These easy Chocolate Brownies are my “go to” brownies recipe. Made with melted chocolate, these are no fuss, made from scratch, requires just one bowl, a wooden spoons. Fudgy, moist, tender and very chocolatey.
Choose how gooey you want them, just follow the bake times and my “toothpick smearing” test. And trust me – this recipe is extremely forgiving, it is very hard to go wrong!
A BROWNIE FOR EVERYONE!
Brownie making is serious business. There are some outrageous brownies out there. Fully loaded fancy versions. Recipes that demand only the best chocolate. And that’s just scratching the surface. Cakey, fudgey, gooey, chewy? Dense or tender? How sweet is too sweet? Make it the old school way with just cocoa powder, or use chocolate too?
Fact is, there is no such thing as the perfect brownie. Because we all have different tastes!
DIFFERENT TYPES OF BROWNIES
Broadly speaking, there are 4 different types of brownies. Cakey – the ones with a bit of lift in them so they are a bit like a sponge cake. Super gooey – the ones that you cut into and warm goo comes oozing out. I know there are some hardcore devotees to this kind of brownie! Then there are chewy ones and fudgey ones – both are extremely moist.
My Easy Chocolate Brownies are the fudgey kind that can be made gooey, if you so wish. 🙂 It is not a dense fudgey brownie, it is a tender fudgey brownie. Hopefully you can see in this close up how moist this brownie is!
Here is how to tell how cooked your brownie is. Stick a toothpick in the centre of the brownie, hold it for 2 seconds, then take it out. If there is a lot of smear on it, then it is super gooey (22 minutes bake time). If the toothpick gets a brown strain and has some smear on it, it is fudgey and moist – my favourite (25 minutes). If the toothpick is clean with just a few crumbs, then it’s slightly more cake like (28 minutes). But still really moist (because this recipe only has 1/2 cup of flour in it, impossible not to be moist!).
A TIMELESS BROWNIE RECIPE
I’ve made more elaborate brownies in my time, but I keep coming back to this one because it’s everything I want in a brownie made with minimal fuss. The essential ingredients to make it super chocolatey, lovely and moist, and nothing more.
The other thing is that my brownie is sweet, but not tooth-achingly sweet. There are some brownie recipes out there that use almost double the sugar I do and they are far too sweet for me.
No one has ever complained about my brownies not being sweet enough, that’s for sure! And I know some people who will probably make this but cut back on the sugar a bit. 🙂
So…..how do you like your brownie? Super fudgey? Chewy, cakey, fully loaded? Are walnuts and/or chocolate chips a “must” for you? 🙂 – Nagi x
All things Brownies
- Outrageous Nutella Brownies – lives up to their name!
- Salted Caramel Stuffed Brownies
- Gluten Free Brownies – so moist, with a hint of almond flavour
- Brownie Cookie Sandwich with Peanut Butter Frosting
And more irresistible bars and slices
- No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
- Caramel Slice (aka Millionaire’s Bar!) – the great Aussie favourite!
- Strawberry Bars – made with tons of fresh strawberries!
- Easiest Ever Raspberries Jam Bars and Lemon Bars
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Easy Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
- 200 g / 1 3/4 US sticks (14 tbsp) unsalted butter
- 200 g / 1 1/4 cups / 7 oz dark chocolate chips (Note 1)
- 1 cup (175g) brown sugar , loosely packed
- 3 eggs , lightly beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (75g) plain flour
- 1/4 cup (30g) cocoa powder
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/320F (standard) or 160C/320F (fan forced / convection).
- Spray a 20cm/8" square tin with oil and line with baking/parchment paper with overhang (Note 2).
- Place butter and chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl, microwave in 30 second bursts (takes me 1m 30 sec) until melted. stir to combine.
- Add sugar, mix, then add eggs, mix, then add remaining ingredients. It's fine to be a bit lumpy.
- Pour into pan. Bake for 22 minutes for really gooey in the centre, 25 minutes for fudgey but still wet, 28 minutes for moist fudge-cake-like. See photos in post for comparison and the toothpick test.
- Rest for 10 minutes before lifting out of the pan. Allow to cool before cutting. Store in an airtight container for 4 days (bet they don't last that long!)
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
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Life of Dozer – Dozer hates being hugged. Don’t know why. I mean, what dog doesn’t like their face being squished like this in a chokehold grip?
ANNOUNCING….RECIPETIN JAPAN
A food blog dedicated to Japanese recipes
Oooh, I’ve been looking forward to this day for months….The launch of my mother’s blog, RecipeTin Japan! It’s a food blog dedicated solely to Japanese recipes – all the favorites that you know and love, and some traditional recipes you may not have heard of but will surely love!
I want to be able to tell you a heartwarming story, that my mother was so inspired by my enthusiasm for RecipeTin Eats that she too decided to start a food blog….
But that would just be a lie.
The truth of the matter is, my brother, sister and I guilted her into starting a food blog.
We didn’t coax her gently, telling her how fulfilling it would be and how fantastic that people from all over the world could enjoy her Japanese recipes.
Nope.
Basically, we told her that if she croaked before she wrote down all our favourite Japanese recipes, we’d be really cranky.
And thus RecipeTin Japan was born. 😉
Pop on over to say konnichiwa (“hello” in Japanese) to my mother at RecipeTin JAPAN! I think you’ll love the latest recipe she just shared – the real deal Teriyaki chicken, made the proper Japanese way just like you get a real Japanese restaurants all over the world. You’re going to be gob smacked how ridiculously easy it actually is to make!
My mother’s Teriyaki Chicken recipe – on her blog RecipeTin Japan
I love how you ‘coaxed’ your mum into doing a blog… Brilliant! (and thank you! for both, your recipes and your mum’s…)
Haha 😉 Thanks so much!
Hi! Is it alright to skip the cocoa powder? Cocoa powder seems to lend a bitter taste to the brownie.
The brownies taste good, but I might have done something wrong cause they still seem liquidy even though I cooked for 6 mins longer than recommended. Maybe I should’ve put them lower?
Hi Beck, sorry you had issues here – that doesn’t sound right at all! Is your oven thermostat working?
I made this recipe using mini muffin tin because I don’t have square tin. Reduced baking time to 18min. Fudgy, chocolatey and moist. Yummm. Thanks Nagi.
Great to hear Yoona!!
Hi Nagi,
I have gone and agreed this for a school party… i need about 50 pieces… what measurements should i be using? Also what dish size.. please help me 🙂
Hi Kamini, You’d need to keep the same pan size here as increasing the pan size (and portions) will mean the outside of the brownie will cook and be dryer that the inside. I’d simply make 3 or 4 single serves – N x
Hi Nagi,
This recipe is amazing! I always find brownies tricky at times as I don’t like them when they’re too dry. But I tried your recipe and it was soooo goood!!
I was wondering, if I add choc chips in the batter do you think this could work?
Love all your recipes! So glad my sister referred your recipes to me ☺️
Hi Khaulah, you could definitely add chocolate chips to the batter, they may just melt through though and not be visible – N x
Hi Nagi,
I have a 24 x 24 cm pan and i was wondering if you could tell me the measurements to fit this pan as I am not sure this will turn out the gooey or fudgey brownies I’m wanting to make.
Love your work 🙂
Regards,
Jasmine
Hi Jasmine, I haven’t tried to be honest but my guess would be to adjust the servings to 16 and cook for 25 minutes or so – just check and maybe add another 3 minutes if it’s too goey! – N x
Hi Nagi, this is a staple in my household. everyone really loves it. My little one wants me to make a brownie cake for his birthday…. would the chocolate frosting that you have work with this? Any other ideas welcome…
Thanks much x
Hi Kamini, it would work, but I worry it may potholed up so well as a cake. Try this one: https://www.recipetineats.com/easy-chocolate-fudge-cake/
Thank you Nagi!
I have yet to actually try my brownie (only just come out of the oven) but I absolutely love how quick and easy it was to whip up. I bake almost every other week for the local gymnastics bbq and was super excited how easy yours sounded. Only thing is my oven for some reason decided to nearly take twice as long to cook than you instructions but it smells absolutely delicious.
Hi Katrina, that doesn’t sound right! Maybe get an oven thermometer to ensure your oven thermostat is still working. I hope you love the brownies!!
Hello Nagi,
I would like to say “thank you so much”. I just tried this recipe today and the brownies just come out perfect. This is best brownies recipe I ever tried. The taste is great..not so sweet. I made it fudgey kind. By the way, your website, the photos, and the video look great. I will try your other recipes.
Forgot to rate 🙂
Thanks so much Cotton!
Hi Nagi
Can you tell me, what kind of sugar you used? Is it like the light brown sugar from GB, that means moist? Or is it a dry brown sugar? Like the white one? It might be a silly question for most of you, but here in Switzerland it is not easy to find the right stuff…
Thanks a lot for your answer!
Hi Mady, It’s slightly moist – not like white sugar ❤️
I was finally able to order that special moist sugar – it makes all the difference! These are by far the best brownies we ever ate! Thank you so much, Nagi!
Hi Nagi, just want to say thank you very very very much for this recipe. I did not have dark chocolate chips so I just used the milk ones instead. The baked brownie tasted similar to the popular brand brownie mix we used to buy. Thanks to your recipe, I do not have to buy that anymore; I can cook everything from scratch. I look forward to trying all your other recipes. Thank you again!!!
Thanks & Regards,
Lani
How do I substitute the chocolate chips and cocoa powder with just cacao powder? Is that possible? If yes, how many grams should I use?
Sorry, it’s not possible in this recipe, you need the chocolate chips to keep the cake chocolatey and moist!
Let me start by saying I’m really enjoying your website! I just discovered it a couple of days ago and I’ve already made three recipes from it. I really appreciate the written recipe as well as the photo and video instructions… and all the wonderful tips and suggestions. Thank you!
Now, onto the brownies! These brownies were really good. I didn’t have a metal square pan so I used a glass baking dish. I also did not have parchment paper, so I used olive oil to grease the dish. Could I have lined the dish with foil? And if so, would I need to reduce the cooking time since foil heats things up faster? I made these the “fudge” style way at about 23 minutes. They were really moist. Although they were delicious, I prefer a chewier brownie with slightly crispy edges. Would the “cakey” version have given me that result? Also, if I wanted a chunkier brownie with some “chewable” (not melted) chocolate chips inside it, how can I achieve that? Thanks again!
Made these brownies to a bit gooey to fudgy side and the taste was just awesome. I like they were not dry. Effortless recipe.
Thanks for the easy recipe that tastes well too!
That’s so great to hear Sarah!! So glad you enjoyed this, thanks for taking the time to let me know – N x
We went cakey and it’s actually a bit light and fluffy while also being chocolatey! That works for us.
Not too sweet (that’s good), and having a lot of trouble stopping at one piece…
Glad you enjoyed it Carly! Thanks for letting me know – N x
Just made these brownies with walnuts. Everything a brownie should be. Thank you. And thank you for having all recipes that work. Sue
Just made the yummy brownies and added craisins they were delicious thanks.
That’s terrific! So pleased you enjoyed this Emma – N x
Yum! Thank you for the great recipe
I’m so pleased you enjoyed this Frances! Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback! N x ❤️