Best Brownies

If you normally reach for the boxed brownie mix, then trust me—make this easy, homemade recipe one time, and you'll ditch it for good. Everyone needs a staple, crowd-pleasing brownie recipe to keep in their back pocket, and I think these moist, extra-chocolatey brownies should be your new go-to. Starring both melted chocolate and unsweetened cocoa powder, these rich, fudgy brownies deliver all the intense chocolate decadence that I crave. Read on for how to make these brownies the best they can be:

What People Are Saying:
“Fudgy but not TOO fudgy, cakey but not dry, and incredibly chocolate-y. They're the absolute PERFECT MIX of texture and flavor. My new go-to! Thanks, Delish!” - jsa1599

How To Make Brownies

INGREDIENTS

• Unsalted Butter: Though many brownie recipes rely on oil for fat, I’ve gone with butter because, simply, it tastes better! The dairy solids enrich the overall flavor, without making these too one-note.
• Chocolate & Cocoa Powder: The key to making fudgy, extra-chocolatey brownies? Use cocoa powder and melted chocolate. You could use one or the other alone and make a just-okay brownie, but together they're a pretty unstoppable duo: Cocoa gives the brownies that really intense chocolate flavor, while melted chocolate boosts the flavor and also adds to the fudgy texture.
• Vanilla Extract: A hefty dose of vanilla extract provides a rich, floral background note for the two types of chocolate featured here. After all, vanilla and chocolate go hand in hand.
• Espresso Powder & Kosher Salt: Now I love desserts, but even I have to admit that there is nothing more disappointing than biting into a too-sweet treat. Here, generous amounts of salt and espresso powder boost the flavor of the brownies and balance out the overall sweetness.
• Granulated & Light Brown Sugar: The high proportion of white sugar (over brown) guarantees that signature shiny, crackly top, while the molasses in brown sugar brings a delightful additional depth of flavor.
• Eggs: Oh so important when baking, eggs add moisture to the batter while also acting as a binder so that we end up with a solid sheet of brownies and not a too-dry, crumbly mess.
• All-Purpose Flour: AP flour is the classic here. We don’t need the brownies to rise much, and want them to stay nice and crisp on the outside while soft and fudgy on the inside.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

Start this recipe off by prepping your landings. Preheat your oven and grease a metal baking pan with cooking spray, then line with foil. Leaving a 1” to 2” overhang on both long sides will help you cleanly remove the brownies when they have finished baking and cooling! Grease the foil with cooking spray as well to ensure the brownies don’t stick.

Then, in a small pot, melt the unsalted butter and use a rubber spatula to stir in the chocolate—don’t forget the layer on the bottom of the pot—until a smooth chocolate sauce is achieved. Then add in the vanilla, espresso powder, and salt and stir to combine well.

In a large bowl, combine your two sugars, whisking to break up any clumps, then add in the melted chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth. Whisking as you do, add in one egg at a time, making sure to blend each egg completely before adding the next. After all the eggs are added, whisk vigorously for about 30 seconds to ensure the batter is completely mixed—this will help achieve a shiny, crackly top. Gently fold in your dry ingredients with a spatula until just combined.

Pour your batter into the foil-lined baking pan and place into the oven to bake for about 22 to 28 minutes, until the brownies have puffed up slightly and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove the brownies from the oven and allow them to cool completely while still in the baking pan. Once cool, use the foil overhangs to remove the entire slab of brownies from the pan. Transfer to a cutting board and cut the brownies into roughly equal squares for serving.

The full list of ingredients and instructions can be found in the recipe below.

Recipe Tips

• Let them cool. I get it—it's tempting to want to cut into these babies right away. That being said, I recommend letting these brownies cool completely before attempting to cut them. Then remove the whole sheet from the pan and slice it into squares with a sharp knife.
• Have fun with the mix-ins. Everyone has their own (very strong) opinions about whether or not a brownie should have mix-ins. I’ve left these pure and unadulterated—nothing added to disturb that fudgy, chewy strata—but if you want to stir in up to 1 cup additional chocolate chips or chopped nuts, be my guest.

Storage

Store these brownies in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to a week.