The BEST brownie recipe! With crispy edges, fudgy middles, and rich chocolate flavor, these homemade brownies will disappear in no time.
For years, I couldn’t seem to find a recipe for brownies that met my standards. Anytime I made homemade brownies, I wanted them to be just like the ones I ate as a kid – super fudgy, moist, and chocolaty, with crispy edges and crackly tops. But the thing is, these brownies didn’t come from a recipe. We always made them from a box. Nowadays, I prefer to bake from scratch, but no brownie recipe I tried could live up to the chocolate brownies of my childhood.
So this fall, as I flipped through Michelle Lopez’s new book Weeknight Baking, her recipe for Boxed Mix Brownies, From Scratch caught my eye. Would I finally be able to make homemade brownies that would be just as delicious as the ones from a box?
The verdict: yes! I’ve had this brownie recipe on repeat since the first time I tried it. It calls for basic pantry ingredients, and it’s hardly more difficult than using a mix. As for the brownies, they’re true perfection – glossy, fudgy, and filled with rich chocolate flavor. Trust me, you’re going to want to make them ASAP!
Another thing you should do ASAP is check out Weeknight Baking! This book is packed with crave-worthy recipes that are meant for busy weeknights. Each one comes with fun variations (I have my eye on the matcha snickerdoodles) as well as tips for becoming a more efficient baker. After years of juggling a 9-to-5 job and running her blog, Hummingbird High, Michelle is full of wisdom on how to bake on a busy schedule. She writes, “We’re all doing the best we can with what we have. And I’m going to help you bake any night of the week that works for you.” If you love baking, you’ll love this book.
Homemade Brownie Recipe Ingredients
Back to Michelle’s recipe for brownies! In order for it to turn out like (aka better than) the boxed mix, Michelle uses granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, salt, and chocolate chips. Then, she adds these key ingredients:
- 2 eggs + water – Michelle uses a bit of water with the eggs to achieve the moist, gooey texture of boxed mix brownies without any commercial emulsifiers. And because this recipe doesn’t contain any baking powder, eggs are essential for helping the brownies puff up in the oven.
- Powdered sugar – The trick to making homemade brownies that are just like ones from a box! Powdered sugar contains cornstarch, which helps thicken the batter without the chemical additives you’d find in a mix.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder – Michelle recommends using Hershey’s Special Dark Dutch-processed cocoa powder (I used Whole Foods’ 365 Cocoa Powder). Make sure to sift it if it’s lumpy!
- Oil – While many recipes for brownies use unsalted butter, Michelle’s calls for canola oil, just like the boxed mix. I use olive oil because it’s what I keep on hand, and I love the rich flavor.
- Vanilla Extract – 1/2 teaspoon vanilla really amps up the chocolate flavor.
That’s it! These fantastic homemade brownies are so easy.
How to Make Brownies from Scratch
First, mix together the dry and wet ingredients in two separate bowls. Combine the sugar, flour, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and salt in a medium bowl. Then, whisk together the eggs, olive oil, and water in a large one.
Next, combine the wet and dry ingredients. Sprinkle the dry mixture over the wet one, and fold until just combined. The batter will be thick!
Then, pour the batter into an 8×8 inch baking pan lined with parchment paper. Use a rubber spatula to spread it to all four sides of the pan and to smooth the top. The mixture will be very thick – that’s ok.
Finally, bake! Transfer the pan to a 325-degree oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few crumbs attached. Allow the brownies to cool completely before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. They also freeze well for up to a month. Last time I made these, I doubled the recipe and stored the second batch in the freezer. It was so fun to have them on hand for a quick and easy dessert or afternoon treat!
Best Brownie Recipe Tips
- Better chocolate chips = better brownies. In her book, Michelle writes that one of the biggest secrets to making great brownies is using large, good-quality chocolate chips. She recommends Ghiradelli’s 60% Cacao Bittersweet Baking Chips, while I love Enjoy Life’s Dark Chocolate Morsels. Either brand would fantastic in this recipe!
- It’s better to pull them out too early than to leave them in too long. No one likes dry brownies, so err on the side of caution when you’re making this recipe. Bake them until a toothpick inserted comes out with just a few crumbs attached. If you’re on the fence, go ahead and take them out of the oven. They’ll continue to firm up as they cool!
- Wait for them to cool. Try your best to resist eating these guys straight out of the oven. Letting them cool makes them gooier and fudgier, and they’ll be less likely to crumble when you slice them. Plus, they’ll have an even richer chocolate flavor. Trust me, it’s worth the wait!
More Favorite Desserts
If you love this brownie recipe, try one of these yummy treats next!
- Perfect Oatmeal Cookies
- Easy Sugar Cookies
- No-Bake Cookies
- Best Peanut Butter Cookies
- Orange Zest Shortbread Cookies
- Vegan Coconut Macaroons
Best Homemade Brownies
Equipment
- 8x8 Baking Dish (this is the one I use so they don't overcook)
- Cooking Spray (I love this avocado oil one from Chosen Foods)
- Parchment Paper (this makes it so much easier to remove the brownies from the pan)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar*
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted if lumpy
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
- 3/4 teaspoons sea salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup canola oil or extra-virgin olive oil**
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly spray an 8x8 baking dish (not a 9x9 dish or your brownies will overcook) with cooking spray and line it with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, chocolate chips, and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, olive oil, water, and vanilla.
- Sprinkle the dry mix over the wet mix and stir until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan (it'll be thick - that's ok) and use a spatula to smooth the top. Bake for 40 to 48 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with only a few crumbs attached (note: it's better to pull the brownies out early than to leave them in too long). Cool completely before slicing.*** Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. These also freeze well!
Notes
I’ve now tried this recipe twice and have loved it. I’m not a baker but somehow this recipe was manageable and enjoyable. I added a dash of cinnamon and splash of whole milk and have tried with extra dark coco as well as regular cocoa. 40-43 minutes baked well and still gooey
Hi, I’m so glad you loved the brownies!
Just made these brownies last night and OH MY WORD they were delicious. I don’t typically leave reviews or comments on recipes but these are just that good. I used peanut butter chips instead of dark choc. chips (since I had PB ones on hand) and they were divine. Crunchy on the outside and soft and gooey in the middle. Serve warm with some ice cream, call it a day, and never look for another brownie recipe again!
Hi Kathryn, Amazing! I’m so glad you loved the brownies. PB chips would be so good here!
I’m confused — in your introduction, you speak of powdered sugar (by which I understand you to mean “icing sugar” — I’ve always understood these two names to refer to the same thing). Yet in the recipe itself and the notes at the end, you refer to “granulated sugar, ” which over here means ordinary white table sugar. Would you please clarify, because I i would love to try these. Thank you!
She uses both in the recipie
Both go into the batter, granulated and powdered. It isn’t one or the other, both occur synonymously
Hi Reena, yes, powdered sugar and icing sugar are the same thing. There is also regular white granulated sugar in the recipe in addition.
So I followed the recipe using vegetable oil and I added about another 4th cup of flower after reading the reviews about them being to gooey. I also split my batter in to twos and baked them in like a 3×6 loaf type pan. It worked out much nicer. Good texture. Still soft, but nice crispy edges. However they are really sweet! And that’s coming from someone who could bathe in Texas style sweet tea…. I’d cut almost a half cup of sugar out next time!
Hi Sofeea, I’m so glad you’re loving the texture! We really like these brownies with 1 cup granulated sugar instead of 1 1/2 cups, so don’t hesitate to reduce it next time if you’d like.
I have not made these yet and I am new to baking does anyone think they would be good for even someone who is new to baking?
Hi Emma, yes, they’re great for a new baker.
I never leave comments online after using a recipe. I usually just save and move on. But I stumbled across this one and just used it today. Me and my toddler took one bite and simultaneously said Mmm. I had to come back To leave a comment. Hands down the best brownie recipe I have ever tried. I only had a 8×13 pan so I doubled the recipe and filled it a little over halfway. I did adjust the sugar, leaving out 1/4 cup, and I did 1 part coconut oil 3 parts vegetable and baked for 35 minutes and even though the toothpick came out clean, once they cooled down they became soft chewy like a pilsbury brownie. This is the closest to pilsbury I have found and I am in LOVE. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Bea, I’m so glad you loved the brownies!
i made these brownies impromptu last night for my friends and they turned out amazingly! i followed the recipe exactly, there was no oil taste, no bitterness, or saltiness; just tastes like brownies! they were perfectly soft but slightly crunchy around the edges, and now munching on them the next morning theyre still scrumptious and chewy. highly recommend!
I’m glad you enjoyed them!
YESS I MADE THEM JUST NOW AND THEY ARE SOOO GOOD! THANKS FOR THE RECIPE<3
if i were to put these in a muffin tin and make like brownie bites how long should i bake them for ??
These are really good! I have always made close versions of the traditional recipe doubting that cocoa powder would make a chocolatey brownie, but it does! I used 1 cup total of the two sugars, 3/4 cup cake flour, 1/4 cup melted butter, 1/2 cup olive oil. I don’t think they baked for 40 minutes so I’d start checking them sooner. This will be my go to recipe from now on.
Also, I skipped the chocolate chips, just too much for my taste.
Can I use an 8 x11 pan for these? It’s all I have, and these look delicious!! Thanks!:)
Hi Emily, no, the batter will be too thin in the pan. An 8×8 is a super handy pan to have for cakes and bars, I’d recommend picking one up if you’re going to do a lot of baking.
Try doubling the recipe then
I had just came off of baking some brownies from a box mix (Pillsbury) and they were so good, I really savoured them. I was sad when they were gone. LOL
I decided to scroll through some recipes and came upon yours. What sold me was that there were not a lot of ingredients with large amounts of certain things so that was a bonus. When I see recipes that call for 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup of oil, I tend to run…lol.
I read the reviews and decided to tweak your recipe slightly based on what I read. A few comments mentioned that they were too sweet so I followed the one reviewer and used 1 cup of granulated sugar instead of the 1 1/2 cups. Plus it called for 1/2 cup of powdered sugar. I almost omitted it but I decided that I should try to keep the powdered sugar in based on the declaration that it supposedly makes all the difference. I had never used that type of sugar before so I wanted to try it out. I measured out 1/4 of a cup but then decided that I should probably add a bit more so I just added another 1/8 of a cup instead of another 1/4 cup which would have equaled a 1/2 cup. For the first time making them, I didn’t want to veer too far off course, sugarwise.
It calls for canola oil or olive oil. I decided to try melted coconut oil. The measurement was the same amount. I also have Madagascar Vanilla Bean Paste and Madagascar Vanilla and I use either/or depending on what I’m making but I’ve been using the paste a bit more lately when I can. I went for 1 full heaping teaspoon and I free poured it so it could have been closer to 2 teaspoons. I’m a rebel. LOL.
Next, I felt that the batter was overly thick so the 2 tablespoons of water increased to probably closer to a 1/4 cup. I didn’t measure so that’s a guess. I just wanted the batter to be a bit more pliable and easier to get into the pan although it was not runny.
One more thing, because I was going for a something that would remind me of that Pillsbury brownie that I loved so much, I decided to omit the chocolate chips altogether.
I lined an 8×8 pan with parchment paper and even gave a light mist of canola oil spray. I baked them at 325 degrees as the recipe stated and after testing them at 30 minutes, I took them out at 42 minutes. If I could give these 10 stars I would.
My husband saw me in the kitchen making them so he knew they were being made from scratch versus the box so it’s not like I was trying to fool him, He took one bite and then I took one and I said “Wow, they taste a lot like those Pillsbury ones that I just made last week that we both loved” and my hubby shook his head and said, “These are better” Enough said…
I double this recipe up, and instead of a baking dish, I have a 48 well mini cupcake/muffin pan I use. I omit the chips, because there is no way to distribute them evenly among the 4 dz individual wells. I suppose I COULD add them 2 to a well or so before putting in the oven, but thats a LOT of additional labor for little payoff.
Hello! This is my go to brownie recipe! Delicious. I’m hoping to double the recipe today but wanted to see what size pan you suggested for that. I have a 9×12 one that I was planning on using. Let me know!
I almost always double this recipe and I just divide it between 2 8×8 pans. Sometimes I just go by sight and sometimes I use a scale to get the amounts in each pan roughly equal.
I also always only use 1 cup of granulated and quarter cup of powdered sugar per single batch as I find it too sweet (but I almost always reduce the sugar in recipes) otherwise I love this brownie recipe.
Hi Anna, others have used a 9×13, but the batter will be thicker in the pan so you may have to increase the time (and they’ll be extra gooey). 2 8×8 pans would be best.
This is the best recipe I have used. I used milk chocolate (we are not really dark chocolate fans). The product is rich and creamy and this will be my forever go to for brownies!
They were (sorry no pics–gone quickly!) perfect!
My family loved this recipe it was perfect!
Made these brownies for a pot-luck. I iced them (with store bought icing) and switched out M&M’s for the chocolate chips. I also subsitued coconut oil (I microwave it melt it 1st) They were a huge hit! Adding this to my cook book.
Ive made this recipe several times, I do lower sugar but the size… I never get too many pieces. for a square brownie 9×9 it only rise less than 1/2 inch, once I cut it its so thin . Not sure if the ones in picture are double or triple the recipe ingredients. Now, Ive done other recipe that calls for 3 eggs and 3 egg yolks and they rise up more. Other than that, taste is really good.
Hi Gen, I highly recommend an 8×8 pan so the brownies come out thicker. The ones in the picture were baked in an 8×8 pan.
Terrible. Incredibly sugary + sweet (which I should have realized after reading the ingredients). Inside took a lot longer to cook than the inside, so the outside became overcooked quickly.
I’ve made these twice now and I have to say that I found 48 min of baking time way too long. 30 min was perfect and I like the tip about using 1 cup of sugar rather than 1.5. My second batch turned out perfectly!
Hi Ashton, thanks for sharing your baking time with us! So glad you enjoyed the brownies.
This is definitely the best brownie recipe that I came upon so far. Baked this thrice already and is always a crowd-pleaser!
Hi Kristen, I’m so glad the brownies are a hit!