This one bowl brownie recipe yields chewy, fudgy brownies with a moist center and a crispy crust. I simply love their moist chew and the fact that they are not too dense. The baking time influences the consistency of these brownies tremendously, so please insert the cake tester (skewer, toothpick) rather too often than pulling dry brownies out of the oven. You will get the best results if the brownies appear slightly underbaked.
A note on reducing the amount of sugar
I made a habit of reducing the amount of sugar in cakes and pastries. And this is exactly what I did in this recipe. Most other recipes add about 1.5 cups of sugar into their brownie batter for an 8×8-inch square pan. I only add 1 cup. I wanted to reduce the amount even more, but the brownies didn’t seem to like this kind of diet. If you go lower than 1 cup of sugar, it’s hardly possible without a loss of quality. The crackly tops and the chewy bite depend on the sugar. As an experiment, I tried to reduce the sugar to 3/4 cup (160 g). They came out with a rather cakey texture but without their chewiness (bake 5 minutes shorter). But don’t get me wrong, they still taste great if you are into cakey brownies. Adding some baking powder makes them even more cakey. But who wants that anyway.
Step-by-step recipe for chewy brownies with a crispy top
You’ll only need chocolate, butter, eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt, and flour. If you want to make this a one bowl recipe, you have to melt the butter and chocolate in a big bowl in the microwave.
Preheat oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper.
Heat butter and 2 tablespoons water together, add chocolate and briefly reheat. You can do this step in a bain-marie or in a small saucepan over low heat, or in the microwave in a big mixing bowl (for the one-bowl attempt). Remove chocolate from heat and stir smooth with a hand whisk. Let melted chocolate cool.
Add eggs, vanilla, and salt to cooled chocolate. The chocolate should not be warmer than lukewarm or the eggs might curdle.
Thoroughly whisk in sugar.
Add flour …
… and mix until the batter is almost lump-free (a few lumps are ok).
Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes at 350 °F (175 °C). Do not overbake. Insert a wooden skewer near the center. The skewer should come out with a few crumbs clinging to it. If batter is clinging to the skewer, put it back into the oven for a couple of minutes. The brownies should seem slightly underbaked.
Let the brownies cool in the pan for 1 hour. Remove the brownies from the pan with help of the parchment paper, put them onto a rack, and let cool completely. Cut the brownies into pieces. In case the brownies are hard to cut and cling to the knife, clean your knife with an oil soaked paper towel.
The brownies will keep tightly packed (e.g. in a plastic container) a few days at room temperature or up to one week in the fridge. They also freeze well.
Enjoy!
This one bowl brownie recipe yields chewy, fudgy brownies with a moist center and a crispy crust. I simply love their moist chew and the fact that they are not too dense. The baking time influences the consistency of these brownies tremendously, so please insert the cake tester (skewer, toothpick) rather too often than pulling dry brownies out of the oven. Slightly underbake them. If you prefer cakey brownies, see note below.
Ingredients
- 75 g / 5.5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 8 oz/225 g semi-sweet chocolate chips or chocolate with 50% cacao, chopped
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) water
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or vanilla sugar)
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 cup (200 g/7 oz) granulated sugar (see note)
- 100 g/3.5 oz (about 3/4 cup) all-purpose flour
- Optional: Ca. 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I didn’t use them here)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C). Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper.
- Heat butter and water together, add chocolate and briefly reheat. You can do this step in a bain-marie or in a small saucepan over low heat, or in the microwave in a big mixing bowl (for the one-bowl attempt). Remove chocolate from heat and stir smooth with a hand whisk. Let melted chocolate cool.
- Add eggs, vanilla, and salt to cooled chocolate. The chocolate should not be warmer than lukewarm or the eggs might curdle.
- Thoroughly whisk in sugar. Add flour and mix until the batter is almost lump-free (a few lumps are ok).
- Spread batter into the prepared pan. If you want to add walnuts, sprinkle them on top of the batter. If you mix nuts directly into the batter, they will soften. Sprinkled on top, they will get crunchy.
- Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overbake. Insert a wooden skewer near the center. The skewer should come out with a few crumbs clinging to it. If batter is clinging to the skewer, put it back into the oven for a couple of minutes. The brownies should seem slightly underbaked.
- Let the brownies cool in the pan for 1 hour. Remove the brownies from the pan with help of the parchment paper, put them onto a rack, and let cool completely.
- Cut the brownies into pieces. In case the brownies are hard to cut and cling to the knife, clean your knife with an oil soaked paper towel.
- The brownies will keep tightly packed (e.g. in a plastic container) a few days at room temperature or up to one week in the fridge. They also freeze well.
Notes
I made a habit of reducing the amount of sugar in cakes and pastries. And this is exactly what I did in this recipe. Most other recipes add about 1.5 cups of sugar to the brownie batter. I only add 1 cup. I wanted to reduce the amount even more, but the brownies didn’t seem to like this kind of diet. If you go lower than 1 cup of sugar, it’s hardly possible without loss of quality. The crackly tops and the chewy bite depend on the sugar. As an experiment, I tried to reduce the sugar to 3/4 cup (160 g). They came out with a rather cakey texture but without their chewiness (bake 5 minutes shorter).
Did you follow this recipe? You could share your result here. All you need to do is take a picture with your smartphone and send it to [email protected] Laily: Hi there! Just wanted to let you know that ive tried your recipe and this is the best one ive tried so far! It turned out just how i imagined a brownies should be (fudgy+chewy+cakey - for real) Thank you so much for sharing! Would definitely bookmark this ❤️ Click to enlarge.
you forgot the butter in the ingredients!
Hi DS, Thanks so much for pointing it out. The recipe needs 75g/5.5 tablespoons unsalted butter. I’ve added it to the recipe. I hope you’ll try it. They are really delicious ;-)
is it ok to use stevia instead of sugar?
Hi axa,
I have no experience using stevia at all. The brownies might not come out as fudgy though and it will definitely effect the shiny cracky tops. Even if I cut back the amout of sugar, this will happen. But their taste may be appealing ;-)
I just tried this recipe and we like the tast but they can put really flat about a 1/4 inch tall and dense. Any advice?
Hi Christine,
I make this recipe pretty often, and if I pour the batter into the baking pan, it’s usually about 1 inch filled already, so I really don’t understand why yours came out so flat. Did you use an 8×8-inch (20×20 cm) pan? This would be the only issue I can think of. The brownies should be kind of chocolate-dense in the center but usually the bottom and crust is kind of lighter and the top is crackly and shiny. Hope you will try it again. Oh, or if you have a 20cm / 8 inch round cake pan, this would also work.
Hi, I live in Thailand so the room temperature will be pretty hotter than yours. I have to chill my brownies for a longer shelf life but at the same time, I face the problem that chilled brownies get harder. Hence, I’d like to know if it’s because of the butter? I found some article that substituting some butter with oil will keep the moisture of the brownies. Please kindly advise :)
Hi Jomu,
Thanks for your comment. Yes, I can see your problem. It’s the same here during summer time. You guessed right, it is mostly due to the butter that the brownies will get firm and tough. So here is what I usually do: If I don’t plan on eating the entire batch within a day or two (haha), I put them into the fridge, either in a plastic container with a lid or in the baking pan, covered with cling wrap. I simply take out the peaces I want to eat about 1/2 hour ahead and let them get to room temperature. I think if you would use oil instead of butter, the brownies could still be kind of firm, since it’s not only the butter but also the melted chocolate that gets firmer at cool temperature. Hope this helps.
Do you have a recipe or suggestion if wanting to use cocoa powder?
Hi Kelly,
I’ve never made brownies with just cocoa powder and omitting the chocolate. But I’ve been meaning to try it for a long time now. If I would try it with just cocoa powder (and without chocolate), I would probably use 50 g cacao (= about 2/3 cups) and add 100g additional sugar (about 1/2 cup) and 2 additional tablespoons (28g) of butter. But I am really more guessing here – but that’s how I would try it. If you try it, let me know how it works out ;-)
Hello!!!
Made these brownies and loved them soooo much, baked them another 3 times since ! Haha
Came out just the way you described it… fudgy, chewy, chocolatey and superrrrr yummy :)
Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Anusyia,
Wow, that’s great to hear. I love them too. Thanks so much for trying the recipe! I am always happy to hear if the brownies turn out the same way they do in my oven :-)
Can i use dark compound chocolate instead of chocolate chip? do i still get that crispy crust?
Hi Kemala,
I’ve made these brownies with compound chocolate (about 50 % cacao and coarsly chopped) and they turned out great, including crackly tops. I’ve never tried these with let’s say an 80 or so percent chocolate. If your chocolate is a lot darker than 50 to 60 percent, you have to add a little more sugar and butter. Hope you will try the recipe.
Made these last night and they were great. I love the texture. The only problem is I’ve eaten 5 of them in 24 hours.
I like that you worked on reducing the sugar. These were still a bit sweet for me but not as much as other recipes I’ve tried. Next time I’ll try with bitter sweet chips and see what happens. I used Ghirardelli semi sweet. Also considering a teaspoon of espresso powder. Think it’ll work? They’ll still be good even if it messes with the texture.
Hi Tammy,
Haha, yep. That’s the downside of these brownies: they are gone in not time. If it doesn’t bother you too much to lose the crackly top and a little of the fudginess, of course you can reduce the sugar even more. Don’t forget to reduce the baking time by a few minutes, otherwise they are pretty cakey and not chewy at all. Espresso powder works very well here too!! I’ve never tried them using a bitter sweet chocolate, I hope they don’t get too dense (maybe add 1 Tbsp addidional butter). Hope you’ll try the recipe again with your adaptions and thanks so much for your comment :-)
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I stumbled on to your site when I googled for a “fudgy chewy brownies recipe.” I found your recipe super easy to make and I’ve made the brownies two days in a row now (they vanish so fast!). The brownies are chewy and fudgy as promised! And I really appreciate that you’ve reduced the sugar as far as it could go. I normally do that and I’m glad you did the experimentation for us so I didn’t have to do my own guesswork.
For my second go at the recipe, I added a tablespoon of instant coffee and sprinkled kosher salt on top before popping it in the oven. I just wanted to add another layer to the chocolate flavor and the salt on top balances the sweetness out even more. :)
Hi Stef,
Thanks so much for your comment. That makes me really happy :-)
I sometimes add instant coffee as well, for more depth, if I have some on hand. Never tried the salt though. I’ll try it the next time. I imagine the salt gives it a nice touch and balance – like salted caramels. Yum!
@sugar: Yep, I am a habitual sugar reducer. Glad that it comes in handy for someone! Hope you’ll make them again some time.
Like everyone else, I’ve been on a search for a brownie that checks off all the boxes…. Chocolatey, fudge, gooey, cakey…. All in one. This is the best brownie recipe. I add just a tad bit of cocoa powder to get that extra richness. Thank you so much for posting this.
Hi Rashmi,
Thanks so much :-))) You make my day! This is my all-time favorite brownie recipe. Love that you add a bit of cocoa powder for extra richness!
I’ve attempted so many different brownie recipes and this one has the absolute PERFECT texture! The chewiness and crackly tops are awesome. As a brownie enthusiast, I do have a couple of questions that I am curious about:
1. What is the purpose of adding water to the butter? Is there something important with the fat to water ratio? (also is 2 tablespoons the same as 30 grams? I like to be precise.)
2. What gives these brownies their chewiness? Is it the chocolate chips? If I used semi-sweet bar chocolate instead, would I still get the same result?
3. What gives the brownies their crackly tops? I have tried other recipes that use more sugar but were not able to achieve the crackly tops. I love how with your recipe, I still got the crackly tops with the sugar reduction!
4. I personally love dark chocolate, however, when I tried 70% dark chocolate in place of the semi-sweet, I lost the crackly tops and the chewiness as well. :( Is there any way I can still get some of the bitterness of chocolate without compromising the result? (for example, can I add cocoa powder? If so, how much?)
Sorry about all these questions, but I find it really interesting how everybody’s recipe yields slightly different results even though the same ingredients are used – just in different ratios and proportions. I am absolutely fascinated by this brownie recipe and would really appreciate it if you could answer my questions. Thank you!
Hi Justine,
Thanks so much for your interest in these brownies and I am so happy to hear that you like them :-) They are my favorite brownies too!!!
I am always interested in the process and science behind a recipe – that’s why I often try the same recipe lots of times while changing one ingredient or detail.
1. I would guess it’s for getting a fudgy consistency. You could definitely substitute the same amount of butter too. But honestly, I am not sure why some recipes do add water to the batter while others do not. When making brownies for the next time, I’ll check this point out!! And yes: 2 Tablespoons of water are 30 grams (2 Tablespoons of butter on the other hand would be 26 g since butter is lighter).
2. If the semi-sweet chocolate chips and a chopped up chocolate bar have the same amount of cacao, they are interchangeable. So go ahead and use a bar instead of the chips, that’s fine. In my opinion, the flour ratio makes up for the chewiness. Also, the type of flour is important: cake flour wouldn’t work as well as AP flour.
3. It has definitely to do with the sugar. When I reduced the amount of sugar even more, they got lost at some point. Other recipes with more sugar might not achieve the crackly tops due to a different ratio of butter and sugar.
4. Darker chocolate has a lower amount of sugar (see point 3), so the crackly tops might get lost. You can try adding a Tablespoon of cacao powder or if you like to add a more earthy and deep/bitter flavor, simply add ½ or 1 teaspoon of espresso powder. This tastes great!
I love that you are interested in the science behind recipes as well :) and I hope that I could help you a little.
Ursula
Can I use a 7×7 inch square pan?
So sorry for my late reply. In case you haven’t tried the brownies yet: Yes, I would say that you can use a 7×7 inch pan. The brownies will turn out a little thicker and you might want to adjust the baking time – I’d say 1 or 2 minutes more. Hope you will try them. After all these years, they are still my favorite brownies :) Ursula