Super fudgy and dense cocoa brownies are gooey on the inside, have a crinkly top, and are made with just 6 ingredients in under 30 minutes! This easy recipe makes the BEST brownies and is the only brownie recipe you will ever need.
I’ve got a super-easy yet DELICIOUS fudgy brownie recipe for you today. Brownies can’t get any fudgier or easier to make than this folks!
These brownies are fudgy, dense, rich, and super chocolate and with just a few basic ingredients and 30 minutes of your time, you’ve got yourself a batch of brownies that is out of this world!
They’re so chocolaty and delicious my only worry is eating the whole batch right out of the oven…
The super fudgy interior along with the crispy crinkle top is a combo made in heaven and will become your new favorite brownies!
A few years back I was hooked on boxed brownie mix and to be honest I thought they were “alright”. I mainly used the mix because it’s very easy to use because the thought of making brownies from scratch terrified me. Turns out, it’s not hard at all!
It may take any extra step making it from scratch but I swear it tastes 1 billion times better and once you try it you will NEVER EVER go back to brownie mix again!
Like I said, these brownies are simple and easy to make. The entire brownie mixture will be made in the pot or bowl you decide to melt your butter.
To save yourself time and effort, melt the butter in the same bowl that you will be mixing the brownie mix in. I like to use a glass microwave-safe mixing bowl so I can go right in to add the rest of the ingredients after melting the butter.
After melting the butter add the sugar and cocoa and stir until fully combined. Then add the eggs, vanilla, flour, and salt; mix and you’re done!
If you like you can now add 1 cup of chocolate chips, nuts, m&m’s, marshmallows, Reese’s or whatever your heart desires!
TIP FOR MAKING THE BEST FUDGE BROWNIES
Don’t overmix the batter. Overmixing the batter will allow air to get trapped in the batter and will result in cakey brownies.
Don’t overbake the brownies. If you are looking for fudgy brownies then remove them from the oven when the sides have begun to shrink away from the sides of the pan but the center is still gooey.
Cool before cutting. As hard as it may be, resist the urge to cut the brownies right out of the oven. Instead, cool them to room temperature or place them in the fridge to cool for at least an hour before cutting into them. This extra step will result in perfect professional cuts.
If you’re like me and you love CHOCOLATE, then do yourself a favor and chop up 4 oz of baking chocolate and stir them into the batter. This will take the brownies (which are already AMAZING) to the next level and make them EVEN BETTER.
Easy One Bowl Fudgy Cocoa Brownies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup melted butter, or 1 stick
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1 cup sugar, see note
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/4 tsp salt, leave out if using salted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8x8 square pan or line with foil and set aside.
- In a medium bowl combine melted butter and cocoa and sugar stir until fully dissolved.
- Add eggs one at a time then vanilla and stir until well combined.
- Stir in flour and salt until the flour is fully combine. Be careful not to overmix mix.
- (optional) fold in 1 cup of nuts, raisins, chocolate chips or anything you desire.
- Spread in pan and bake for approximately 20-22 minutes or until the center is slightly set. Be careful not to over-bake!
- Cool completely then cut into 9 large squares or 16 small squares ( I cut mine into 16)
Video
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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These brownies were really good!
one problem that people who are rating them badly may have is OVER-MIXING. when mixing, make sure that you are only mixing just until the white specs of flower are gone. if you are adding chocolate chips, mix only until there are some specs, add chocolate chips, and only mix for 10 seconds more. at first, i was worried that there was hardly any liquid, and the batter was very thick, and usually they are runny, but the result was stunning!!!
I MADE THESE FOLLOWING THE INSTRUCTIONS EXCEPT USED BROWN SUGAR INSTEAD. i EVEN SIFTED THE FLOUR. tHEY CAME OUT SUPER DRY. i EVEN PUT CHOCOLATE CHIPS ON TOP. bAKED 23 MINUTES BUT PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE DONE LESS TIME. eITHER WAY IT WOULD BE DRY. i THINK IT NEEDS LESS FLOUR AND REAL MELTED CHOCOLATE IN THE BATTER. tHE FLAVOR WAS NOT IMPRESSIVE. wOULD NOT MAKE THIS AGAIN.
I MADE these with Coca SPECIAL DARK CHOCOLATE SYRUP. THEY WERE BITTERSWEET AND DELICIOUS.
Thanks For the easy reCipe.
Future
This was a really good recipe.
I Have made this recipe many times, And i can’t understand the Reviews that saY this didn’t work. I’ve always had great results with this recipe. I usually start checking For doneness around 18 minutes, but generally find it takes 20-22 minutes. The Only Adjustment i’ve made is to use Only 1c Sugar. I find that plenty sweet. I even made this once or twice with melted coconut Oil in place of The butter when i was out and it still turned Out Great!
i just made these and it looked like 1.5 cups of butter and cocoa so my brownies never set up. Should be one cup of butter and 1 cup of cocoa? NOw looking at it, the recipe may be different amounts. Put vanilla ice cream over it and ate it anyway. 🙂
I’m sorry about that, Kacy. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of butter (aka 1 stick) and 1/2 cup cocoa powder. Sometimes the recipe adds the 1 in front of the 1/2 and it looks like 1 1/2 cup. I’ve corrected the recipe box to show the correct number!
my son wanted to bake for the first tIme and found this recipe for him. Wow! Amazing. Adding choColate chips Was the secret ingredient. It made the brownies very fudgey. We loved it. My son was so proud of himself after baking. Such a decadent dessert. We will be making it again. Thank you!!!
I realized about 10 minutes before my dinner guest arrived that i had forgotteN AbOut dessert. I googled quick brownie recipes. The brownies cooked while we ate. These brownies were quick and easy. I Added semi sweet choColate chips. They were delicious!!! I will deFinitly be making these again🙂
FuDgey and delicious!
I opted for 1-1/4th cup of sugar, and tossed in about 1/2 cup regular semi-sweEt chocolate Chips and about 1/2 ghirardelli bittersweet chips. Before i put it in the oven, i topped it with a generOus dRizzle of caramel sundae syrup. I ended up having to bake it for 50 minutes instead of 25 (in a pyrex 8×8 pan, no tin foil, only pam spray) but the end result is amazing! PerfecTly gooey in the middle, crispy around the edges, and chewy on the top.
If youre ever feeling indulgent, i HIGHLY recommend specifically the Ghirardelli chIps—they really make a difference! While the end result wasnt exactly pretty after i cut it (maybe i didnt wait long enough for it to cool), it was exactly the sort of chOcolate-cravin’-fixin’ i was needIng. Thanks!
These are delish! I made a batch on a whim one night and they were so good I made them later in the week for a bbq. I’ll never go back to brownie mix again.
My son & I made these tonight. They turned out very cake-like, not fudgy at all. We even added choc chips. I’m not a baker, so I couldn’t work out what we had done wrong. Cooked 23 mins, so not overcooked. My oven usually has to bake longer than the recipe says, so it’s not my oven. i didn’t stir the batter a long time either. It tasted like slightly dry cake.
Just made these. ABSOLUTELY EASY AND DELICIOUS! I doubled and used 9×13 pan, baked for 28 minutes. They are PERFECT! Nice crust and chewy in the middle. This will be my go-to on chocolate craving days! 🙂
Really good, I replaced the vanilla with peppermint extract, and it was amazing. The one thing was it actually took closer to 40 minutes to cook.
I made these the other day and cut them into small, bite sized squares to share with friends. They were a huge hit! My husband loved them too so I’ll be making more soon. I did cut the sugar down to slightly under one cup and it was just right. Perfect one-bowl recipe!
Thanks for the feedback Audra. I love cutting brownies into bite-size squares!
I made these a few nights ago and they’re awesome! I see another batch in the near future happening. I actually used small cupcake tins (2 bite brownie size) it made 24 and I cooked them for 20 minutes total. They turned out really great!
I made these last night and this is now my favourite, go-to brownie recipe! I was using a different recipe but found that it had a lingering bitter-sweet taste which we were not fond of at all. I made a batch of brownies last night using this new recipe and didn’t modify the recipe in any way. For the optional mix-ins, I used a 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of walnuts. I was nervous about the texture of the batter as it seemed a little thick before pouring it into the baking pan, but I baked them anyway and they came out perfectly!!!! After letting them cool, I was able to cut them into 16 squares without any issues with them crumbling. Today, day two, they are even better!!! They are crunchy on top and moist/chewy on the inside (but not too chewy). Layla, thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe with us. It is a winner and my search for the perfect brownie recipe is now over!!!
These are fabulous!!!! I make these and blondies all the time, in a double batch Rave reviews all the time. My patients love them, all the other businesses in my building love them, my lawn guy,, my mail people, the UPS guy….the people at the banks love me too 🙂
I made double batches and brought them over to a friend’s family. They had lost their grandfather and had people constantly in and out of the house, then his sister had to go into the hospital. These, along with casseroles, were good comfort food and easy to just pick up and nibble on for a crowd.
I have also started experimenting….I am now making Adult Apertif Cocktail Creations….I could not find my vanilla extract last night, so I put in Godiva Chocolate Liquer instead….it smelled soooo good….tonight I tried Frangelico and Chambord….Kahlua is next, and Bailey’s….and I bought a bunch more airline bottle size spirits to try…if they come out good, will sell them….I can wrap them up individually in bite size pieces, put an assortment in a pretty martini glass, cover it with tulle, and sell it as a hostess gift or an indulgence gift,….
Happy Baking all!!!!
Would it be alright to use grapeseed oil or peanut oil?
I haven’t tried with grape-seed or peanut oil.
I made these last night at 10 pm while craving chocolate of course! Used 1 cup of sugar and one cup walnuts Very very very easy to make. I want to try and make again but maybe with only one egg. Anyone try that yet? I didn’t find these to be a chewy as I’d want. They came out kinda crumbly. Even today. But still VERY DELISH!
These bad boys are currently baking away in my oven…made these for my sister’s belated birthday treat. Cant wait to taste these!
Tried for the first time today and altho I typically follow a first timer to the letter this time I was craving mocha……so I replaced 1 Tb of the cocoa with espresso powder and kept the rest of the measurements exact.
Added choc chips and marshmallows on the top prior to baking- they baked for 35-40 min til just set – cut great when cooled.
Treats for the mechanics and our waste pickup crew – that way I am not tempted to hoard them 🙂
Totally amazing.
Used only 1 cup sugar,
But these were absolutely to die for.
Keeping this recipe for the next time I’m craving chocolate at 2am. Don’t mind a 25 min wait!
Thanks for this!
This is now my family’s favorite brownie recipe. We love the density and moistness of it. We have sprinkled the mixture with baking powder while still in bowl. It came out the exact same with the brownies now melting in your mouth. It is most wonderful!
I’ve made these twice now. Once in an 8×8 and today in a 9×13. The 8×8 was way too thick and though they were moist and fudge like, they fell apart way to easily. In the 9×13 they were better, but still seem to fall apart. I’m following the directions to the letter. Any suggestions? By the way, they do have a great tast, just need to tweak the recipe somehow to make them stick together when cut.
Maybe it has to do with when you are melting your sugar and coco. The longer and at a higher temp the mixture is thicker. Not as high of temp results in a thinner batter. Hope this helps. 🙂
This is my go to brownie recipe! I always get rave reviews when I share them! I have always made them exactly as directed until a week or so ago. I was out of granulated sugar and substituted with light brown sugar….omg I didn’t think these brownies could get better, but they did! Thanks for sharing this recipe…with either sugar, they are fab!!
These were easy, but for my taste there was too much sugar. I’ll try the recipe again, but I’ll cut the sugar and increase the coco powder.
The only comments here are about how they look. I actually tried it. Nice 8×8 cake recipe.
I’ll salvage them with frosting.
Oh talk about delicious! Those brownies look magical, so chocolatey and fudgy – just the way a brownie should be!
The magic word is one bowl! I always love an easy & tasty recipe!
These look fabulous! So chewy and fudgy…. pinning 🙂
Thanks for pinning, Medha!
Hello Layla,
Thank you so much for this recipe, i am actually going to make your cookie brownie and requried the brownie recipe for it. When you say “this recipe doubles well in a 9/13 pan”, do you mean i should double the recipe if i want to use a 9/13 pan or just use the same recipe and pour it in a 9×13 pan instead of the 8×8?? thank you
You would have to make twice the batter and pour it into the 9×13 pan.