Best Chewy Brownies from Scratch

The most delicious brownies! Slightly crispy edge with a chewy center and a rich chocolate flavor, these brownies from scratch are going to be your new favorite!

Stack of brownies.

The Best Brownie

Truth be told, my favorite brownie has always been the Ghirardelli dark chocolate box mix. I’m not even ashamed to admit it. They are the perfect balance of rich, dark chocolate flavor, with a chewy but not overly fudgy center.

I love them so much that I decided to search for a homemade version that would compare… but the search left me empty handed. I tried dozens of brownie recipes and none of them were quite right.

So, I recently decided to work on my own recipe to create a homemade brownie recipe that gave me the flavor and texture I was looking for. And while these aren’t the perfect replica of the box mix, I’m super happy with how they turned out.

Brownies on table.

The Best Chewy Brownies from Scratch

This homemade chewy brownies recipe has a rich chocolate flavor thanks to the combination of melted chocolate and cocoa powder, as well as semi-sweet chocolate chips. They get their chewy texture from the brown sugar (no granulated sugar)

Ingredients for Brownies from Scratch

  • Unsalted butter
  • Bittersweet chocolate chips – I like THIS brand, but any good-quality bittersweet chocolate will work
  • Light brown sugar
  • Eggs
  • Vanilla
  • All-purpose flour
  • Dark cocoa powder – I like THIS brand
  • Salt
  • Semi-sweet chocolate chips

NOTE: good quality chocolate enhances the flavor and texture of the brownies

Brownie on a table.

How to Make Brownies from Scratch

  • Melt the butter and bittersweet chocolate over the stove You can also do this in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl. Stir until smooth.
  • With the same bowl, stir in the brown sugar, followed by the eggs and vanilla.
  • Sift in the flour, cocoa, and salt.
  • Fold in the semi-sweet chocolate chips.
  • Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.
  • Top with Maldon salt, optional
Brownies on a table.

Chewy Brownies from Scratch

4.73 from 48 votes
Delicious chewy brownies with bittersweet and semi-sweet chocolate.

Ingredients
 

  • 1 1/2 cups (180 g) all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup (88.5 g) good quality dark chocolate cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon (6 g) salt
  • 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter
  • 1 cup (180 g) bittersweet chocolate chips
  • 2 cups (440 g) light brown sugar, packed
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons (8.4 g) vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (180 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9" x 13" baking dish with nonstick spray. Set aside.
  • In a medium size mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.
  • In a medium size saucepan, melt the butter and the bittersweet chocolate chips until smooth. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for about 5 minutes.
  • Add the brown sugar to the butter and stir until smooth.
  • Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring well between each addition.
  • Stir in the vanilla.
  • Add the flour mixture and stir until no streaks of flour remain.
  • Fold in ¾ cup of the semi-sweet chocolate chips.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle remaining semi-sweet chocolate chips on top.
  • Bake the brownies for 25 to 30 minutes.
  • Remove the pan from the oven and allow the brownies to cool for about 15 to 20 minutes before serving.
Cuisine Brownies
Course Dessert
Keyword Brownies

Courtney Rich

I’m a self-taught baker, obsessed with cake.

I long ago ditched box mixes in pursuit of melt-in-your-mouth, to-die-for flavor combinations, fillings and textures. I believe cake must be decadent, life-changing and worthy of celebration! And I believe anyone should be able to bake that kind of cake – and I’m here to teach you just that!

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Everything you need to know about decorating a cake like a pro!

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Recipe Rating




Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I accidentally left out the vanilla but these were still amazing! The texture was spot on for my tastes. Thank you!

  2. 3 stars
    Unfortunately these didn’t turn out well for me. I measured all ingredients by weight, but the bittersweet chocolate and butter mixture seemed broken and like it never went together. Adding the brown sugar it never became “smooth” and was always grainy looking. After 25 min in a 350 oven they came out looking cakey and dry. I might try again sometime, but these were an expensive flop. Will report back if another batch comes out differently.

    1. 3 stars
      Snap! Flavour was there but cakey and dry. Daughter was not happy 😂 I’m gonna try again but use half butter, half cooking oil next time.

      1. Let me know how it goes… and maybe bake for less time. If they turned out dry, they may have baked too long.

  3. 5 stars
    Excellent, exceeded my expectations, which were quite high because I am a brownie snob. I made them using the metric amounts listed. The only changes (based on what I had) were using dark brown sugar and guittard semisweet chocolate chips instead of bittersweet.

    These are the perfect consistency. Not cakey at all. They set up perfectly. I followed the directions as written and baked for 24 minutes. Perfection!

  4. 5 stars
    These may be the best brownies I’ve ever eaten – seriously! They are ABSOLUTELY. DIVINE. Courtney……you rock. Absolutely killed it as usual. I’m already dreaming about when I should make them again!

  5. 4 stars
    I’ve made these a few times as brownie cups (in a greased muffin tin). I used the same chocolate and cocoa powder which you recommend. The first time I think they were slightly overbaked with a thickish crust (27mins), so I adjusted it to 23mins to get a fudgy/chewier centre. I’ve noticed that the chocolate flavour is more bitter in the last couple of bakes, like it needs more sugar (I’m from the UK and we weigh everything, so I know it’s not that). Do you have any idea why the flavour has changed pleased?

  6. 5 stars
    Brownie perfection!!! I made these tonight for the superbowl and they were a hit! My 5 year old daughter even congratulated me on making the BEST brownie (LOL!), but the kudos goes to you Courtney! Thank you for sharing this recipe!

  7. 2 stars
    I really wanted to like this but it was gross. Everyone who tasted it agreed. Not sure what I did wrong 🤷🏻‍♀️

    1. Let’s figure out what went wrong! Can you tell me what texture they turned out like? What chocolate you used?

  8. 3 stars
    Flavor as great. Measured and followed r file but like others turned out really cakey. I baked for 25 min in a williams senoma gold baking 9×13. Not sure what went wrong. Maybe bake less time? Help!!!

  9. 3 stars
    Curious if others have had issues with emulsion? When I mix the melted butter/sugar in with the flour everything looks great but when I cut the final product I found lots of chucks of flour that never emulsified. Thoughts?

    1. I would make sure to whisk the flour mixture a bit before adding the butter mixture and then stir it all with a whisk to help break up any clumps you may still have.

  10. 5 stars
    I JUST MADE THESE FOR A GROUP OF COLLEGE BOYS AND THEY WERE A HUGE HIT!! I THINK THEY MAY BE THE VERY BEST BROWNIE I HAVE EVER MADE!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK AND THIS WONDERFUL RECIPE!! KEEP EXPERIMENTING!! GREAT JOB!!

  11. Hi Courtney,
    Could you just refresh my memory. I know I signed up for the 3 month Cake class and I now I am getting charged so much every month. What does that qualify me for? Thanks again!
    Debbie

    1. Hi Debbie. You should have only been charged $20/month for three months. If you signed up for continued access, you should only be getting charged $2.99/month. If it’s different than that, please email [email protected]