Homemade Brownies {Reader Favorite} - Celebrating Sweets (2024)

Why this recipe is the best

• Ease: The brownie batter comes together in one bowl in less than 15 minutes.
• Fudgy: If you’re a fan of fudgy brownies this recipe is for you! These bake up moist and chocolaty with a rich fudgy flavor and texture.
• Shiny crinkly tops: These brownies have the shiny crinkly tops that you typically see in boxed brownies. How do we do it? Read more about the method below.
• Moist and chewy: These brownies are moist and fudgy with a hint of chewiness. The edges bake up more chewy than the center.
• Tested and perfected: We’ve made this recipe so many times we have it memorized! We even use it as the base for many of our flavored brownies.

Recipe overview

*Full recipe below in recipe card*

Combine melted butter and granulated sugar.

Whisk in eggs, water, and vanilla.

Add flour, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Add the batter to an 8×8 or 9×9 pan and bake!

Tips for making homemade brownies

• Start with hot butter + granulated sugar: The heat from the butter will melt the sugar and create an incredible texture and shiny crust.
• Add chocolate chips: Just like with our chocolate bundt cake, we add chocolate chips to the batter for fudginess. Those chips melt slightly and make these super chocolaty. Use your favorite chocolate chips: milk chocolate for a sweeter brownie, semisweet for a classic flavor or bittersweet for a deep, dark chocolate flavor. Sometimes I even use a combination of chips.
• Line your baking pan: Line your baking pan with foil or parchment paper for easy removal and clean up. You can lift the whole batch of brownies right out of the pan by lifting the overhanging foil or parchment paper.
• Do NOT over bake: Brownies baked too long will end up dry and crumbly. Start checking the brownies 5-10 minutes before the recipe says that they should be done. They are done when the edges are set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with fudgy crumbs, but no raw batter. There are a lot of melty chocolate chips in these brownies, so don’t mistakenly think that melted chocolate means that they’re underdone. More on this below.
• Choose from two pan sizes: You can use a 9×9 baking pan or an 8×8 baking pan. Bake time will be less in the 9×9 and the thickeness of the brownies will vary based on which pan you choose.

What makes brownies fudgy

Several things make brownies fudgy instead of cakey. These homemade brownies fall into the “fudgy” category, here’s why:

1. Fat to flour ratio: These brownies have a high fat to flour ratio. They have more fat (butter, chocolate chips) than flour. This creates a dense, fudgy texture.
2. No leavening: These brownies contain no baking soda or baking powder, which means there is little-to-no rise when they bake.
3. Chocolate chips: This batter contains a whole cup of chocolate chips. While baking, the chocolate chips melt just slightly, creating a moist, fudgy texture. Don’t skip the chocolate chips – they add a lot to this recipe.

Secret to moist brownies

My number #1 secret to moist brownies is: do NOT over bake! Also, the liquid to dry ratio in this recipe helps keep these brownies moist.

How to tell when brownies are done

Toothpick test: The brownies should be removed from the oven when a toothpick inserted into the brownies come out with moist fudgy crumbs on it (no thin raw batter). Remember, there are lots of chocolate chips in there, so melted chocolate is ok.

Where to do the toothpick test. We love this tip from America’s Test Kitchen, “bake until toothpick inserted halfway between edge and center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached.” The very center will finish cooking after you remove the pan from the oven and the edges should already be done.

How to get shiny and crinkly crust

One thing we love about this recipe is that you get a shiny, crinkly crust like you typically see on boxed brownies. Here’s how to achieve that:

• Combine granulated sugar and hot melted butter. The heat from the butter will partially dissolve the sugar which helps create the perfect “crust”.
• Beat the butter, sugar, eggs, and water for a full 30 seconds to be sure that they are well incorporated.
• Once the batter is fully combined stir it vigorously for several turns around the bowl. The batter should be glossy and beautiful!
• Chocolate chips in the batter. According to the experts at King Arthur Flour, adding chocolate chips into the brownie batter helps to achieve the shiny tops. This also helps with fudginess, too.

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