Absolutely The Best Brownie Recipe I Have Ever Made
I’m not exaggerating when I say that this is absolutely the BEST brownie recipe of my life. I spend a lot of time baking (and eating!) and I’ve never had another brownie like this one. It is the ultimate in rich, fudgy, chocolatey flavor, all thanks to the magic of browned butter. Regular brownies just can’t compete with this depth of flavor.
This post was originally published on January 30, 2013.
The other day Truman asked me from the back of the car if he would have time to play legos before dinner when we got home. I cheerfully said, “Absolutely!” And then there was this pause, and he said, very confused, “So…will there be time to play legos?”
I laughed so hard. He was confused because for some reason, I say the phrase “Absolutely not!” when my kids are in trouble or need reprimanding. I think they’ve picked up some unjustified negative connotations on the word “absolutely,” so he had no idea that I was trying to say “yes” in a happy and emphatic way.
Absolutely means, “with no qualification, restriction, or limitation; totally.” And I can say with fervency, guys, that these brownies are ABSOLUTELY the best ones to ever come out of my kitchen, or, dare I say, to cross my lips.
Everyone’s got a homemade brownie recipe, right? They are just an American classic. Even the boxed brownie mixes are okay. I mean they are nothing to write home about, but in a pinch, a brownie is still a brownie, right?
I mean it’s chocolate and sugar, it’s going to taste delicious even if you mess them up or use a subpar recipe. It’s like pizza. Even when it’s bad, it’s still good. (Have you ever bought a Little Caesar’s Hot and Ready intended for kids only but then you end up eating half the box? Guilty.)
But I say if you’re going to make brownies, you should go all in. Don’t waste your time or calories on brownies that don’t make you want to shout hallelujah.
Why this is the best brownie recipe
I will tell you the secret: BROWNED BUTTER.
It is the best way to take brownies from, “wow, these brownies are so good” to, “OH MY GOSH WHAT IS THIS MAGIC.” And the awesome news is that it’s not even hard to do this. We’re not using any special ingredients. We’re not dirtying half a sink full of pots and bowls.
It’s a one-pot brownie recipe that is so gooey and fudgy and deep in flavor, you will be nervous that it is so dangerously simple to make. You can have these in the oven in 15 minutes flat.
How to make the best brownies
Buttaaaaaaaaa. All ready to get toasty brown.
The butter will foam up and start to darken…
And pretty soon it will look like this gorgeous swirly goodness.
Here’s the batter all finished, once you’ve added the eggs and flour.
I like to add my chocolate chips after the warm batter is in the pan, so that they don’t melt.
Browned butter typically lends a nutty, almost toffee-like flavor to whatever you add it to. But this recipe is a little different. Chocolate is such a strong flavor (and there is so much of it!), that these brownies do not have that toffee-ish flavor. Instead, the browned butter serves to deepen the chocolate flavor.
I don’t use espresso in my baked goods, but I know that it adds depth to chocolate flavor without tasting like coffee. Browned butter does the same thing. It makes the brownies rich and deep. And it’s SO easy. The best brownie recipes always call for melted butter anyway, so just…carry on a bit until it turns brown. You will not regret it!
I’ve been making this recipe for several years now, and get so many requests for the recipe. I just gave leftovers from this batch to a friend of mine, and she texted me a few hours later that her husband was going on about the brownies and needed the recipe. I promise, it will not let you down. Everyone needs a go-to brownie recipe, and this one should be yours!
I only have one other brownie recipe that I make on the regular: Nana’s Famous Fudge Brownies. They do not have browned butter, but there is fudge frosting involved, meaning they are ultra decadent. I love them, but the frosting is necessary in my opinion, and I don’t always want frosted brownies. I need that crackly topping in my life. Only these browned butter brownies will do when the need for a classic brownie strikes.
I’m a brownies-and-milk kind of girl, but even I have to admit that ice cream definitely takes these already fabulous brownies over the top. Prepare yourself. You will need something, because these brownies will make all of those got-milk commercials come true, and you may actually die from chocolate overload if you don’t have at least a glass of milk. Enjoy!
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Four years ago: Split Pea Soup Soup with Smoked Gouda
Five years ago: Browned Butter Blondies with Sea Salt Butterscotch Caramels
Seven years ago: Jello Pretzel Salad
Absolutely The Best Brownie Recipe I Have Ever Made
12-16 (9x13 inch pan) adjust servingsIngredients
- 1 and 1/4 cup salted butter
- 4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate*, broken up
- 2 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon water**
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 4 large eggs
- 1 and 1/4 cups high quality semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with parchment paper. You can also line it with aluminum foil (be sure to spray the foil with nonstick spray). Or you can just spray the pan.
- In a medium pot (I use a 3 quart saucepan), melt 1 and 1/4 cups of butter over medium heat. Yes, 1 and 1/4 cup. I called these the best brownies of all time, not healthy brownies!
- Stir the butter occasionally. See photos for how to brown butter. It will turn white on top, then it will foam up. Once it is foamy, it will start forming brown colored milk solids or "bits". They will swirl up when you stir. The scent of the butter will change to a "nutty" or toffee like aroma. Once you see brown bits, remove the pan from the heat. Do not stop cooking the butter until it is completely browned, see note.
- Immediately add 4 ounces of unsweetened baking chocolate. Break it up into pieces so that they melt faster. Stir until it is melted all the way.
- Add 2 and 1/2 cups sugar and stir it together. If there are still bits of chocolate that have not melted, put it back on the burner on low until it is smooth.
- Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon water, and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Stir it together.
- Add 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled. That means take a large spoon and add flour to your measuring cup, then level off the top. Stir in the flour until just barely incorporated.***
- Stir in the eggs one at a time, making sure each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next one.
- Do not over mix. Over-mixed batter makes for a tough brownie, which is not what we're going for. You want soft, tender brownies! Once that last egg has been mixed in thoroughly, stop messing with it.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread to the edges.
- Sprinkle 1 and 1/4 cups chocolate chips evenly over the batter. Use your spatula to gently fold it in. If you add the chocolate chips to the batter before pouring it into the pan, they tend to melt and swirl on you. Which might be okay with you. I prefer my chocolate to stay in chip form so that when you bite into a brownie you get tiny little pools of chocolate. Mmm.
- Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. The edges should be set. The center of the pan should not wobble when you shake it. I always do the toothpick test: poke a toothpick in the center of the brownies and if there is no wet batter sticking to it, it's done. (If there is, leave it in for a couple more minutes) Be sure to poke a couple times so that you know you're not poking into a melted chocolate chip. Every oven is different, so you are going to have to use your bet judgment here on the bake time! Do NOT over bake, or the brownies will be too dry. In my opinion, slightly under baked is better than over baked. Keep in mind that the brownies will firm up as they cool.
- When the brownies are done, remove from the oven and let cool as long as you can before giving in and trying a piece.
- To cut these into nice looking squares, once the brownies have cooled, lift the parchment paper or foil out of the pan. Cut with a sharp knife, wiping the knife on a clean wet towel in between slices.
- These are almost impossible to eat without a glass of milk.
by The Food Charlatan
More brownie recipes you need in your life!
Nana’s Famous Fudge Brownies << my other favorite brownie recipe that is in a different category because it has frosting. ;)
Nutella Stuffed Browned Butter Blondies << okay so technically these are blondies but DANG they are good.
Reese’s Stuffed Browned Butter Brownies << this is today’s recipe…with Reese’s. Just in case you thought they couldn’t get any better.
Thin Mint Marshmallow Brownies << also made with today’s browned butter brownies recipe. It’s my brownie base for any twist I want to make on brownies!
More brownie recipes from blog friends!
Easy Brownies Made with Cocoa Powder from Love from the Oven
Red Velvet Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting from The Recipe Critic
Turtle Brownies from Carlsbad Cravings
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I was really hoping to love these but they were way too sweet for me. I ended up having to cook them 15 minutes longer than the recipe indicated so I was disappointed with the results. Too much butter also factored in to their “raw” texture. Maybe I missed a step but I was bummed that I wasted time and ingredients.
These brownies were delicious! However, they were so soft and mushy that the only way they could really be eaten is to refrigerate them so the butter would solidify. I have been baking for 50 years and know how to follow recipes. This one just has way too much butter in it to make the brownies work like a brownie should. Love the taste, but won’t make them again.
I’m a pretty savvy brownie baker and have baked all those glorified brownie recipes – mint cream layer, black forest, grand marnier – but I have to say, for a simple, no nonsense brownie that is totally satisfying, these are GREAT! My husband, who is my most experienced taster and likes all the complicated ones, too, agrees – LOVES THESE BROWNIES and pretty gosh darn simple. Thanks:)
I’m so happy you loved this stand-alone recipe Kathy! I agree, there are so many great “fancy” recipes out there, but everyone needs a killer recipe for standard brownies. Thank you so much for reviewing the recipe!
I haven’t made these yet. I have a question about the quantity of flour. You said 1 cup, leveled at the top. Do you mean literally to fill a measuring cup to the top rim of the glass beyond the 1 cup measure mark and level off with a straight edged knife? So actually, a little more than one cup? If so, perhaps that explains why some batches are too liquidy…
Hi Aleda! Nope, I mean exactly one cup, measured properly. Spoon the flour into a dry measuring cup (not a glass measuring cup), then level off the top with a knife. Exactly 1 cup :)
Ok we finally made these yesterday! My family is incredibly picky about their brownies and never like any from scratch, only boxed! Haha And to be totally honest, when I saw that a few people were having issues with the recipe, I had boxed brownie mix on standby just in case. Very happily I did not need those mixes! I followed the directions exactly and they came out perfectly. Not only that, but my whole family loved them. They almost didn’t want to admit it. Haha everyone went back for more. I used a blue glass 9×13 and they were amazing. Will definitely be making these many many more times! 😁
Ha, that’s so funny that they only like box mixes!! I will never turn my nose up to a box mix. They’re legit. But these homemade ones are indeed fudgier :) Love that you had a mix on standby. haha! I’m so glad you loved the recipe Misty, thank you for reviewing!!
These brownies are amazing!! I love baking but I’ve never attempted brownies before because I didn’t want to be disappointed – and I wasn’t, these were perfect.
I’m in the UK so I had to convert from Fahrenheit to Celsius for the cooking temperature and then convert from cups to grams but it worked out really well. If anyone needs the conversions they were:
180 degrees in the oven
285g of salted butter
115g baking chocolate
500g of granulated sugar
125g of plain flour
180g of chocolate chips
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I can’t wait to make them again once the shops have flour in stock. A lovely bit of relief from what is currently going on in the world.
Stay safe x
Abigail! Thanks so much for the conversion! You are awesome. I’m so glad they worked out well for you. Thank you for reviewing! And yes, stay safe!
Your update must have helped, I just made these, and followed your browning instructions to the letter and they turned out perfectly! Just like the pictures. I was craving some chocolate on quarantine 😁 Thank you!
Ha, I haven’t updated it yet. The recipe works for most everyone :) So glad it was a success Rebecca!
We made these twice in two days.
1st time: molten buttery brownie monster was created in the oven. I followed the recipe and I’ve never had a batch of brownies react like this did. BUT the flavor was amazing, and once they fully cooled they were edible. But everyone said they were way too buttery. These things were leaving their own buttery pools, and it tasted more like fudge the next day (delicious in its own right, but I wanted brownies).
This recipe had serious potential though!
2nd attempt: I cut the butter down to 1 stick + 3/4 stick, cut the sugar to 2 cups to compensate for less butter, and heated the sugar with the chocolate and butter after it browned for a less grainy texture. Cook for 30 min if eating immediately, but 25 if you can wait for them to set up for a couple hours. The knife basically will never come out clean with this much butter in it fyi.
The result? My new FAVORITE brownie recipe. Still not sure why the original calls for so much butter–I found the decreased amount plenty decadent and still came out delicious. :)
Thanks for the inspiration recipe for my new favorite brownies! You should totally try it with less butter, you may like it even more!
Hi Nicole! Thanks for all your notes! I have three questions: what is the humidity level like where you live? What is the altitude? And did you bake the original recipe in a glass or metal pan?
I’m having a bunch of friends all over the states test this recipe for me. It’s always worked exactly as written for me. I’m wondering if these 3 variables have anything to do with the different results.
I’m having the same problem with them looking liquid-y. I’m just curious your recipe says 1 cup and a 1/4 of butter but your picture listed above of the butter looks like two half sticks and a quarter. Which wouldn’t equal 1 and a 1/4 cups. Is this just a picture or was the amount written wrong?
Hi Makenzie! The amount in the recipe is correct. The photo shows two full sticks of butter plus a half stick. On the west coast, sticks of butter are fatter and shorter than in the midwest and east coast. (see this article for more info.) That’s why it looks like half sticks to you, you must live east of the Rocky mountains. I promise, the correct amount of butter is 1 and 1/4 cup. I’m sorry they were liquid-y for you! Do you live in a humid climate? I’m wondering if that is the issue people are having. I recently had a bunch of friends make this recipe and will update with more notes. But the recipe is correct as written.
These brownies are delicious, chewy goodness and so rich. You literally cannot eat them without a tall glass of milk😁 worth every bit of every of browning the butter!
You know Eric will walk directly to your fridge and pour himself a tall glass of milk without even asking if you ever make these for him. Haha!! So glad you liked them Kim thank you for commenting!! <3
I have made these twice and they are truly the best brownies that I have ever made.
Hooray! So happy to hear that Kristen! Thanks for reviewing!
I am having the same issue. I was so excited to make these. I browned them butter until it smelled like toffee and had the brown bits in the bottom.
Followed the recipe exactly but it’s currently like lava and boiling, not really cooking.
What a waste of time and $, especially when baking supplies are limited during a pandemic.
:(
These were the best brownies ever recipe❤️
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Emma!! Thanks for reviewing!
I just thought of something- in the photo of your cubes of butter, that looks like half cubes- if you are supposed to use 2 1/2 of the half sized sticks, that’s only 5/8 cup of butter. This batch is totally inedible, what a shame. Honestly, I know how to brown butter, I have an amazing browned butter chocolate chip cookie recipe I make all the time, so I’m quite confident that it wasn’t the moisture in the butter that made it not set up. This is more like an oily mess- it’s definitely butter floating on top of the lava. Curious…
I’m not new to browning butter, I’ve done it many times, so pretty sure the liquid issue isn’t because of the butter- and I didn’t even add the water- but my brownies are still cooking, they’ve been in the oven for 45 minutes, I’ve drained off at least 1/3 cup of butter which was boiling on top of the chocolate lava mess. Is it really 1 1/4 cup butter to only 1 cup flour? There’s definitely something wrong. I’ve never had this kind of problem before, it really feels like something is off wit the amount of butter. I suppose it’s just as well, I’m supposed to be cutting back on carbs anyway. This must be a sign. ;-)
Hi Jean, thank you for your feedback! The photo shows a stack of 2 and 1/2 sticks of butter. I just edited the recipe to take out all reference to sticks. I’m wondering if some of the reviews on this recipe are a case of people being confused and adding 2 and 1/2 CUPS of butter, which is way too much. So, to simplify: there are exactly 1 and 1/4 CUPS of butter in this recipe, no more no less. 1 and 1/4 cups of butter to 1 cup of flour is perfectly normal for brownies, you can find lots of brownie recipes with this ratio. I’m sorry the recipe didn’t work out for you Jean. I am 100% confident in the recipe as written. I have been making this EXACT recipe since 2013, and have made it no less than 25 times, if not more. Again, I’m sorry that it didn’t work for you!
I tried making these brownies last night to bring to a friends house for dessert. It was a disaster! I think it had to do with the browned butter. I melted the butter it started to foam but then didn’t change color and didn’t form any brown bits, I kept cooking it and it ended up foaming again a lot this time and then it appeared to turn slightly amber colored. I used the butter but the brownies never cooked right it is almost like the butter separated, the final product looks like lava on top and the consistency is dry but oily at the same time. They were inedible. I am wondering if the butter melted for too long? Do you have an recommendations or has this happened to anyone else?
Hi Toni! I’m so sorry, I have no idea what went wrong! It should definitely not be lava like on top. Are you sure it was done baking? I’m sorry it didn’t work out! (As for the butter, the only way to cook it too long is to burn it. It will be black and smell awful. Sounds like that’s not what happened?)
I am having the same problem as you, Toni :(. They’ve already been baking for over 35 minutes and they are still completely liquid…. It took forever for the butter to brown and it essentially had to boil for a while until that happened. So bummed. I was trying to make fancy brownies for a baby shower, but looks like I’m going to have to whip together a box mix.
Hi Kayla and Toni! I’m so sorry it didn’t work out for you. It seems that a few people have been having this issue, so I’ve added a note to the recipe emphasizing that the butter really does need to brown all the way for this recipe to work. When butter browns, some of the water in the butter evaporates. If the butter is not cooked long enough, there will be too much liquid in the final batter, and they will not bake properly.
Help! I followed the recipe exactly and my brownies were boiling. Literally boiling and a greasy mess. What did I do wrong?
Hi Jennifer! I have no idea since I wasn’t in the kitchen with you! I’m so sorry it didn’t work out! That’s never happened to me before.
Me, too, Jennifer! The batter consistency seemed wrong to me, but I followed the recipe exactly and I’m normally a pretty strong baker. I can’t figure out what went wrong.
Mine are currently doing this too!
Hello Payton and Jennifer! It seems that a few people have been having this issue, so I’ve added a note to the recipe emphasizing that the butter really does need to brown all the way for this recipe to work. When butter browns, some of the water in the butter evaporates. If the butter is not cooked long enough, there will be too much liquid in the final batter, and they will not bake properly. Make sure that your butter is a dark amber color. If you do not see little browned bits at the bottom of the pan, it is not cooked enough! Keep going!
I tried this recipe recently and these were easy to make and tasted great. Much better than boxed and easier than other from scratch recipes I have tried. I will make these again and again. Thank you.
Hooray! I’m glad you’ve found a brownie recipe to love Beth! Thanks so much for commenting!
These are literally and hands down the next brownies I’ve ever made. I added 1/4c of cocoa and reduced the flour and used bittersweet chocolate (by accident). My family went nuts over them.
Oooh bittersweet chocolate and upping the cocoa! I bet they were super dark and delicious!! I’m so glad you all enjoyed them Amy! Thanks for the review :)
We’ll, I made the brownies last night! You were right…you definitely have to have a big glass of milk with these brownies!!! Or a hot cup of coffee if you’re eating them for breakfast as I am!!! They are extremely chocolatey, for sure!! The top of my batch just doesn’t look right I wish I could upload a photo, but they do taste delicious I have to admit!!! Thanks for the recipe!
I’m so glad you are seizing the day with a brownie for breakfast! That’s what I’m all about :) I’m not sure what happened with the top, you can send me a photo on Instagram if you like @thefoodcharlatan. Thanks for commenting Bobbi!
Would it still taste good if I skip the chocolate chips?
I don’t like the texture of chips in brownies somehow, please let me know, i would like to do walnuts instead
Absolutely Niyatee! Leave them out entirely or replace with toasted nuts! Enjoy!
Hi! Prior to trying your recipe, I have always had disastrous results when making brownies, and as a result, I refrained from making them for a while. But today, I stumbled upon the recipe, and I had to try it since I love brown butter ANYTHING. I was amazed when I bit into these brownies- they were everything that I had ever hoped for :)) Thank you so much for making me believe in myself again LOL.
That’s awesome Maya! I’m so glad you finally have a go-to brownie recipe! Everyone needs one, right? All hail brown butter. Thanks for reviewing!!
Can I add nut to this recipe?
Absolutely Sylvia! Toast them first for the best flavor :) I would add maybe a cup or so.
Should the sugar melt completely in browned butter? Mine didn’t, although brownies were delicious it seemed there was a slight grainy texture.
Hi Debra! Yeah in step 5, make sure you mix until the sugar is well incorporated. Hope this helps!!
F A B U LO U S – Tasty treat! I also added pecans…yummy, yummy! I did have one issue. The taste was wonderful and yet they were a little greasy with butter. Actually, while cooking there were little pops of butter!
Pecans would be lovely in this! And pops of butter, oh my. That’s never happened for me! Maybe try adding a couple extra tablespoons flour next time.
I’ve never left a comment on a recipe online, but it would be an absolute shame not to tell you and the world how freakin delicious these brownies were. I made them today for Easter dinner and OH MY GOD. My family ate the whole tray and even rationed out the last brownie between 4 people. Easy to make, chewy, gooey, fudgy, crispy edges, oh man. No comparison, no contest, best brownie recipe in existence. Bless your heart for sharing it, for real. Thanks, Girl.
Haha!! I love that they divided it between 4 people, that’s fabulous. I’m so glad you are now the brownie queen in your family!! Thanks for the review, it helps me out so much and means a lot to me!
FYI there is a typo when you’re talking about overbaki by the brownies. There in the over right now and smell amazing though! Can’t wait to try them!
Thank you Priscilla!! I fixed it! How did they turn out?
These look amazing!! What would you consider a high quality chocolate chip? Can’t wait to make them! Thank you!
Hey Debra! Any name brand that you have heard of should be fine. Nestle, Ghirardelli, etc,. Don’t buy the generic store brand, it’s usually low quality.
Just made these for my boyfriend’s birthday and they were to die for! He loved them so much and kept saying “oh my gosh these are so good.”
All other scratch recipes I’ve tried are either too bitter or just not very good so I usually just make from the box. But not anymore! These are a game changer 😎 Thanks Karen!
Woohoo!!! Another believer! I used to love box mixes too, but I’ve seen the light ;) brown butter forever! Thanks for reviewing Lindsey!
I’ve heard that coffee enhances the flavor of chocolate. I was wondering how it would be to use coffee in place of the water?
Hi Bev! Yes, coffee does enhance the flavor of chocolate. I’ve never tried it with these brownies, let me know how it goes!
If I add the cocoa powder do I have to subtract some of the flour or leave the recipe as is and just add ? Thank you
Hi Alyssa! Do you mean if you use cocoa powder instead of unsweetened baking chocolate? No, you don’t need to change the recipe at all. Just use the cocoa amount in the notes in place of the baking chocolate. Don’t change the flour amount. Enjoy!
This is NO JOKE…the best brownies ever! I even made them gluten free and they were spectacular, compliments all around.
That’s so funny Linda, I just made these gluten free the other day too! I was baking for a gf friend. I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 flour and it worked like a charm. Brownies are pretty forgiving when it comes to baking gluten free. Thanks for the review Linda! So glad you liked them.
These look delicious! I bet these would be extra delicious stuffed with Oreos :P.
Um YES THAT SOUNDS AMAZINGGGG
Do you think this recipe could be divided in half and baked in an 8″ or 9″ pan? My last child just moved out (boo-hoo!) and I’m the only one that will be eating them! Also don’t know if bake time would need to change too.
Absolutely Donna! (That means “yes” ;) haha. Yes there are 4 eggs in this recipe, so dividing it in half is super easy because you won’t have to split an egg. The bake time will be about the same, maybe start checking it a couple minutes early. Enjoy!!
How many NORMAL servings, not the tiny squares for the trifle, should one expect from a 9 x 13-inch pan of brownies? thanks
Hey Pamela! I would cut a 9×13 inch pan into about 16 servings.
Most of the time box brownies are as good as a homemade recipe. But this recipe was incredible. Waaaaay better than the box!
Seriously? Browned butter in the brownies too? Does one have to attend some sort of confession after eating this?
Making these tonight! Brownies with 1 1/2 cups of cocoa powder can only be delicious. Oh, and the butter. Can’t forget the butter. OH YEAH BUTTER.
I don’t think I ever got so many compliments on something I made! These were so good, there weren’t even any crumbs leftover :)
Karen, I told your mom to make these for Tyler’s baptism. Everybody LOVED them!!!
I know I’ve said before, but have to again. I LOVE your sence of humor. I look forward to not only seeing what recipe your going to post but also what silly story your going to share :)
Thanks Sha Lene! I’m flattered :)
These sound amazing! And I’m with you…. browned butter really does do something amazing for whatever you add it to!!