Buckle up friends... this is hands down the BEST BROWNIE RECIPE you will ever make! I've decided that summer 2023 is the summer of the brownie. You already know this is the the year of the cookie at WGC, so the summer of the brownie feels right.
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
As someone who has put more than their fair share of brownies, blondie brownies, and crinkle top brownie bites into my body, I feel confident that I can say that this is in fact the Best Brownie Recipe YOU WILL EVER HAVE IN YOUR LIFE. And yes, I am screaming because it's that important.
Before we get into how to make the best brownies from scratch... a story as credit is due to a very special chocolate company. Before we set sail for the Galapagos, we did a quick city tour in Quito, Ecuador. Ecuador is home to some pretty insane chocolate. It's pure. And perfect. And we tasted a LOT of it when we were at Yumbos Chocolate. I'd highly recommend a stop if you're in town. Before leaving, our host offered the group brownies. I mean, who says no to that, right? We bought them out of stock and sat around eating the brownies like vultures. Super on brand for a What's Gaby Cooking trip. Cut to... it was easily the best brownie I've ever tasted in my entire life.
Lucky for you, and for me, the recipe was on the back of the bag of chocolate that I had purchased and now it lives here on WGC. These brownies are the perfect fudgy consistency. They're slightly underbaked so they are extra gooey and chewy while still having crispy edges and crackly tops.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Dark Chocolate – This Brownie Recipe is made with pure chocolate rather than cocoa powder. The moisture from the melted chocolate really goes a long way for this flavor and consistency. I've made it with the chocolate from Ecuador, this brand, and this brand - all are amazing.
- Unsalted Butter – I like to use unsalted butter when baking to control the amount of salt I add to the recipe.
- White Sugar – Using white sugar yields a chewier brownie.
- Eggs – Use large eggs at room temperature. If they're straight from the fridge, they will make the butter seize and won't combine evenly.
- Vanilla Extract – Adds another depth of flavor to this brownie recipe.
- All-Purpose Flour – This Brownie Recipe uses less flour than butter to achieve fudgy brownies.
- Kosher Salt – Salt will help balance the sweetness and enhance the flavor.
- Bonus – If you want to add 1 teaspoon of coffee extract, I support you!
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and substitutions.
How to Make the Best Brownie Recipe
Start by preheating the oven to 325º F. Then combine the chocolate and the butter over medium low heat until smooth. Add in the sugar and stir to combine. Remove from the heat for 15 minutes to slightly cool. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir to combine. Add in the flour and salt and mix until just incorporated and smooth.
Transfer the brownie batter to a sprayed and parchment lined 9x9 baking pan and bake on the middle rack of your oven for 50-60 minutes. (NOTE - I have an oven thermometer to make sure my oven runs true to temp - I bake these for 50 minutes on the middle rack and they're perfect. You might need a few extra minutes depending on your oven but you want them to come out with the slightest jiggle and then set while cooling)
Remove from the oven and let rest on the counter for 1 hour. It will absolutely still jiggle when removed from the oven - this is key and important. If you bake it until it no longer jiggles, you've over-baked them. The 1 hour of cooling on the counter allows the residual heat to continue to bake these by just a bit. After 1 hour, place the baking pan into the fridge and chill for 1 hour. Once they have set for at least the combined 2 hours, slice and serve.
How to Store Brownies
The easiest way to store brownies is to leave them in the baking pan and cover with some tin foil and refrigerate.
However you can also take them out the pan and put them in your glass tupperware and refrigerate or freeze.
Tips & Tricks
- You MUST use a metal 9x9 baking pan for this Brownie Recipe. Glass doesn't retain heat as well. The disposable ones don't retain heat at all. My fav is super inexpensive and great for all brownies, blondies, bars etc.
- All ovens run at slightly different temperatures. I'd recommend an internal oven thermometer to ensure your oven is properly heated. They are 4 bucks usually and an essential tool when baking!
- Don't over bake it and don't skimp on the "resting" time before slicing. It really makes a difference.
- The Brownie Recipe you'll find below is technically a double recipe as I wanted these to be thick, gooey and chewy. If you alter the ratio of butter to eggs to flour etc, things change. So promise me you'll stick to the simple ingredients below and you'll be in a good place.
Recipe FAQs
How do you make brownies fudgy instead of cakey?
A higher fat to flour ratio yields fudgy brownies while a higher flour to fat ratio will yield cakey brownies.
What are the three types of brownies?
1. Fudgy brownies
2. Cakey brownies
3. Chewy brownies
Is brownie meant to be gooey when you pull it out?
Yes, it will absolutely still jiggle when removed from the oven - this is key and important. If you bake it until it no longer jiggles, you've over-baked them. Allow for your brownies to cool for 1 hour on the counter so the residual heat can continue to bake them by just a bit. After 1 hour, place the baking pan into the fridge and chill for 1 hour. Once they have set for at least the combined 2 hours, slice and serve.
More Brownie Recipes
Best Ever Brownie Recipe
Ingredients
- 240 grams dark chocolate (approx 1½ cups regular dark chocolate morsels)
- 240 grams unsalted butter (2 sticks and 1 tablespoon)
- 2½ cups white sugar (approximately 520 grams)
- 6 eggs at room temperature
- 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- â…” cup all purpose flour (approximately 100 grams)
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325° F.
- Combine the chocolate and the butter over medium low heat until smooth. Add in the sugar and stir to combine. Remove from the heat for 15 minutes to slightly cool. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir to combine. Add in the flour and salt and mix until just incorporated and smooth.
- Transfer to a sprayed and parchment lined 9x9 baking pan and bake on the middle rack of your oven for 50-60 minutes. (NOTE - I have an oven thermometer to make sure my oven runs true to temp - I bake these for 50 minutes on the middle rack and they're perfect. You might need a few extra minutes depending on your oven but you want them to come out with the slightest jiggle and then set while cooling)
- Remove from the oven and let rest on the counter for 1 hour. It will absolutely still jiggle when removed from the oven - this is key and important. If you bake it until it no longer jiggles, you've over-baked them. The 1 hour of cooling on the counter allows the residual heat to continue to bake these by just a bit. After 1 hour, place the baking pan into the fridge and chill for 1 hour. Once they have set for at least the combined 2 hours, slice and serve.
These were perfect! I used a couple of dark chocolate bars from the TJ's register and they have been a huge hit at multiple gatherings. A friend unabashedly asked if he could take the rest of the pan home. Bookmarked and will be making again!
This is a fudgy dense brownie recipe and it was perfection. My family could not eat just one and would go back to the fridge for more. It’s even better a few days later.
Gabby, can no use unsweetened chocolate bar ( seems like they might be too sweet for me) instead of Chips? Curious to know if this would work. Thanks!
These are the best brownies I have ever made, and I have now made them many times over. Crowd pleaser every time, and various crowds! They are gooey, rich and delicious. This is a fantastic recipe from Gaby, much like every other recipe I have tried of hers, and I have tried many! It really does depend on your oven temp and cooking vessel though. I use a silicon baking pan and usually bake for about 35-40 min in my oven. I also cut down to 1.5 cups sugar and still great if you like a little less sweet. Thanks Gaby!
I finally got these juuust right on the third bake. The first two batches were still absolutely heavenly, just a bit underbaked the first time and overbaked the second time. Now I found the goldilocks bake time with my pan and oven 🙂
Has anyone tried adding mini marshmallows to these? I feel like it could be awesome but I hesitate to mess with something so perfect lol
Does anyone know if this recipe holds up to doubling or quadrupling? Some recipes don’t for some reason.
I havent tested it in a double batch - I think doubling and doing in a 9x13 MIGHT work but baking time will need to be adjusted. If you do 4x I feel like that's just not going to fit into any pan so I wouldn't do that unless you have 4 9x9 baking pans
Awsome! Im from Ecuador, yes we have the best chocolate, I have try this recipe several times, its the best! Im lucky to try it with Ecuadorian chocolate.
Made these at our beach house on New Year's Eve and the consensus was unanimous. Fabulous! And I love that it's a one-pot deal. I used Toll House dark chocolate chips. Perfection.
fabulous....but found rubbery bits....could that have been chalaza from the egg? not in every square but enough to question what it was....
I found some as well. I made sure to let the chocolate, butter and sugar mixture cool for additional time because this happened last time as well, and it didn’t help. Love these brownies so much and want to figure out why this happens!
Very sweet and surprisingly not as chocolatey as it sounds.
Wow, wow, wow! They are truly the best! I did giggle at the serving size, is that 15 for me and I slap anyones hand that tries to take that last one.
These brownies are absolutely the best ever! I had a similar experience to others with them being extremely underbaked after the cooling process, but I put them back in the oven for an extra 45 minutes (the next morning) until they reached 190 and repeated the cooling process steps. They are so perfect - chewy, fudgy and crinkly on top. I need to get an over thermometer and see if my oven is not at an accurate temperate, because I suspect that’s why they were underbaked at first.
These were sensational! I’ve forever been wanting to replicate this amazing Harry & David chocolate brownie thing and from what I remember, this is it!!! I did slightly underbake them so I’ll go 5 extra minutes next time. I’ve never had a more delicious brownie! It is shocking to see the amount of sugar and eggs that go into this recipe, but I can’t argue with perfection! Making them again today and I don’t even mind suffering through the mandatory wait time because they’re so worth it! Thanks Gaby!!!
I have made these brownies a couple times now. The first time I did it exactly as posted and thought they were borderline raw. I do not like my brownies that wet. I made them two more times and found the perfect cooking time for those of us that don't like them that "gooey" to be 75 minutes (300 is a pretty low temperature which is why the time is so long). They were perfectly cooked and still soft, not dried out in the least. I used dark chocolate chips and threw the extras from the bag into the dough at the end. I also used GF flour and noticed no difference at all. I have to agree these brownies are pretty darn good.
Thank you Josie, we don't like wet brownies either