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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Turned out dry and cakey and not at all gooey 🙁
Found recipe very easy. Perhaps you used larger eggs or cooked a bit too long. Mine were gooey and delicious 😋
Mine turned out the same (dry and cakey) and I followed the recipe EXACTLY.
Yeah I got the same this looks more like a cake than brownies. Also the recipe calls for large eggs.
Mine turned out dry and cakey. I only used self rising flour 1/2 cup; I also used Valrhona Cocoa powder, and the chocolate chips that the recipe called for. But I didn’t use the complete cup of sugar, I added a little less than one cup. It turned out less fudgey than I expected, maybe it was because the cocoa powder was different than what the recipe asked for.
They turned out cakey because you used self-rising flour. It has baking powder in it and makes the brownies rise and absorb some of the moisture. Next time, try with all-purpose flour!
i usually bake brownies from a box, but these were so easy and so delicious!! i will definitely be using this recipe again!
I am sure these brownies are very yummy and they do taste good after a lot of squeezing and paper towel but thought I’d give you a quick laugh. I have only grown up with butter bricks I looked at my butter brick, MY WHOLE BUTTER BRICK and said hmm yes this is a bar of butter but weird how this melted would be equal to half a cup oh well. I stirred in the other ingredients my housemate and I were curious to the texture why it was soo.. liquid.. but i proceeded to say I have never made brownies this must just be brownie texture pre-bake. I proceeded to use a BRICK of butter mixture, after an absurd amount of time in the oven the mistake become clear. We took out the pool of butter with the brownies in the middle after a couple of minutes to brownies soaked the butter bake up safe to say the greasiest brownies. Luckily I have experience with tofu and I used the same straining techniques and they taste great now lol.
Perfect for a quick, sweet dessert. I did end up baking the brownies for 35 minutes though. After 35 minutes the batter set and it was all good, they came out perfect. Thank you! This recipe got me and hubby through in a pinch.
Super easy and super yummy!! I am not a baker, and everyone has been impressed as to how wonderful these taste!!!! Added about a 1/3 cup Brown Sugar to the mix. Chocolate folded in and also on top! Best brownie I have ever had!!!!
Delicious! My only caveat: you’re heating the oven anyway, melt the butter in there. Something about when it’s toasty-brown around the edges of the glass–THEN it’s perfect for blending with the sugar and cocoa!! Happy brownie indulging!!
Make sure the butter is HOT when you mix with the sugar and cocoa. I did add a tablespoon of oil to the pan butter.
Just made these and they are delicious! May cut the sugar to 3/4 next time but overall they were delicious, moist and fudgey. I baked for 20 mins.
this has become a family favorite! Everyone wants me to keep making them for all our special occasions. Best from scratch recipe i have tried so far. thank you so much.
Very good & very easy! I sprinkled the top with mini choc chips. This is a keeper!
This was amazing so perfect love them!!!!!!!
The top of the brownie didn’t have the crinkly top like stated. It looked more like a sponge cake which makes no sense, since I followed the ingredients exactly as it said and still didn’t turn out the best. Any suggestions?
The only thing I can think of is you may have overmixed the batter. Please do let us know if you give it another try 🙂
I tried to make this recipe yesterday. I added half a cup of brown sugar and added the extra oil. I think I over baked them because they turned out dry but I didn’t have them in the oven for more than 25 minutes. They were bitter. I don’t think it’s the recipe’s fault, I probably did something wrong. I used Rodelle dutch processed cocoa from Costco. Can you recommend what I should do differently next time? Should I try the Hershey’s cocoa? 1 full cup of white sugar? Thank you!
The dutch processed cocoa is fine but I would try it with white sugar next time and keep an eye out on the baking time 🙂
I was looking for a super basic recipe that I can alter to make refined sugar free, gluten free brownies. Even after my alterations this was super yummy. I used date paste for sugar and oats for flour. Added Raisins and Topped with coarsely chopped almonds. Yuuuuuummmyyy!
The brownies turned out amazing. This is the best fudgy cocoa brownies recipe I’ve ever tried.
Damned if these weren’t absolutely delicious. I figured they would be mediocre at best given that I purposely searched for a fast and easy brownie recipe, but they are honestly some of the best brownies I’ve ever had. I made the recipe exactly as written, except for I sifted in the cocoa and flour. I added in a handful or two of chocolate chips and threw walnuts on half for my husband. I watched them closely in the oven—in my oven they baked to perfection in 22 minutes, then I let them cool for almost an hour before cutting in. They cut absolutely perfectly, didn’t even need a spatula to get them out. I never thought I would be second guessing my Ghiradelli brownie mix devotion but I think I’ve changed my mind!!
Do I use self rising flour or plain?
I used just normal all-purpose flour and they were perfect.
Super easy and delicious. My 7 year old granddaughter loves to make these and shares with her family.
Brownies turned out okay. They were more cakey than gooey and chewy.
My brownies also did not come out as shown in the pictures throughout this recipe so I’m not sure what I did wrong.
Probably won’t be using this again but thank you for sharing.
My guess, to long in the oven (some vary by 20 degrees )
Over mixing the batter would be my guess
Surprisingly tasty. Cut the sugar down to 1/2 cup. Added a tiny bit of baking powder.
Best brownie recipe ever. I have been making this one for years – and while I have tried other recipes for fun (with frosting for example), I ALWAYS come back to this recipe. It’s solid.
I completely love this recipe , I would wholeheartedly recommend this to a friend and I will definitely do it again !
These brownies are fantastic! They are very moist and gooey! I recommend these to anyone who is looking for a simple brownie recipe with amazing flavor.
Extremely easy! I doubled the recipe, added chopped walnuts and semi-sweet chocolate chips, and it turned out great!! Only thing is I didn’t get 32 servings 🤷🏻♀️. It was more like 20? If I had cut them any smaller they would be like 1.5” cubes.
Hello. I never actually made this, I just like looking at food because it makes me feel good (hehehe) I would like to say that these brownies look AMAZING!!! thank you for giving me some interesting things to look at (hehehe)
Hello,Chao, aloha, Estes brownies Esteban my sabvroso y my papi brayan said it was good. I loooove ur recipies.
😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁🦎😁😁😁😁
Thanks so much!!
I love this recipe it’s so easy and makes such great brownies. My one question is how much wood could a wook chuck chuck if a wood chuk could chuck wood.
🙂 bob
these brownies are the BEST! my go to recipe from now on for sure, I’m an avid dark chocolate fan and made a few little tweaks (definitely not necessary, just my taste) :
• dark/dutch cocoa
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon dissolved instant coffee
• flaky sea salt sprinkled on top
if you’re feeling a little extra you could ribbon nutella on top before baking!
Any suggestions for high altitude?
You just need to add a little more flour, this works for pretty much everything you try to bake at a high altitude.
Super simple & delicious. My 12 year old wanted to make brownies & this recipe was so simple & easy to make. We’ll definitely be making these again. This will definitely be our go-to brownie recipe, no more brownies from a box.
These were amazing! Any suggestions for turning these into cream cheese brownies?
For making it extra gooey, do I add the oil during step 2 after I melt the butter ?
Followed recipe. Batter was gritty from sugar. Baked for 20 minutes and they were still raw. I’m now up to 30 minutes and they are still very under done. Took them out of the oven so the sides didn’t start burning. Hopefully they’ll firm up as they cool off.
The brownies are meant to be gooey and fudgy. They will, however, firm up as they cool and I promise you won’t be disappointed with the results 😉
OMG these are literally THE BEST brownies ever!!! I’ve tried so many fancy brownie recipes and, yes, they were great but the simplicity of this makes this twice as good. I used this recipe for a school project and I wasn’t expecting this to be great but I really love how delicious and simple this recipe was! I was surprised that no leavening was used but i just went with it and it was perfectly fine. I also added some coarse kosher salt after 10 min in the oven and then I popped it back in for another 10 min. This is definitely my go to recipe from now on.
This recipe is awesome, I’ve made it twice now and it’s that perfect kind of “homemade box brownie” recipe I was looking for. It came out better the second time around when I did a double batch. I think the key is to make sure the butter is really hot and melted so that the sugar and cocoa powder dissolve well. These are super easy to make and come out perfectly fudgy with the crinkly top.