is in the upper third.) Thanks a lot for any advice!
P.S. Also made your broccoli crustless quiche last Sunday, or to be more specific, instructed my husband to do so as I was sick. It came out perfect! I try not to indulge in “cream+cheese” dishes but this one is a winner – and technically healthy due to the broccoli and all the egg protein:))
Hi Jana, I would try cooking them a bit longer – it’s really hard to overcook these. Usually, the shiny crust is an indication that they are done. I also think it’s a good idea to place them a bit higher in the oven. Hope that helps, and please lmk how they turn out!