Brownies

Classic Brownies that are rich and chewy with a crackly crust are an easy pantry recipe (no chocolate chips even needed!) made from melted butter and cocoa powder in just 30 minutes! 

If you’ve tried my recipes for Peanut Butter Brownies, S’Mores Brownies, and Cookie Dough Brownies and loved them, but want something a little more classic to serve at your next get together, try this classic, delicious Brownie recipe.

Stack of Chocolate Brownies

BROWNIES

They’re fudgy, chewy, gooey, chocolatey, cakey, moist, and pretty much any other word you can think of to describe the best Brownie ever.

The next time you have a craving for rich, delicious Brownies with a crackly top and gooey center, you should definitely try this recipe. The great thing about homemade Brownies versus the kind you pick up from the grocery store is that you can control exactly what goes in them and can customize them to fit the occasion. They also have a conveniently short cook time, which makes them easy to bake on a busy night.

Once you’ve mixed together everything for your batch of Brownies and they’ve developed that perfect crackly top, you should still test the middle to make sure that they’re cooked through. All you need to do this is an ordinary toothpick. Insert the toothpick into the center of the pan of Brownies and pull it back out again. If the toothpick is clean, then the inside of the Brownies is solid, and if the toothpick has batter stuck to it then you need to put it back into the oven for a few more minutes. Another handy trick to make your Brownies have a smooth top is to pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.

HOW TO MAKE BROWNIES

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Grease and flour an 8-inch square pan.
  • Mix melted butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
  • Whisk in cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking powder.
  • Spread batter into the baking pan evenly.
  • Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

Piece of brownie

VARIATIONS ON BROWNIES

  • Toppings and Add Ins: Try adding in some semi-sweet, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or even peanut butter chocolate chips. You can also try some sliced nuts, like cashews or pecans. Try drizzling some chunks of fudge, melted chocolate, caramel sauce, brown sugar, confectioner’s sugar, or even espresso powder over the top of the Brownies to give them a whole new flavor palate.
  • Serve with: Try serving up the Brownies with a scoop of Homemade Ice Cream or a dollop of Homemade Whipped Cream.

How Long are Brownies good?

  • Serve: Brownies are good at room temperature for up to 2 days before they get stale. You can increase the shelf life by keeping them in plastic wrap or an airtight container.
  • Store: Brownies will stay fresher in the fridge. Keep them wrapped up and they will last up to 3 days. They will also stay more moist and you can serve them chilled, straight out of the fridge.
  • Freeze: Always let your Brownies cool down to room temperature before you store them. The Brownies will be good in the freezer for up to 3 months, and you can put layers of parchment paper in between them to keep the Brownies from fusing together.

Brownies in a pan

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Brownies

Classic Brownies that are rich and chewy with a crackly crust are an easy pantry recipe (no chocolate chips even needed!) made from melted butter and cocoa powder in just 30 minutes! 

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Brownies
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 12 Servings
Calories 172 kcal
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter , melted
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  2. Spray an 8x8 inch baking pan with baking spray.

  3. Whisk together melted butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract.

  4. Whisk in the cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking powder.

  5. Spread batter evenly into greased baking pan.

  6. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Nutrition Facts
Brownies
Amount Per Serving
Calories 172 Calories from Fat 81
% Daily Value*
Fat 9g14%
Saturated Fat 5g31%
Cholesterol 55mg18%
Sodium 64mg3%
Potassium 63mg2%
Carbohydrates 22g7%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 17g19%
Protein 2g4%
Vitamin A 287IU6%
Calcium 14mg1%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Chocolate Brownies

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. I personally loved the recipe, I’ve made a couple different brownie recipes throughout the last couple of months (including out of a box lol) and this was by far the best one yet. The only change I made was mixing in crushed pecans mmmm!

  2. My son wanted to make something, so here we are – with everything on hand – except a pan. We just moved and I guess I haven’t unpacked it yet. We are doing in paper lined muffin tin. Going to check at 19 minutes… Will let you know!

    1. You’d be making the batter 1/2 as thick, so those brownies would not come out chewy. I suggest doubling the batter for this sized pan. I hope that helps! If already baking, probably 15 minutes to maybe 18 minutes? Happy Thanksgiving!

  3. Sabrina,

    I made these classic brownies this afternoon and they were absolutely delicious! I had read a posted comment where someone had asked you if they could use brown sugar vs granulated white. You said sure. that it would make them deeper in richness. I decided to use 1/2 light brown & 1/2 white sugar. Yummy! Thank you!

  4. Made exactly as directed. They turned out moist and delicious. I love how easy these were to make and how the recipe calls for simple ingredients.

  5. The top was perfectly cracked but they were too fudgy to be cut into squares. I’m unsure if I’m at fault 🙁

  6. Hi Sabrina,
    I love that this recipe has only cocoa powder and not chocolate chips.
    Can I reduce the sugar to 1/3 cup instead of 1 cup. I like desserts that are very mildly sweet? If it may compromise the moisture or texture, then can I add something else in place for the reduced sugar amount?

    1. I haven’t played around with it to test it but I would start by reducing it by 25% (only use 3/4 cup of sugar) and go from there. If you reduce anymore, you may need to add an extra egg to help with the moisture. If you decide to play around with it, I’d love to know what ended up working for you. Good luck!

  7. PERFECTION on a plate. These came together so quickly and I used Ghiradelli cocoa. Must be something wrong with my dish because they disappeared ;-).

  8. This is my new go to brownie recipe! I will *never* used boxed brownies again. The difference in taste is astounding. Make a double batch and keep them in the freezer for “later”!?

  9. Can I double this for a 9X13? Also, I have an abundance of coconut oil so I’m going to try it in place of the butter. Brownies are one of my favorite food groups! LOL

    1. I don’t blame you! Your brownies may be a little thicker in a 9×13 but it’s close enough to use for doubling. Enjoy!

  10. This is such an easy recipe, and now it’s my favorite. I added about 1/2 tsp. of espresso powder to enrich the chocolate flavor – delicious. Thank you for sharing this recipe.

  11. AMAZING!!!! Thank you!!
    Sheltering in place with my hungry teenage boys and trying out lots of recipes using ingredients that are already in my kitchen. This recipe was by far the best!
    Will try other recipes on your site.
    THANK YOU!!!!!

  12. Just took mine out of the oven and they smell so good, but they didn’t crackle on top. Any ideas why? Lol. Can’t wait to try a few 🙂

    1. It’s possible they could’ve stayed in the oven just a bit longer. Was the middle cooked all the way through when you took them out? I hope you enjoyed them!

  13. I forgot how good homemade brownies are. I will never use a by a mix again, these were
    absolutely delicious.

  14. This recipe is AWESOME!!

    Even though the recipe said “no chocolate chips needed” I still added about 1/4 c as well as a 1/2 tsp vegetable oil and approximately 1/2 c of chopped walnuts to the batter. I cut the brownies in small squares (about 16) and served with a small scoop of ice cream and it was PERFECT!!

  15. Thanks for all your fabulous recipes Sabrina! I’ve made several and am a huge fan. I’ve been looking at your brownie and chocolate cookie recipes and wondering how to adapt one to become caramel marshmallow brownies/cookies. Do you have any suggestions? I even wondered about making your Buckeye Brownie cookies and replacing the peanut butter with marshmallow creme. Too drippy? What might I do? THANK YOU!!! (P.S. my husband loves your pot roast).

    1. Oooh, now you’ve got me thinking. I’ll have to add that to my research list and start working on. Thanks for the suggestions. I’m so glad you both enjoy the recipes so much.

  16. Hi Sabrina
    Making this brownie recipe calls for 1/2 c flour is that correct?
    Think I was expecting more flour in the recipe.
    Thks Landra