The Best, Fudgy ONE BOWL Cocoa Brownies! A special addition gives these brownies a super fudgy centre without losing that crispy, crackly top!
Recipe for the Best Fudgy Cocoa Brownies with crackly tops. So simple but SO delicious, they are gone in seconds!
BROWNIES RECIPE
What if I told you that you DON’T need to melt chocolate or chocolate chips with butter together to make brownies, AND you don’t need two separate bowls. Just one bowl and 5 minutes bringing it all together to make the BEST brownies you’ve ever eaten in this lifetime. The best part is they’re only 144 calories EACH! Better than the usual 356 calorie brownies, am I right?
After testing what feels like a lifetime of brownies, these FINALLY came out a perfect texture, and have been made weekly ever since. The one ingredient I add to these brownies that is different from most recipes is a small amount of oil. The oil is JUST enough to keep the centres extremely fudgy, without compromising the crispy, crackly crust you can see in these photos.
With all of the brownie making going on here, I do have a few tips for these cocoa brownies to stay fudgy-licious:
- Hot melted butter creates those crackly tops!
- Whisk your butter and sugar really well.
- Beat in your eggs for a good minute. This step is crucial for that crackly top
- Do NOT over beat your batter once the flour and cocoa powder are added. THAT creates air in the batter which will give you cake-like textured brownies. Cakey is okay, but not today friends.
- Try NOT over bake them! I like mine at exactly 21:30 minutes. You can go a little bit over if you like them set a bit more, but I don’t recommend it if you’re looking for the fudgiest brownies in this lifetime.
- I bake my brownies on the top shelf in the oven. I find the middle shelf cooks them a lot faster and dries them out.
I mean….do you SEE the fudginess down there?????
Biting into these is pure R-rated heaven.
As much as I love these Low Carb Zucchini Brownies, and these Flourless Hazelnut Brownies, I’m thinking these cocoa brownies are even better.
WATCH HOW WE MAKE THE Best Fudgy Cocoa Brownies RIGHT HERE!
FOR THICKER DOUBLE BATCH BROWNIES: USE THIS RECIPE! FIND IT ON FACEBOOK HERE
Best Fudgy Cocoa Brownies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and HOT
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil, (olive oil or coconut oil are fine)
- 1 1/8 cup superfine sugar, (caster sugar or white granulated sugar)*
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup all purpose (or plain) flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking oil spray. Line with parchment paper (or baking paper); set aside.
- Combine hot melted butter, oil and sugar together in a medium-sized bowl. Whisk well for about a minute. Add the eggs and vanilla; beat until lighter in colour (another minute).
- Sift in flour, cocoa powder and salt. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until JUST combined (do NOT over beat as doing so well affect the texture of your brownies).
- Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing the top out evenly. (OPTIONAL: Top with chocolate chunks or chocolate chips.)
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the centre of the brownies in the pan no longer jiggles and is just set to the touch (the brownies will keep baking in the hot pan out of the oven). If testing with a toothpick, the toothpick should come out dirty for fudge-textured brownies.
- Remove and allow to cool to room temperature before slicing into 16 brownies.
OPTIONAL ADD INS:
- Crushed walnuts, peanuts, almonds, pecans, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, chocolate chunks, dried fruit (cranberries, raisins, etc)
Notes
2. Beat in your eggs for a good minute. This step is crucial for that crackly top
3. Do NOT over beat your batter once the flour and cocoa powder are added. THAT creates air pockets in the batter which will give you cake-like textured brownies.
4. Try NOT over bake them. Check them at around the 15 minute mark and keep your eye on them. As some ovens run hotter than others, timing is a guide only. Our oven bakes them at exactly 21:30 minutes. Another oven we tested them in baked them at 18:40 minutes. You can go a little bit over if you like them set a bit more, but I don't recommend it if you're looking for the fudgiest brownies in this lifetime.
5. I bake my brownies on the top shelf in the oven. I find the middle shelf cooks them a lot faster and dries them out. If your oven runs hotter at the top half, move them to the middle shelf.
Chloe says
This is the best brownie recipe ever !!
I substitute with my gf flour and still they were perfect, I used Glacé cherry halves cut up and then a mix of dark chocolate and milk chocolate chips and then also use a little more salt to create the perfect balance of sweet and salty
Karina says
Hi Chloe, it is so great that the gluten free substitution worked well for you! Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe.
Erica says
Hello Karina 🙂 Thank you for sharing! These are our favorite brownies. Question … how do you store yours? Are they shelf stable?
Thank you!
Erica 🙂
Karina says
Hi Erica, there’s never leftover brownies to store them. I usually refrigerate baked goods in an airtight container and reheat them when serving for a gooey, chocolatey experience.
Amy says
Absolutely amazed at how delicious and chewy these are, the best recipe I have ever followed to make brownies and the only one I will use again 😍
Mandi says
This recipe is awesome! They were delicious and there were zero pieces left of two batches I made for a small cookout. They were fantastic served warm with vanilla ice cream. 😋
Denise says
This is the absolute BEST homemade brownie recipe I have ever tried! It’s not dry, it has the crackly top I love, and it taste absolutely amazing!
MissyG says
These were sooo good! I cut the recipe in half and baked in two ceramic 4” ramekins inside of a drawer style air fryer. I used a spoon to just eat it straight out of the ramekin awhen it was done and yum!! Now, I guessed on the temp’ and time knowing they should be different than the recipe above due to it being an air fryer and my using much smaller containers to bake them in, and I goofed a little. They came out too uncooked in the middle even though the outside was just right, but I did NOT mind scooping up that runny fudgy goodness and eating it as is anyway =} . I had baked at 325°F for about 10 minutes with a 10 minute rest, but next time, I’m dropping it to 300° and baking for a longer amount of time. No matter though, these were delish! Oh, and I mixed the ingredients straight inside the ramekins themselves so I was only able to whip and whisk by hand. They still came out amazing. These are a 10 out of 10!
Yahney says
Just make these brownies they are so delicious and amazing. Thank you so much for publishing this recipe. They are so delicious and so easy to make. Just make them!!!
Karol says
Made it vegan by subbing the eggs for ripe mashed bananas + went with only half cup of the sugar, and they were great! Paired excellently with some peanut butter ice cream! 😁
Kennedy says
This recipe has been my go-to since 2020 and everyone loves them, if I can make them right! I use gluten free flour and replace the egg with a vegan egg replacer (Bob Mill’s powder egg replacer) which works great. Replacing egg with anything else makes the brownies come out very oily
Krystyna says
This is THE brownies recipe 👌 I shared it in the group chat and it’s a staple for my girlfriends and I !!