This homemade brownie recipe is mouthwateringly moist and gooey with a crackly top.
Made with pantry basics, like cocoa powder, butter, sugar, eggs, and a (secret!) dash of espresso powder, these homemade brownies taste like they came from a specialty bakery.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: Rich, fudgy, and loaded with chocolatey goodness – plus melty chocolate chips in every bite!
- Skill Level: This recipe is great for beginners. Mix everything in a single bowl, pour into a pan, and bake. It’s that easy!
- Freezing: Freeze a tray or individual pieces for up to one month.
What’s in Homemade Brownies?
- Brownie Batter: Use real butter, oil, large eggs, plain white flour, and sugar, and a dash of vanilla extract as the brownie base.
- Cocoa: Use natural or Dutch cocoa powder for a rich chocolate flavor. Using Dutch cocoa powder will give these brownies a deeper color.
- Chocolate Chips: These are the key to chewy, fudgy goodness! Use any kind of chocolate chips or go half dark and half white chips for a fun look.
- Espresso Powder: Espresso powder or instant coffee makes brownies and chocolate cake extra rich.
Favorite Additions
- Brownies are built for mix-ins! Add nuts, coconut, dried fruit, mini M&Ms, or chopped peanut butter cups.
- Serve with a scoop of ice cream and a drizzle of strawberry sauce for a fancy dessert or a simple dollop of homemade whipped cream and fresh blueberries.
Keeping Homemade Brownies Fresh
Store homemade brownies in a covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
For a just-baked warmth, pop the brownies into the microwave briefly! They will be melt-in-your-mouth delicious and warm.
Chocolate Lover's Dream
Did you enjoy this Homemade Brownie recipe? Leave a comment and rating below.
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter melted
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1⅓ 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 9×9 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.
- 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, Snack
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.
I made these for the second time today. This time I coated a 9 x 9 glass pan with release spray (Pam is OK. Pure & Simple Canola Oil Spray is best). I put the half-cup of butter, plus a little extra into the glass pan and let the butter melt while the oven was heating up and I was putting together the rest of the ingredients.
When you take the glass pan out to add the butter, leave a tablespoon or so in the pan and sloosh it around. Tilt the hot pan carefully to get the butter up on the sides and then put the pan back in the heating-up oven while you finish mixing’er up.
When you’ve got the batter mixed, take the hot pan out of the over and pour the batter into the hot pan. Spread it out evenly. I baked it for 30 minutes and let it cool completely. Oh my! It’s like a cookie, and candy, and brownie rolled into one. Crunchy top and bottom, gooey on the inside.
I’m having them with coffee and Almond Silk for supper. A square meal of delicious chocolate.
This will be my go-to for chocolate from now on. Before now, Godiva Walnut Cremes were my go-to but they quit selling boxes of Walnut Cremes only. These crunchy gooey candy brownies are different but they get it done.
I am so happy to hear you loved these brownies as much as we do John! Thank you for sharing your tips!
Hey I loved the recipe :) Just one concern I didn’t really get the lighter brown crackly top what mistakes might have I made. Thank you
– also since the butter is hot because its melted should we wait a bit for the eggs to be added or add them right away. I wanted to ask because I waited just a tad bit because I was afraid of them seperating.
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe A! To get more of a crackly top, really mixing the butter, oil, and sugar mixture should help! As for the butter, it should be cooled to room temperature before adding. I hope this helps!
I made these just as the recipe stated but with no espresso powder. They turned out very tasty, but I did have to bake for double the time indicated in the instructions.
Delicious! Me and my bestie made this together. We are super excited to try it! The batter was so good and all the ingredients were easy to mix. It was so simple and good! Me and my bestie are only 9, but the brownies were so good! Besties Comment: this is my first time baking it this was very fun to do!
yasss it was soooo easy and yummy and delicious i love it sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo muchhh tysmmmmm
So happy to hear how much you love the brownies Elena and Chelsea!! Hope you find some more awesome recipes here to bake together!
The best brownies I’ve ever made and tried! Very easy to make too!
These were the best fudgy brownies ever! Thank you for the recipe
So glad you loved these!
I used all-purpose flour, and I’m thinking I should’ve used self-rising? My brownies are pretty flat without a crackly top.
We used all purpose flour in this recipe.
Do you use salted or unsalted butter
We use unsalted butter in this recipe.
These were amazing! I followed the recipe to a T with the exception of adding butterscotch chips (which did not disappoint). I also had to bake for 20 minutes longer as my oven is ancient and everything takes me longer to bake/cook. If you need your sweet fix, then look no more. This is the brownie recipe for you. Oh I almost forgot, I did not have any expresso powder or instant coffee but it didn’t matter since they are incredible! Next time I will try it and update my review. I am always cooking and baking from scratch and most of my recipes come from Spend with Pennies lol. If you don’t have her app then I suggest getting it.
So happy you are enjoying our recipes, Melissa! Thanks for cooking along with us ❤️
Is there maybe a difference in the type of pan being used? Im using my pyrex 9×9 and at 25 min they are still like batter 1 inch from the edge. Maybe others are using a thinner metal pan? I also had to add a tablespoon of cream(or egg white would have been my second choice) as the batter was too dry to mix in all the flour and i went half and half on white and light brown sugar for extra softness.
Hi Aspen, we line a regular 9×9 baking dish with tin foil before baking so that may be making a difference in the cooking time. I would cook them a little longer checking for doneness. Hope you enjoy them!
I can’t wait to try this recipe.
Do you have to put instant coffee or espresso powder?
You can skip it if you’d like, it adds a bit of richness to this recipe.
Should I use an 8×8 Pyrex or 9×9 Teflon?
I used a 9×9 pan lined with foil. Enjoy Jaclyn!
Definitely needed WAY longer than 25 minutes – more like 40. Other than that, they were good
Hi Emily, sorry to hear this recipe took longer to cook for you! We have always found the listed cooking time to be accurate for us. To test for doneness, you want to insert a toothpick 1-inch from the edge of the pan and see if it comes out with just a few crumbs attached. They can and should be a little bit gooey in the middle. Hope that helps!
I concur. Possibly even longer. Still waiting to see after 45.
Those look amazing.
Wow! This recipe turned out amazing! I accidentally left in in about 6 minutes too long but still turned out cooked and SOFT! I took the chance and added instant coffee as your recipe says and this is the best brownie recipe EVER! my kids love it! Thank you for a easy recipe!
Yay! So happy to hear that, Akina! I love the addition of instant coffee, that sounds delicious.
Thank you for such a wonderful, easy recipe! I added mini chocolate chips and pecans and these are to die for!
Oooh, those additions sound great! Thanks for sharing.
These are by far the best brownies I have ever eaten!!!
We couldn’t agree more Marilyn!
Made these brownies yesterday. They were amazing & your comments are spot on “do not overcook” so they remain smooth & chocolatey.
So happy you love them, Carol!
Instant Pot
excellent
So glad you loved these Dora!
They are delicious, rich,gooey,moist brownies I ever tasted, and the hint of coffee, make it just right, thank you for the recipe it is a keeper
So glad you loved these as much as we do Sharon!