The BEST BROWNIE RECIPE
Here it is… your foolproof, satisfy your chocolate cravings, ultimate chocolate chunk brownie recipe.
These “Better than a Boyfriend Brownies” are whipped up in one bowl and are so easy even kids can make them. I am pretty sure I could make these brownies in my sleep. I’ve tried more brownie recipes than I would like to admit but all of that practice has made me a brownie connoisseur of sorts, right? This is hands down the BEST homemade brownie recipe.
I have been baking since I could stand up on a stool! I have been able to compete in the Pillsbury Bake-Off for a million dollars twice, win the Cooking Channel Contest for the most perfect cookie in America and film in the Food Network Studios (the #1 recipe in 2012), and land on the cover of Food Network Magazine for winning their Bake Sale contest. This was all before I started Modern Honey and have been baking up a storm ever since!
All of these years of baking and working to create the perfect brownie recipe and here it is! Once I tried this homemade brownie recipe, I have never looked back. This is the ONLY brownie recipe I use because it is the best!
This brownie recipe is rich, decadent, and fudgy. No dry cakey ones here! You may want to eat the entire pan – they are that good and it might just become your absolute family favorite.
The name – Better than a Boyfriend Brownies stems from where all good inspiration comes from – a breakup. I have a ridiculous memory. It can be a really good thing and a really bad thing, simultaneously. Here’s where the really good memory isn’t so great.
For some stupid reason (because teenagers generally don’t always make the most sound judgments), my friends and I thought it would be funny to toilet paper my first little boyfriend’s house.
Since we couldn’t drive, we convinced my Mom to drive us to this unsuspecting boy’s house. We realized pretty fast that his yard was huge and we needed some help. So we ran to the car and grabbed the master toilet paperer – my Mother. We somehow convinced her that toilet papering at the age of 50 was completely normal.
All was going well and we were quite impressed with our TP skills…until we saw car lights rounding the corner into the cul-de-sac. There was nowhere to run so we squealed like little girls and hurdled into the bushes. Unfortunately for us, our hurdling skills weren’t the best and our covers were blown….by his parents!
They got out of the car, walked over to the bushes and we slowly peaked our heads out in utter shame and embarrassment. The real entertainment came when they discovered that my Mom was hiding WITH us!
I don’t think they were impressed. That little boyfriend – the giver of my first kiss completely broke my heart into smithereens when he broke up with me. Note to self: don’t toilet paper your boyfriend’s house. They usually have to clean it up and won’t like it.
I went home and did what any normal teenager would do…put on some really sad music, baked up a pan of brownies, ate every one of them and drowned my sorrows. Hence the name – Better than a Boyfriend Brownies.
If only, I would have applied my good memory to the periodic table in Chemistry.
I’ve had a lot of years to work on my brownie making skills. I am going to give you 5 tips to make sure those calories are worth it and to NOT screw up your brownies. These are truly the best brownies in the world!
5 Ways to NOT screw up brownies:
- Don’t overbake. Holy cow this is a big one. Ask my kids how crazy it makes me when I see the cooking times listed on a brownie mix or cake mix box and it’s so long that you’ll end up with hockey pucks! No wonder people think they are bad cooks when really we can just chalk it up to bad directions. Can we do that? Yes, we can. Anytime you are baking up a cookie, cake or brownie….watch those precious gems like a hawk. You want laser beam focus because a few minutes can be a difference maker.
- Cream butter + sugar for at least 3 minutes to ensure you don’t end up with grainy brownies. Creaming works wonders in baked goods as it helps to dissolve sugar crystals and it creates little pockets of air. The butter wraps around the sugar as it coats it and helps to say goodbye to the grainy texture.
- Don’t overmix your flour. You know how kneading bread makes it better….well it’s the opposite with baked goods. If you overmix your batter, it creates more gluten which can leave you with a tougher brownie. We want a tender one! Mix until just combined or even turn off your mixer and fold in your flour.
- Use high-quality cocoa. It’s the star ingredient and it’s integral to the overall success of the brownies. I buy Callebaut cocoa powder in bulk at Winco and even though it’s high-quality stuff, it is actually less expensive than buying one of the other popular brands in the store. It makes a huge difference in the depth of flavor.
- Add chocolate chunks. Because if you are going to eat chocolate, you want to really eat chocolate. Adding semi-sweet chocolate adds a richness to it and another depth of flavor. Guittard and Ghiradelli are some of my favorite brands of chocolate. Trader Joe’s makes a killer chocolate bar and it melts beautifully. If you are really crazy, add some white chocolate just to really mix it up (think Paradise Bakery black + white chippers).
Use a toothpick or even a cake tester (OXO makes a good inexpensive one HERE) to test the middle to make sure it’s not a goopy mess.
You want it to come out with a soft crumb and not be dry as cardboard. No one likes to eat cardboard. Use light colored pans. The dark colored pans cook the bottoms of baked goods too quickly. Here are a few of my favorite pans — USA 9 x 13 inch pan and USA Square Cake Pan 9 inch.
Feel free to up your game and add some caramel or dulce de leche. People will be impressed at your mad skills. Carefully heat up a jar of that caramel goodness and swirl half of the jar into the brownie batter. Bake in the oven. Once they come out of the oven, top and swirl with remaining caramel.
Make sure you lick the spoon after you are all done…..in the name of research, of course. *They are adapted from I am Baker’s brownie recipe (who you must follow because she’s so hilarious and incredibly talented).
Click the video below to see how quick and easy it is to make homemade brownies:
- 1 cup Butter softened
- 2 cups Sugar
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- 4 Eggs
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla
- 1 cup Flour
- 1/2 cup Cake Flour
- 1 cup Cocoa Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 1/2 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks or Chips
- *Optional: add 8-ounce jar Dulce de Leche. Carefully heat in the microwave. Swirl in 4 ounces into the batter. Bake. Top brownies with remaining Dulce de Leche.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar, and brown sugar for 3-4 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla.
- Stir in flour, cake flour, cocoa, and salt until mixed together.
- Fold in chocolate chips.
- Pour into 9 x 13 pan and spread evenly.
- Bake for 28-36 minutes.
- *Adapted from I am Baker's decadent brownies
Pin on Pinterest:
Happy Baking!
These look like the perfect brownies!! Thank you for sharing! I will try them and let you know.
It’s all about the chocolate with these brownies, Carol! You definitely need to try them and let me know. You’re the best!
I use King Arthur double dutch dark chocolate–I will let you know how it goes!!
Melissa, the brownies turned out perfectly! Excellent consistency and so delicious. You are a pro, girl! Thanks for this blog. I am loving it.
Woo hoo! I am so happy to hear it and you are the best for letting me know. Thanks for the kind comments, my friend. xo
Delicious
I love your toilet papering story. Love it even more that your mom was involved and got caught! The bright side is you can look back on this life experience and laugh. These brownies look insanely good!! They are so fudgy, gooey, and moist. Pinning.
My Mom is the coolest for sure. Thanks so much for your kind words. I appreciate them so much!
I have been making these brownies and will never use another recipe. I add a generous tablespoon of expresso powder. I bake the pan for 28.5-29 minutes. I always line pan with parchment or foil and let cool overnight or until very cool. When ready to cut I pull the “paper handles ” and remove then cut. So good!
Can I use all-purpose flour instead of cake flour?
Hi Suja! You can absolutely substitute all-purpose flour but it will change the texture slightly. I’ve made it both ways and when I use all-purpose flour, they are still incredible. Happy Baking!
I’m planning on making these today. If I use all purpose flour instead of cake flour do I use the same measurement?
You can substitute 1/2 C. Flour and 1 Tbs. of cornstarch for the 1/2 C. Cake flour!
BEST. BROWNIES. EVER. I tried them and i could not stop eating it!!! there was barely any left!!!
thanks sooooo much for this recipe!!!
Well thank you Ritu the Barman! That just made my day!
Hey is there any way I can replace the eggs? My family doesn’t have eggs
I’m not sure if it will work with this recipe, but I’ve used Greek yogurt as an egg substitute in brownies before without any problems.
Usually I use a ratio of 1/4 cup of yogurt to 1 egg.
Hey 🙂 I’m from the UK and I really want to try this recipe but I’m kinda confused with the ingredients. We don’t have cake flour over here and in reference to the first flour, is that self raising or plain? Also is the oven temperature in Fahrenheit or Celsius? Thank you so much!
Hi Eleanor! Thank you for stopping by. If you don’t have cake flour in the UK, just substitute 1 1/2 cups plain flour (self rising can be used too…they may come out slightly fluffier). Let me know how they turn out! 🙂
Thank you!
Hi, did you use salted or unsalted butter for this recipe? Thank you!
Hi Liz! I used salted butter in this recipe so if you are using unsalted butter, add an additional 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the recipe. Happy Baking and thanks for stopping by! 🙂
These are the perfect snacks! My hubby and I made them together for film night and we could not stop eating! I will definitely recommend this to all my family and friend. I was also confused with the cake flour but I found somewhere that mixing flour and corn startch together works perfectly too. Thank you so much for the recipe I will sure make these again! Dont ever stop posting Melissa xx
Thank you so much for your sweet comment. I am the exact same way with these brownies…I want to eat the entire pan! Thank you for stopping by and for trying them out. Have a wonderful day!
Hi! I’m a little confused about the ingredients too as i live in the UK.
Firstly what type of sugar shall i use?
And the recipe states to use flour and cake flour. You said to use plain flour to substitute the cake flour. But then what type of flour shall i use for the ‘flour’?
Hi there! Welcome from the UK! My brother lived there for years so he was always asking me baking questions as well since you don’t have the exact same products that we have in the US. I have made these brownies with all types of flour and have substituted plain flour for all of the flour asked for in the recipe and they turned out beautifully. Cake flour makes them slightly more tender since it has a lower protein content. If you use plain flour, you can add 1 teaspoon of cornstarch which will help with texture. Again, I have used 1 1/2 cups of plain flour and they are still lovely. Also, you use plain white sugar in this recipe. I would love to hear how they turn out and please reach out if you have any further questions. Have a great day!
In a 9×13 pan, these brownies are so deep that it took forever to get the center cooked and then they were hard as bricks around the outside once they cooled. 🙁
Hi Betty! Since these have a lot of chocolate in them, they will be slightly gooey in the center coming out of the oven. I usually wait at least 10-15 minutes before cutting them so they can set up. I am with you and don’t like my brownies to be hard either so they will seem a little underdone in the center when you pull them out but will set up in time. If you wait for them to be completely dry in the center then you will have hockey pucks on the outside. Sorry they didn’t work out for you!
I am going to try and substitute with an all purpose gluten free flour.. I will let you know.
These are the best brownies I ever had in my life!Very fudge and am in heaven.I love your blog and stories.You are awesome!Keep it going as It really makes my day!Love the recipes.
Hi Eileen! Thank you for taking the time to write such a sweet comment. You just made my night! 🙂
If I double the recipe do you think it would fit a cookie sheet? And would the bake time stay the same?
Hi Chelsea! I haven’t tried it yet but I think you will have enough batter to spread into a cookie sheet. Because they will be much thinner, you will need to put the timer for about 14-16 minutes and watch closely. Let me know how they turn out! 🙂
Hi. I don’t know if you’ll even see this but I’ve tried your recipe once and it tuned out delicious. I tweaked it a bit (I added extra chocolate) but still great results. Today I decided to make these for my class and spent five hours cooking to have the two batches done in time. I don’t know what went wrong but both came out undercooked (I added up to an hour of extra cooking time but they wouldn’t cook!) and would crumble into pieces when I tried to cut them. A total disaster. They weren’t so much undercooked as unbelievably moist. I would have added extra flour but the batter was already so thick I never imagined this would happen. Any idea as to what I did wrong?
Oh Rachel…that is a bummer! It’s always hard when you spend so much time and they don’t turn out. Here’s my theory….it sounds like you made two batches. I am wondering if the ingredients got off somehow. Since there is 1 cup of all purpose flour and 1/2 cup cake flour, I am thinking that maybe one of them got left out? If they wouldn’t set up, no matter the cooking time, then there wasn’t enough dry ingredients to set it up. I hope that helps for next time and I am sorry to hear that you had trouble. Have a great day!
Holy Chocolate!!! Made these brownies tonight and they are amazing! Didn’t have my usual Penzeys full-fat cocoa, so I used 3/4 cup of Hershey’s cocoa and 1/4 cup of King Arthur Black cocoa – I did use Ghiradelli chocolate chips – my favorite…
They came out deliciously dense and fudgy with a delicate crunchy top. The edges were perfectly chewy!!
Until now my favorite brownies were Ghiradelli boxed brownies (double chocolate and dark chocolate).
These were even better!!
Thanks for a great brownie recipe! The hunt is over… 🙂
Thanks so much, Dave! I appreciate your kind words and I am so happy that you loved the brownies! They are super decadent. I am a huge fan of Ghirardelli chocolate chips as well and they just make everything better. Thanks for taking the time to comment and have a great day! – Melissa 🙂
Good to know these are better than the Ghirardelli dark chocolate boxed brownies because those are my favorite too! Going to make these this weekend!
Is the cocoa powder unsweetened or sweetened?
PS. I’ve made some of your cookie recipes for my family and they are AMAZING!
Hi Kristin! Yay! Thank you so much for such a kind comment. So happy that you love them! The cocoa powder is unsweetened. Let me know how you like them! – Melissa 🙂
hello im from Philippines😃im just really confused about that first flour and cake flour that was stated? can I use all purpose flour and cake flour?
Hello from Arizona! Thanks for stopping by from the Philippines! Yes, you are right — the first flour is all purpose flour. Hope that helps! – Melissa 🙂
I just made the batter, it is so thick. Is that normal?
Hi Angela. I am a little late to the ball game with this comment but it is normal for it to be thick. It usually sticks to the spatula but is spreadable. I hope they turned out well! 🙂
Hello I found your recipe and i read all the comments. I want to make brownies but i don’t have the extra chocolate can i add some walnuts. I know they won’t be extra gooey. Thanks
Hi Alisha! I think that is a great idea! You can absolutely substitute walnuts for the chocolate chips. Thanks! – Melissa 🙂
Ok, I’m a brownie snob and I’ll just go ahead and say this is the perfect brownie recipe! I can’t tell you how many recipes I’ve tried or altered, but yours produces rich, fudgey brownies without any modifications to the recipe! I was skeptical about using a whole tablespoon of vanilla, but that really added a nice warm flavor. I also think your advice to not overmix or overbake the brownies makes the best texture! Yum!
Yay Kelly! So happy to hear that! I researched and ate a lot of brownies in search of the perfect brownie recipe. I haven’t even tried another recipe since I made this one. It’s my favorite too. Thank you for making my day by writing such a kind comment. – Melissa 🙂
I love brownies but I don’t like things that are overly sweet. It seems like 3 cups of sugar is a lot. Do you think I can cut back on the sugar and they’ll still taste good?
Hi Rebekah! The reason that there is so much sugar is to offset the bitter unsweetened chocolate. I think that if you lessen it to 2 1/2 cups sugar, they would still be delicious. Keep me posted! – Melissa 🙂
I don’t have cake flour but do have plenty of coconut flour, can I sub that and use two extra eggs?
These brownies are amazing! I’ve always been asked to make brownies for gatherings. Friends always say I’ve made the best but they were actually just boxed brownie mix. Well the one I’ve always made feels like it’s changed & I haven’t enjoyed them recently so I figured it was time to finally have a from scratch recipe. Can’t wait to bring these to gatherings! I’ve already bagged a few from this batch to give out to friends. I used all purpose flour instead of cake flour & baked for 30 min. I was so paranoid about overbaking them that I finally took it out even though my knife was coming out gooey still more than crumbly. After about 10-15 min though they cooled enough & were perfect!!!
Hi!
Can’t wait to try this tomorrow!
Would like to ask whether is this in Celsius?
And do I bake it at 350 Celsius, or change it after pre-heat?
Sorry for the silly questions!
These brownies are so delicious!
I forgot to come back around & review after making these brownies but that’s mainly because my hands were occupied shoving said brownies in my face! Sooo good! I shared a few pieces but my hubby & I thoroughly enjoyed them! My 1st not from box recipe.
Holy crow! These brownies are absolutely delicious. No doubt about the name. They are ALMOST better than sex!
The only thing is, they took forever to bake. I followed the recipe accurately and my oven is rather powerful, but it still took me 50 minutes or so to achieve the desired consistency. It was like tryng to bake a tray full of Nutella.
Still worthy all the trouble, though. 😉
You do pack down the brown sugar don’t you?
Awesome. Seriously rich and gooey. Edges are a little hard but so much perfectness on the interior. Those crisp edges make for great brownie sundaes. Thank you!
These are absolutely amazing and have been used as desert for functions, gifts and are always the go to for a chocolate craving. They get rave reviews from everyone . Thank you so much for this incredible recipe!
I notice there is no mention of greasing the pan. I guess I’ll try it without doing that. Hope I don’t regret it. I hate it when things tick to the pan!
I just made these for my family. After leaving the kitchen for a short time to allow them to cool, there were only 5 left when I returned. One thing I may add, instead on 4 eggs I used 2 eggs and 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce. When I try it again I will omit the eggs and use just the applesauce!!! These are delicious.!!!
Loved it! 😀
Great brownies KEEPER recipe! My new favorite secret, I made these the other night forgot the caramel however added pecans. I can’t wait to try with caramel drizzled on top.
I just made these and they are PERFECT!
I used a 1/2 cup of Dutch processed cocoa and 1/2 cup of Hershey’s Cocoa and I LOVED the balance of sweet and dark. I didn’t have chocolate chips, which was both unfortunate as I love them in brownies and fortunate as it led me to this recipe! I am so excited to share this with everyone I know!
I’ve seen people asking about cake flour, and I’m sure all purpose as a substitute for it works great, but I just put 1 Tb of cornstarch in the bottom of a 1/2 cup and added flour to fill the cup and have no qualms with how it turned out. Not too fluffy, not too dense. Perfect.
I also did an easy experiment. I don’t always love how underdone brownies can be in the middle (depends on my mood, haha), so I tried baking 1/2 of the batter in cupcake tins at 350 F for 23 or so minutes. Once done, I let them cool in the pan for about 5 minutes. They sank in the middle, but were wonderful. Crunchy on top and fudgy in the middle (without being underdone).
I did the rest of the batter in an 8×8, and they are also fantastic. I let them bake until the edges looked good. The middle definitely needs a bit of extra time to settle once you take the brownies out of the oven, but it’s not as underdone in the middle as I expected it to be. I thought baking them in a cupcake tin would end up being my preference, but I love them either way. The cupcake tin method is definitely less underdone than the pan, but not unpleasantly so.
So now that I’ve rambled on for about a year, here’s the verdict;
Every bit of these brownies is delectable. I will be making these over and over again. THANK YOU SO MUCH for the recipe!!!
Just found your recipe thanks to Pinterest! Definitely going to give these bad boys a try!
P.s. my mom totally went tp-ing with me too. Coolest mom ever!
Hi! Any comments about how these are the next day? I am making these for a super bowl party tomorrow, but i have to make them today due to time restraints. I just want to make sure they will still be just as yummy as they sound a day later!! Thanks : )
I’m going to have to take a sleeping pill as I can’t get these delicious brownies out of my mind so I can sleep. I LOVE your amazing recipes. I don’t cook anymore so I’m thinking, I’ll just come and sample yours. I need to come and see your mom and dad anyway. Loved the story of your mom helping you TP your first boyfriends house. I can picture her doing that. She’s so cute. Keep those amazing recipes coming.
These are so wonderfully delicious – never fails to please the crowd when I make these! Just wondering if you know how to make them vegan friendly?
I made these yesterday and they were AMAZING. I cannot believe how yummy they are! Sent most of them to work with my husband (so I wouldn’t eat them all) and his entire department loved them! Thanks so much for this recipe. Definitely my new go-to brownie recipe 🙂
I pinned this a few days ago and couldn’t wait to make it. OMG! These are amazing. Consistently super-gooey-moist all the way through, edge to edge, without being “undercooked gooey”. I added caramel chips instead of chocolate chunks. Mmmmm! Thank you! This will be my go to from now on. And when I’m not making them for my 26yo son, I’m adding a ton of nuts! ; )
I love it, Yvonne! What a great idea to add caramel chips. I am going to try it next time. Oh, and nuts would be delicious!
Hi Melissa! These are the best brownies I have ever had! They are the perfect combination of chewy and fudgy; I just love them so much. I’ve made them a few times for family, friends, and coworkers and everyone loves them. Even my boss, who is EXTREMLY picky, had 5 of them!
I was thinking of making these for a party I’m having soon. Would it be okay to pre-make the batter the night before and store it in the fridge? Or would that ruin it?
Thanks! Jessa 🙂
First up your story had me dying. I had done something a little similar and nearly peed my pants. We didn’t get caught but it was pretty close. These brownies look incredible! I swear by my boxed brownies because every thinks they are homemade. I have yet to find a recipe to rival them but these look so good in the pics I could eat them.
These are incredible! I’ve been testing brownie recipes for a few months, looking for the right balance of moist / cakey / decadent without being too rich. You absolutely nailed it. My favorite by abou 10 miles.
Can these be made without the chocolate chunks and still come out fudgy?
I have searched all over for the perfect homemade brownie recipe and this is it!!! My husband and I are eating less sweets these days and so that we wouldn’t be tempted to eat an entire 9×13 pan, I cut the recipe in half. But even doing so it turned out great! Of course we topped it with vanilla ice cream. This will now and forever be my go-to brownie recipe. I absolutely love it, its perfect! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe 🙂
I was wondering if you need to grease the pan. Please let me know…this recipe sounds great and I want to make them this weekend.
Hi Carol! There is enough butter so greasing the pan isn’t necessary. It wouldn’t hurt to give it a light spray though. I hope you love the brownies! Thanks so much!
Should the cocoa be sifted first and then measured or measured as is without sifting?
Okay, score #2!! Another hit! I gave some to the admin gal at my daughter’s ballet academy….she heated them up slightly and said, “WOW,” when she took a bite. 😉 Yippee! It’s so great to be able to share something so yummy and KNOW people with like it!! Next time I will add the leche cuz…I am really starting to trust you!! Ha!!
First of all, my family and I loved the taste of the brownies, but I’m not sure what I did wrong. I followed the recipe, or so I thought, but it was crispy on the edges and very gooey in the middle after baking it for 32 minutes. I used Hershey’s dark cocoa with the red band. It was the only cocoa powder I could find that had the words Dutch processed on it, but I don’t think it was 100% Dutch processed. Also, the butter and sugars didn’t cream. They had a texture more like wet sand. It didn’t cream until I added the eggs. I left my butter out for 2 days in a plastic container so it was soft, not melted. Lastly, I didn’t have cake flour, so I added 1 TBS cornstarch to the 1/2 cup AP flour like you mentioned in another comment. Any ideas of what I did wrong and how to make them better? My hubby wants me to make them again but a little cakier.
Finally! A proclaimed “fudgy” recipe that really is! I halved it because my husband and I didn’t need to eat a big pan of brownies. Really yummy!