Best Homemade Brownie Recipe

Best Homemade Brownie Recipe

Written by Becky

Yes, it’s citrus season but it’s also chocolate season. Am I right? I have two tasty chocolate recipes coming up for you starting out with these jewels, Homemade Brownies. When it comes to brownies, I’ll be honest, there are no bad brownies but I do believe there are better brownies and after this recipe I think there most definitely is a best brownie. I found this recipe from Ruth Reichl on Guilt Taste. As she describes, ‘when you replace ordinary ingredients with spectacular ones, you end up with something that is rich, deeply chocolate and lingers in your memory like a wonderful dream.’

Best Homemade Brownie Recipe

For as long as I can remember I have loved brownies. Maybe it was all the Texas chocolate sheet cake (basically a brownie) or just the gatherings of girl friends over the years that almost always included a plate full of dense chocolate brownies. I can remember making them on my own for the first time with a girl friend and overloading the box mix with all kinds of chocolate candy (much like Parent Trap). And I can remember making them for a group of cheerleaders in college, where the plate remained untouched

(a unfathomable happening).

After trying many recipes over the years, I think I’ve finally met my match. These brownies are taller with a deep fudge-like interior

and a crackling meringue-like top that crunches when you take a bite! I know I’ll be making them for years to come, maybe my kids will be making it for their kids (…it’s that good). This may even turn into your house brownie recipe as well!Best Homemade Brownie Recipe

Best Homemade Brownie Recipe

Recipe and tips for making the best homemade brownies.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 9 2 inch brownies

Ingredients
  

  • 2/3 cup unsalted high-fat butter (European-style), 5 ounces
  • 5 ounces unsweetened excellent chocolate, measure by weight
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 teaspoons best-quality vanilla extract
  • 4 farm fresh organic eggs
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 cup all-purpose white flour, sifted

Instructions
 

  • To prepare the pan, butter a 9x9 square pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Butter the bottom again and lightly dust the pan with chocolate or cocoa powder.
  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  • Melt the chocolate and the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
  • Beat the eggs and salt in a stand mixer. Add the sugar and beat on high for about 10 minutes, until the mixture has turned quite white. Add the chocolate mixture to the eggs, beating on low until just mixed.
  • Gently stir in the flour until it just disappears.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan, place in the middle of the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 350 degrees. Bake for 40 minutes; the brownies will be quite fudgy and a toothpick should come out not quite clean. Cool on a rack.
  • Invert the pan, remove the parchment paper and invert again onto a cutting surface. Cut into squares.

Comments (61)

  1. You know I love my brownies, can’t wait to try these! Maybe you should come over and bake brownies with me so I won’t eat the entire pan by myself:)

  2. Um- those look perfect! I love the crackling on the top (and the top photo with the dense center had me sold). I also love how few ingredients they have in them! Can’t wait to try these!

  3. I just made these had to cook an extra 10 mins there’s still pure liquid in the middle. So sad don’t know what went wrong. I put them back in the oven for another 20 mins.

    • Shay, are you at a different altitude?? I’ve made this recipe many times and haven’t had that problem. After 20 more minutes were they okay? They’ll also set a bit more after you take them out of the oven and let them cool. Also, make sure you’re baking them in a 9×9 inch square pan. Thanks so much for following up after you made the recipe. Hope you’ll try them a second time.

      • Ugh it was 8×8 and almost made the same mistake on the second batch but caught your comment. I used an 8×11. There %100 better very yummy I added 2tsp of habanera sugar gave them a nice kick. Thank you for sharing and getting back to me.

  4. Goodness, I’ve had brownies on my mind for a couple of weeks and between watching Mary Fran of Frannycakes.com demo her brownies on Saturday and seeing these today, I think I’m toast. Brownies are happening. The perfect homemade Valentine’s gift. Miss you and can’t wait to meet baby. Love to the hubs too.
    XO

  5. Becky! These are amazing! I am not a baker and typically have baking disasters. But these turned out perfectly. I’ve made them twice in one week!

    • For the chocolate, use a chocolate bar – you can find them in the baking isle at the grocery store. You could use Ghiradelli or my favorite- Valrhona (which can be found at specialty shops like Caputo’s in Salt Lake).

  6. Me and my friends made a batch , we doubled the mixture and thought it would be okay, when we took them out the top was chocolate, the middle was caramel colour and the bottom looked like a sponge base (no chocolate colour) . What went wrong , could it be irish ingredients ?

    • I have no idea but start by trying just a regular size batch- that definitely could have affected it. They really are the BEST brownies so I hope you get a chance to make them again.

  7. Hey Becky! I’ve made this brownie and it turned out beautifully. I even put it on my blog. It came out exactly as I imagined it while looking at your pictures. But then yesterday, I’ve tried to make it again, using exactly the same ingredients, but it turned out really spongy, like a normal brownie, not at all creamy inside and hard and crackling on the bottom and top. It was so weird. Since it was supposed to be a present, I went to the supermarket, bought more ingredients and did it again, now trying to really pay attention at everything, beating the eggs exactly 10 minutes. And the result was the same: a really spongy cake, good, but not extraordinary. I wanted to ask you if this ever happened to you. And if you have any idea regarding what might have went wrong. Thank you!

    • Andreea, thanks so much for the feedback! That hasn’t happened to me yet but I’m making them this weekend and I will definitely let you know if it does. I know beating the eggs is important and also the quality of chocolate (though I don’t think that could effect its consistency). Make sure the oven is at the right temp and that you let the brownies cool.

  8. Thanks for the quick answer. Maybe I didn’t heat the oven properly. I am also thinking now that beating the eggs affects how fluffy and “airy” the dough is. I used the same chocolate I used first time, when the brownie came out proper: Lindt 85% cocoa (expensive chocolate). I will make it again too in the next days, because I am so intrigued now and I will let you know as well.

  9. Hey again Becky! I haven’t yet made the brownie again, but I think I realized what might have been the difference. I think the eggs were smaller and thus the batter didn’t get liquid enough, so instead of the brownie becoming creamy it turned dense and spongy. I will try it with large eggs and let you know. I really hope this is it, because I loved this brownie when I first made it.

    • Yes, I tried it this weekend and it still was the same for me so maybe try the eggs and report back. Also, make sure you let it cool and dry out a little before slicing. Let me know how it turns out!

    • I think it wouldn’t work as well without the full amount of ingredients. Feel free to try it but I can’t guarantee they will be gooey on the inside and crisp on the outside. Hope that helps!

  10. THESE WERE FABULOUS!! i made these with a hand whisk instead and they still turned out great! however 40 minutes was wayy too long i found that they were ready after around 10-15 minutes in the oven 🙂 FABULOUS RECIPE! will be using it forever! THANKYOU SO MUCH!

  11. These are so wonderful! I was looking for the perfect Brownie recipe, and BAM!
    I followed the recipe exactly the first time and they were delicious! After that I started playing though, because that’s half the fun in my book of finding a really good recipe haha. The only thing I’ve consistently changed though was equal parts white sugar and light brown sugar [both organic of course ;-)]. I REALLY enjoyed was reducing the time I beat the eggs and added some homemadeCaramel Sauce.
    This is the best of the best, and my go to for ALL brownies. THANK YOU!
    Now that I’ve given myself a craving I think I’ll be making a batch haha

  12. Do you think this recipe would work with self-rising flour ? I want to make them for my husband before he gets home from work and I only have self-rising 🙁

    • Jenna, Since the recipe doesn’t have any baking powder or baking soda in it I would say you probably should use all purpose flour for the best results! Hope that helps!

  13. I made these last night. BEST brownies ever!!! Interesting recipe; first time I’ve whipped the eggs and sugar like that for so long. What a difference it makes…genius! I didn’t have cocoa powder, which is why I found this recipe, so I dusted the bottom with cinnamon instead. Very tasty. Thanks!!

  14. These are amazing! I made them for my roommate’s birthday because I needed a recipe with no cocoa powder or baking powder/soda, and I now swear I’m never using another brownie recipe again. Wednesday night is officially brownie night this semester, and it’s become a great opportunity for my floor-mates to bond. Thanks for a great recipe!!

    • Madeline, I’m so glad you like them. I’ll never make another brownie either 🙂 And its always good to hear they are shared! Take care, Becky

    • I would definitely reccomend the square pan as suggested for best results but you could use that size and bake for slightly less time also. Hope that helps.

  15. hello 😀 can i use regular flour? because i cant find all purpose flour at my place… theres only self raising flour n regular flour…
    plus, if i use un-unsweetened chocolate… do i have to decrease the amount of sugar?
    plus! can i use table salt instead of sea salt 🙂
    btw,im a Malay !

    • Hi Ana, As for flour all purpose and regular flour should be the same. All purpose is just a way of saying regular flour for all purposes. And for the unsweetened chocolate if you like brownies extra sweet increase the sugar just slightly but not too much or just leave it the same. Table Salt is okay. And for melting the chocolate you can just make sure its melted but not burned. You can melt it over the stove top in a pan as well. Stir constantly to recent burning. Enjoy!

  16. ermmmm… one more question… i microwave cant reached to 400 degres … maximum 300 degres… can u seggest any solution? do i have to cook it longger or decrease the amount of the mixture…

  17. Listing 5 oz of chocolate on a recipe is silly. 5 oz by weight or by volume… my guess is NOT the way I did it. 🙁

  18. 5 stars
    Just made these and they are the BEST brownies I have ever made! I love the crackly top and they are so flavorful! Thanks!`

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