A perfect crinkly top, a super fudgy center, and extra chocolatey… these brownies are absolute perfection.
Homemade brownies are easy to make with just one bowl and a handful of ingredients. These come out so rich and are incredibly decadent.
Simple perfection… and they’re so good no frosting is needed.
Death by Chocolate Brownies? There’s nothing better! Super rich and fudgy, these morsels are what brownie dreams are made of.
A Perfect Brownie Recipe
If you’re looking for the best brownie recipe, I’ve found it. This recipe is decadent & rich and was created and perfected by Dorothy, the creator of Crazy for Crust.
- One bowl means quick prep time and easy cleanup.
- Uses ingredients I have on hand meaning I can whip them any time!
- They’re so moist there is no need for frosting or icing, simply bake and enjoy.
- Perfect with chocolate chips but you can add nuts or your own favorite add-ins.
If anyone knows easy decadent desserts, it’s Dorothy. This recipe comes from her book Crazy for Cookies, Brownies, and Bars and it’s a favorite for us! The dessert recipes in this book are easy to follow, super-fast, and made from scratch.
A fudgy brownie with a crackly crust and a gooey texture.
Ingredients
BROWNIE BATTER Sugar, butter, eggs, and a splash of vanilla are the foundation of any great brownie recipe and a bit of all-purpose flour holds it all together. Using both butter and a bit of oil makes these extra fudgy.
CHOCOLATE Cocoa powder combined with butter adds rich chocolate flavor and chocolate chips add even more chocolatey goodness.
THE SECRET INGREDIENT in these brownies is instant espresso powder. If you don’t have espresso powder, instant coffee powder works too (I add this to our favorite chocolate cake). Adding coffee to a chocolate dessert in a small amount doesn’t add a coffee flavor but it really enhances the flavor of the chocolate and makes it taste just a little bit richer.
VARIATIONS Add chopped nuts or swap out chocolate chips for chocolate chunks, white chocolate chips, or even mini M&Ms.
These brownies are gooey and moist, and rich with cocoa flavor.
How to Make Homemade Brownies
You’ll find these brownies in Dorothy’s book, Crazy for Cookies, Brownies, and Bars “Death by Chocolate Brownies”! They’re everything you could possibly need and want in a brownie.
- Combine butter, sugar, and cocoa powder per the recipe below.
- Stir in remaining dry ingredients and fold in chocolate chips.
- Spread into prepared pan & bake.
Serve them warm with a scoop of vanilla 3 Ingredient No-Churn Ice Cream, or a dollop of Whipped Cream. Or drizzle them with some Easy Caramel Sauce!
Gift Giving Made Simple
I love this book for myself because the recipes are easy and they are delicious!
If you’re looking for a hostess gift, thank you gift, or even a gift for the dessert lover in your life, grab a copy of Crazy for Cookies, Brownies, and Bars here and pair it with a bottle of sprinkles, some fancy chocolate chips, or even a pretty baking pan.
Tips for the Best Brownies
- For quick and easy clean-up, line the baking dish with parchment paper or foil. This also allows for you to easily remove and cut brownies by lifting them out.
- Ensure eggs are room temperature, you can put them in a glass of warm water if you’ve forgotten to take them out early.
- Do not overcook, brownies should be cooked until a toothpick 1-inch from the edge of the pan comes out with just a few crumbs attached. They can and should be a little bit gooey in the middle.
How to Cut Brownies
- Make sure the brownies are completely cooled before cutting.
- Line the pan with foil first, this makes the brownies easy to lift out before cutting.
- Use a plastic knife if you have one, the brownies won’t stick to a plastic knife.
- A regular knife can be sprayed with oil or cooking spray before cutting the brownies.
Storing Homemade Brownies
Keep brownies in a covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Freeze brownies in individual portions for up to 4 weeks.
Our Fave Chocolate Treats
- Easy Chocolate Cake – so moist & delicious
- Fudgy Chocolate Brownies – a double dose of chocolate
- Easy Triple Chocolate Cookies – soft & chewy
- Easy Chocolate Truffles – a decadent dessert
- Homemade Chocolate Pudding – a kid favorite
Did your family love these Homemade Chocolate Brownies? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Homemade Brownies
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter melted
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 ⅓ cups granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder or instant coffee
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips plus more for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x9 pan with foil and coat with cooking spray.
- Combine melted butter, oil, sugar, and cocoa powder in a large bowl. Stir until smooth.
- Mix in the eggs, vanilla, espresso powder, and salt.
- Slowly stir in the flour (batter should be thick) and gently fold in the chocolate chips.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan & top with more chocolate chips if desired.
- Bake for 21-25 minutes or until they become glossy around the edges and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted 1-inch from the edge.
- Let cool before cutting.
Video
Notes
- For quick and easy clean-up, line the baking dish with parchment paper or foil. This also allows for you to easily remove and cut brownies by lifting them out.
- Ensure eggs are room temperature, you can put them in a glass of warm water if you’ve forgotten to take them out early.
- Do not overcook, brownies should be cooked until a toothpick 1-inch from the edge of the pan comes out with just a few crumbs attached. They can and should be a little bit gooey in the middle.
- Make sure the brownies are completely cooled before cutting.
- Line the pan with foil first, this makes the brownies easy to lift out before cutting.
- Use a plastic knife if you have one, the brownies won’t stick to a plastic knife. A regular knife can be sprayed with oil or cooking spray before cutting the brownies.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Recipe published with permission. Kern, Dorothy. “Death by Chocolate Brownies”. Recipe. Cookies, Brownies & Bars. Quarto Publishing Group, MA. 2022. 63. Print.
This will be my go to recipe! They are moist and chocolatey. I baked in a 9×9 pan and it did take longer than the recipe, but I used the toothpick test & they were perfect.
So delicious! These brownies turned out perfectly gooey and so chocolatey! I baked them in an 8×8 so they took a bit longer to cook but well worth the wait. SWP Employee
Brownies were a disappointment.
Thanks for trying our recipe, Sheree! I am sorry it wasn’t what you expected.
The brownies came out FAB! Even my husband liked them and he’s not a chocolate fan. Thanks for sharing!
Honestly never rate recipes, but this one definitely deserves it! I’ve tried a lot of brownie recipes and this one is by far the best!
Thank you for coming back and leaving a review Ammanah! So glad you loved them.
Sooo chewy and delicious. Thank you Holly.
While the brownies were good, they were not my favorite. I did not end up adding the coffee, and it still was very rich, but it was more of a texture that I did not like. I think my oven runs lower in temp as it took 40 minutes to cook it before it was done, which was fine. But after it was done, it was VERY fudgy. All good for people who like that much goo, but I think an extra 1/4 cup of flour or maybe not adding the oil would make it better for me! (And anyone else preferring a little less gooey). Overall the taste was great, and I will be trying again with a tweak!
Thanks for sharing!!
Its so good! I am making this for my grandmas birthday today and I will bring it to her tomorrow, since she isnt here today! I tasted the batter and adding the coffee powder made it taste so rich. I definetly reccomend. I am also young, and this was so easy and it came with ingredients we always have at home! ♾️/10!:)
This recipe came out grainy and never set. Followed it completely. Not sure what went wrong but that was a waste of a lot of ingredients.
I am so sorry to hear that, Jen! I know how disappointing that is. Did you bake until they become glossy around the edges and a toothpick came out clean when inserted 1-inch from the edge? This is a great way to tell if you need to increase the cooking time or not. As for the grainy texture, I am not sure if you used espresso powder or instant coffee but espresso powder is much finer. You will want to make sure you mix until they are fully incorporated. I hope that helps!
It’s not letting me reply to Chelsea (the one that said her brownies keep coming out grainy) but I don’t know how much of an issue this is for anybody else but I know almost nothing about coffee so when i saw “instant coffee” in the recipe i immediately thought of the coffee you put in a coffee maker (which isn’t right haha) but that seems like it could definitely make it grainy. If that’s not what happened then I have no idea hopefully this helped !!
Absolutely delighted with these homemade brownies! The recipe was straightforward, and the result was divine. The texture was spot-on—moist, fudgy, and incredibly chocolatey. I added some walnuts for extra crunch, and it was a perfect complement. Everyone in my family couldn’t get enough! These brownies are now a staple treat in our household. Highly recommended for anyone with a sweet tooth!
Great recipe! Thank you! Gracias :)
Hi! I haven’t made these yet, but I wanted to let you know that I absolutely love all of your recipes. I used to subscribe to so many cooking websites but now yours is the only one I need! I do wonder though, if I could use milk chocolate chips instead of the semi sweet in this recipe?
Thanks so much, Annette! Yes, you can absolutely use milk chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet, just keep in mind your brownies will be sweeter!
can I use olive oil instead?
We have not tried using olive oil in this recipe, Sherri, but other readers have used it and had great results!
That’s what I use is olive oil and there delicious
This has quickly become my go-to brownie recipe. I do lessen the instant coffee to about 1/4 tsp. They are still amazing without the instant coffee, but I think a little bit gives it the perfect balance.
Simply the best no-fuss recipe and a crowd pleaser. Easy to make a double batch and use two 8×8 pans because each had different toppings. Took them to work and they were devoured. I like baking them slightly longer because I love a good crispy chewy edge! I also used Ghirardelli brand cocoa and it was delicious! Ferrara Instant Espresso Coffee is my favorite to use in baking, which I got off Amazon. Will use this recipe again and again!
Those sound delicious, Camille!
Made these yesterday and they turned out gritty/grainy tried again today and they still have the same texture. Any tips on what I could be doing wrong? Absolutely wonderful flavor, just not sure why they’re turning out grainy?
Hi Chelsea, this has not been an issue for me so I can’t say for sure but it might be because the sugar isn’t fully dissolved? I would make sure the sugar is fully dissolved in the wet mixture before adding to the dry mixture. You could also try using a finer sugar (berry sugar) if you’d like! I hope that helps!
hi I want to try this recipe but I don’t have instant coffee. would it mess up the recipe if I don’t use the coffee at all?
Adding coffee to a chocolate dessert really enhances the flavor of the chocolate and makes it taste just a little bit richer. So leaving it out won’t ruin the brownies by any means, they just might not be as rich as expected.
This recipe is perfect. The brownies are moist and the recipe is simple to follow.
Thanks, Sue! Glad you enjoyed them :)
They were alright for the chocolate flavor I had been craving. The recipe called for the oven to be 350 degrees. I believe it should have been more around 325 degrees and more around 15-20 minutes. I put mine in for 20 minutes when it calls for 21-25 minutes, and they came out dry and didn’t have a fluffy brownie texture.
Sorry to hear that, I hope you were still able to enjoy them!
A wonderful kitchen tool for any baker is an oven thermometer. Ovens can actually be as much as 75 degrees off the set temperature, which would make cooking times inaccurate. Also, using metal vs glass pans make a difference. Hope this helps!