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. Originally posted 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 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.
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 like to add 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!
Ingredients for Brown Butter Brownies
You probably already have all these ingredients, but don’t forget to make sure your chocolate chips are high-quality!
- Salted butter
- Unsweetened baking chocolate
- Granulated sugar
- Salt
- Vanilla extract
- All purpose flour
- Large eggs
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips, high quality
Yes, I said high quality chocolate chips. This isn’t the time to save fifty cents, people. Did I say the Best Minus 50 Cents Brownie? No, I said, Absolutely the BEST Brownies Recipe I’ve Ever Made. Mic drop.
How to make the Best Brownies
Buttaaaaaaaaa. All ready to get toasty brown.
Guys, once I teach you how to brown butter, the rest is so easy! Here’s an overview, followed by pictures and things to watch out for. All instructions given in the recipe.
- Brown the butter in a pot.
- Add unsweetened chocolate and sugar.
- Add salt, water, and vanilla.
- Stir in the eggs one at a time, making sure each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next one.
- Add 1 cup all-purpose flour. Stir in the flour until just barely incorporated.
- Pour the hot batter into your pan before adding the chocolate chips, so they melt in place rather than swirling into the batter.
- Bake!
Here’s how to do it. Grab your pot and melt all that butter. Stir occasionally. The butter will foam, turn white, and rise up in the pan.
How long does it take to brown butter?
It depends on how much butter you are browning! One stick of butter will take about 5-8 minutes to brown, but since we are using so much butter in this recipe it takes more like 10-12 minutes. This really depends on the heat level of your stove, and every stove is different. It’s better to watch for browned butter signs like white foam and browned bits and a nutty scent.
Pretty soon after it foams, it will look like this gorgeous swirly goodness.
How do you know when brown butter is done?
It’s all about the color change! And the scent.
As the butter heats, 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. Once you see brown bits, remove the pan from the heat. It’s much better to rely on this very drastic color change and the nutty scent than to rely on timing.
Don’t stop cooking the butter until it is completely browned, or the brownies will have too much liquid and may not bake correctly. Some people have commented that this recipe never bakes for them, that the brownies turn to “lava.” It’s a case of too much liquid!
(Also I think it might be a case of people not understanding brownies. I’m serious. This ain’t no cake, people. You call it lava, I call it the best freaking gooiest brownie of your life.) Rest assured, these brownies bake up just fine when made correctly.
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 and swirl into the batter.
Why are my brownies too gooey?
Does not compute. Ha! Just kidding.
I already mentioned browning the butter all the way. The other culprit is undercooking the brownies. I know, I know. You want soft brownies. I do too. The best way to check for doneness is 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 best judgment here on the bake time! Do NOT over bake, or the brownies will be too dry. In my opinion, slightly underbaked is better than over-baked.
Keep in mind that the brownies will firm up as they cool. It’s actually really important to let this brownie recipe set up in the pan before cutting into them. Wait a good 15-30 minutes before slicing. They will fall apart and not stay in squares if you cut into them too soon. (I mean, this never stops me because I’m an animal apparently. But if you are planning to serve these to guests or gift these on a plate, it’s good to know.)
Can this recipe be made with a different type of chocolate?
Yes, you can make this recipe with either unsweetened baking chocolate OR 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder. See notes! I just did a test making both versions of these brownies (unsweetened baking chocolate vs cocoa powder) during our Covid party last week (Omicron, amiright? ;) and the jury was split on which one people preferred. I guess you’ll have to try both! I prefer the recipe as stated, made with baking chocolate.
What can I substitute if I don’t have unsweetened chocolate?
This recipe requires either unsweetened baking chocolate or cocoa powder. I accidentally made these just over the weekend (January 2022) four different times, testing between unsweetened baking chocolate and cocoa powder. But on my first test I accidently used a bar of semi-sweet chocolate instead of unsweetened. It was waaay too sweet. Don’t be like me. Get yourself some unsweetened baking chocolate, Baker’s brand is best.
As for the semi-sweet chocolate chips, you can swap them out for milk chocolate or dark chocolate no prob. (Dark chocolate is goooood.) Or go to town and try Rolos or Reese’s cups, because YES.
I’ve been making these brownies for many years now, and get so many requests for the recipe. I just gave leftovers from this batch you see in the photos 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!
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!
- Red Velvet Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting from The Recipe Critic
- Turtle Brownies from Carlsbad Cravings
- Candied Pecan Brownies from Baked by an Introvert
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Brown Butter Brownies – The Best Brownie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 & 1/4 cups salted butter
- 4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, *broken up
- 2 & 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon water, **
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 & 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, high quality
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×13 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.
- Whisking vigorously so they don't curdle in the hot batter, stir in the eggs one at a time, making sure each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next one. I highly recommend an actual whisk for this step; a wooden spoon won't break up the egg whites as well.
- 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 with something flat like a butter knife. Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon until just barely incorporated.
- 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 you don't see any more flour streaks, 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 25-30 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 best 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. If you need them to look nice, you need to let them set up in the pan for at LEAST 15-30 minutes.
- 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.
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 best 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.