Fudgy Brownies

These easy one-bowl Fudgy Brownies have perfectly fudgy insides, chewy edges, and crinkly tops. The best part? These rich chocolate brownies can be made in about 40-minutes, so they're perfect for spur-of-the-moment brownie cravings!

Jump to:

• What ingredients do you need to make these Fudgy Brownies?
• How to increase the fudginess of your brownies
• What kind of chocolate is best to use?
• What kinds of mix-ins should I use?
• What kind of pan should I bake brownies in?
• What tools do I need to make this recipe?
• Looking for more dessert inspiration?
• Fudgy Brownies

What ingredients do you need to make these Fudgy Brownies?

• Chocolate - I prefer bittersweet chocolate, but you're perfectly welcome to use semi-sweet chocolate if you prefer your brownies to be a little bit sweeter or dark chocolate if you prefer your brownies to be less sweet.
• Cocoa powder - I prefer Dutch cocoa powder which is less acidic than natural cocoa powder and doesn't necessitate any alkaline leavener. This classic Dutch cocoa powder and this dark Dutch cocoa powder one are both staples in my pantry and can both be used in this recipe.
• Flour - I use organic unbleached all-purpose flour for these brownies - this one is a staple in my pantry.
• Unsalted butter - Butter saturated (solid) fat which helps support the structure of the brownies, but it's also an important component for flavor.
• Canola oil - Canola oil also adds fat and helps create a fudgier brownie. I use it in conjunction with butter for a well-balanced flavor.
• White sugar - White sugar is used to sweeten, help retain moisture, and helps give these brownies a shiny, crackly top.
• Brown sugar - Brown sugar is used to sweeten, help retain moisture, and adds a little chewiness to balance the fudginess. It also adds a small amount of leavening due to the acidic nature of molasses, which gives brown sugar its distinctive brown color.
• Vanilla - Adds a warm flavor that enriches chocolate and gives these brownies a more balanced flavor.
• Eggs - This recipe calls for 2 large whole eggs plus an additional egg yolk. The saturated fat in egg yolks ensures that these brownies are extra fudgy.
• Kosher salt - Good salt is essential to a tasty brownie, amplifying the flavors. This one is a staple in my kitchen.
• Optional ingredients: Extra chopped chocolate, flaky sea salt, or other mix-ins (more ideas further down in the post).

How to increase the fudginess of your brownies

Use melted chocolate

This fudgy brownie recipe includes both melted chocolate and cocoa powder. Cocoa powder helps give the brownies a deep chocolaty flavor and makes them just a little bit chewy. But the melted chocolate is what really helps create a fudgy base as it emulsifies with the melted butter, so if you want truly fudgy brownies don't skip the melted chocolate!

Use oil (and butter)

Truly fudgy brownies require unsaturated (liquid) fat -- I prefer canola oil. However, using only oil can overwhelm the flavor and make brownies taste "oily." The best brownies use a combination of unsaturated (liquid) fat and saturated (solid) fat, so these brownies use a combination of canola oil (unsaturated, liquid) and unsalted butter (saturated, solid) for the best texture and flavor.

Don't skimp on the sugar

The majority of the sweetener in this recipe is granulated white sugar, which helps lock in moisture, increase chewiness, and helps to produce the shiny, crackly top that is so beloved.

Brown sugar does an even better job at locking in moisture than white sugar, owing to the addition of molasses that gives brown sugar its distinctive color. This moisture increases the fudginess of brownies overall, but it's best when used in a much smaller ratio than white sugar so you don't sacrifice the shiny, crackly tops or the chewy edges.

Use the right tools

These fudgy brownies are super easy to make in one bowl, but you will need to use the right tools for the job. You'll use a silicone spatula and a hand blender (or stand mixer if you do not have a hand blender) for this recipe, and they must be used very intentionally.

Using a silicone spatula to gently mix the melted chocolate, butter, and cocoa powder together is fine. But you'll want the extra power of a hand blender once its time to add the sugar and the eggs. Mixing these until fully emulsified, smooth, and shiny helps ensure that the brownies retain fudgy centers and also shiny, crinkly tops.

However, once the flour is added you will immediately want to switch back to your silicone spatula. Flour contains gluten, which gives structure and chew to baked goods, but can decrease the fudginess of the brownie if overworked. So you'll want to fold the flour and any chopped chocolate (or other mix-ins) in just until no streaks remain and no further.

I feel like this goes without saying, but I implore you -- please use a scale to measure your dry ingredients. Though I kindly supply the volume (cup) measurements for thing like flour and sugar, you will get much more accurate results using a simple kitchen scale to measure your ingredients (and dirty less dishes!). This really inexpensive one is a staple in my own kitchen.

Refrigerate brownies after baking

You might be tempted to eat a brownie hot out of the oven, but if you are truly 'Team Fudgy,' let those babies chill first. Refrigerating brownies solidifies the saturated fat (butter) and the melted chocolate creating a significantly fudgier brownie.

Brownies chilled for 24-hours in the fridge are fudgy perfection and only get denser and fudgier as the days go on. So, if you get heart eyes over super dense and fudgy brownies, bake, cool, and chill them 1-2 days prior to enjoying.

What kind of chocolate is best to use?

I use a combination of both cocoa powder and melted chocolate to make these Fudgy Brownies. This combination creates the best chocolate flavor. I also like to fold roughly chopped chocolate into the batter and/or sprinkle on top prior to baking.

This classic Dutch cocoa powder and this darker Dutch cocoa powder are staples in my pantry and can both be used in this recipe.

For the melted chocolate, I prefer using bittersweet chocolate, which generally has a cacao percentage between 60-70% depending on the brand. If you prefer sweeter brownies, you can use semi-sweet chocolate which can technically be found with as little as 35% cacao, but generally falls closer to 50-60% cacao. If you prefer less sweet brownies you can use a darker chocolate of 70% or higher cacao.

What kinds of mix-ins should I use?

While these Fudgy Brownies are certainly delicious on their own, I often mix in fun extras to make them extra magical. Some of my favorite mix-ins are:

• Chocolate - I love to roughly chop a bar of chocolate or a handful of chocolate feves to fold into the brownie mix and sprinkle on top. Dark, semi-sweet, or milk chocolate all pair well with the bittersweet batter, but you're also welcome to add white, ruby, or even more bittersweet chocolate. I am particularly partial to these Valrhona milk chocolate caramelia feves. You can, of course, add chocolate chips if you prefer, but I prefer chopping bars or feves so you end up with more random speckles and pools of chocolate throughout.
• Colorful chocolate candies - like M&Ms or Reese's Pieces
• Chopped hard pretzels
• Nuts - chopped walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts
• Shredded coconut
• Berries - raspberries, blackberries, or strawberries (can use fresh or freeze-dried)
• Potato chips (sprinkled on top)
• Marshmallows
• Dried culinary rose petals

What kind of pan should I bake brownies in?

My favorite kind of pan to bake brownies in is a glass pan. I know, I know that sounds mad, but just hear me out.

Glass pans are a terrible choice for many baked goods because they are known for their uneven heat distribution, distributing more intense heat to the areas that touch the glass than to the center of your batter. They also retain heat for a long time, so the pan will continue to bake the edges slightly after pulling the pan out of the oven. Cakes, for example, should never be baked in a glass pan because you'll often end up with an overcooked outer crust and an underbaked (potentially battery) center.

However, when it comes to fudgy brownies, I'm not after an evenly baked cake-like crumb. I want firm, chewy corners and sides and soft, fudgy centers -- so the heat distribution of a glass baking pan has an advantage when making super chewy-edged, fudgy-centered brownies. I use an 8x8 glass pan like this one.

If you prefer a more evenly fudgy brownie, you can bake these brownies in a traditional aluminum pan.

What tools do I need to make this recipe?

• A kitchen scale (or measuring cups for less precise measurements)
• Measuring spoons
• A hand mixer
• A large heat-proof glass mixing bowl
• A silicone spatula
• An 8x8 glass pan (you may use aluminum, but glass is my favorite for these)
• Parchment paper
• Optional: A cutting board + chef's knife if you need to roughly chop chocolate to fold in as a mix-in

Are you looking to upgrade your cooking tools or replenish your pantry? Check out my kitchen tools shop page and pantry staples shop page to find my must-have kitchen tools, pantry items, and other Whip & Wander favorites.

Looking for more dessert inspiration?

Love this recipe for Fudgy Brownies? Here are some more dessert recipes you might enjoy:

• Almond Peanut Butter Cookies
• Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats
• Harry Potter's Sticky Chocolate Birthday Cake (gluten-free)
• Florean Fortescue's Choco-Nut Sundae
• Weasleys' Canary Creams
• Chocolate Frogs

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