Worlds Best Fudgiest Brownies is my best brownie recipe! Perfect crisp crackly top, super fudgy centre, chewy or gooey in all the right places, studded with melted chunks of chocolate.
Each ingredient comes measured AND weighed to make your baking easy! Worlds Best Fudgiest Brownies really live up to their name.
Brownies
Warning: not for the faint-hearted.
Since posting our decadent Best Fudgy Cocoa Brownies a couple of years ago, some of you have been commenting that those are the best brownies you’ve ever tasted while also asking me about doubling that recipe to bake them in a larger pan.
Well, the good news is YES you can… all prepared in under 10 minutes with only one bowl, using ingredients I know you already have in your kitchen. No melting chocolate needed and no mixers or beaters, just like the original.
Homemade Brownies
Pure. Chocolate. Heaven. This brownie recipe guarantees that you will never go back to a boxed brownie mix, let alone try yet another brownie recipe.
The bad news? Eating the entire tray of fudge brownies in one sitting.
Simple, easy to make decadent brownies pack a serious chocolate punch!
These are not only super fudgy, easy to make brownies that are ready to eat about 15 minutes after pulling them out of the oven (being careful NOT to burn yourself), each brownie comes full of melted chocolate lava chunks throughout.
They are absolutely incredibly fudgy the next day AND the day after that, and even stay fudgy after freezing them OR eating them cold out of the refrigerator up to a week later.
How to make brownies
Many of my readers have been doubling our best fudgy cocoa brownies recipe to get thicker, fatter brownies, substituting half of the white sugar for light brown sugar (as suggested in the notes section) and getting amazing results.
After passing these around to my neighbours and friends, hearing the moans coming out of each and every one of them while slowly sinking their teeth into these brownies, I knew in my heart this recipe is a winner.
The batter itself is to DIE for! Good luck NOT licking the spoon and bowl clean.
Add-In Ingredients
I threw in over 1 cup of chocolate chunks IN AND ON these (I used 45% cocoa chocolate), but you can also add:
- crushed nuts (peanuts, walnuts, pecans, almonds, etc)
- dried fruits (dates, blueberries, cranberries, raisins)
- shredded coconut
- caramel pieces
- diced marshmallows
- peanut butter chips
Start with ½ cup each add in, or 1 cup if using only one option.
Baking Pans
Here’s where things got interesting during testing. We used three different baking pans, and they all came out perfect. It all depends on your preference of thickness:
- A 7×11-inch pan yielded thicker brownies (about 2-inches thick), baked for 40-45 minutes and slightly uneven in consistency (fudgier in the centre and set around the edges).
- An 8×12-inch pan yielded the perfect brownies and MY personal favourite (just over 1-inch thick), baked for just under 25 minutes and resulted in just the right thickness and consistency, while still ooey, gooey and chewy.
- A 9×13-inch pan resulted in thinner brownies (about ¾ of an inch) and even consistency throughout. Baked for around 18 minutes. Perfect texture but I prefer slightly thicker pieces.
Please note: some readers find using darker or black pans comment that baking goods bake a lot darker and drier underneath, while readers commenting using lighter pans yield better more even and better results.
DO YOU SEE THAT CRACKLY TOP?
The smell coming out of your ovens will be pure sweet heaven. Your house will smell incredible for hours after baking. If only the internet would design smell-er-net.
Wait about 15 minutes to slice these up, or up to an hour. The longer you wait, the ‘more set’ they will be and the slab will kinda sink into itself before slicing.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- 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.
- Please try not to over bake them. I liked mine at exactly 23 minutes in an 8×12-inch pan. 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 the world. Remember, they will continue to bake slightly in the hot pan once pulled out of the oven. I use baking paper so I can pull them out of the pan easier after about 10-15 minutes from the oven (use your own discernment here), and place them GENTLY on a cooling rack.
- I bake my brownies on the top shelf in my oven. The middle shelf cooks them a lot faster, slightly burns them on the top and dries them out a little. Your oven may work differently.
Best Brownies ON VIDEO!
Best Fudgiest Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 ¼ cups white sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 4 eggs large, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder good quality
- 7 oz large chocolate chips or roughly chopped chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 175°C | 350°F.
- Lightly grease an 8x12-inch baking pan* with cooking oil spray. Line with parchment paper (or baking paper); set aside.
- Combine melted butter, oil and sugars together in a medium-sized bowl. Whisk well to combine. 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).
- Fold in ¾ of the chocolate pieces.
- Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing the top out evenly, and top with remaining chocolate pieces.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes for just under-done brownies (fudgier texture) or until the centre of the brownies no longer jiggles and is JUST set to the touch. OR 35-40 minutes if you like your brownies well set and firm. NOTE: Brownies will continue baking and set in the hot pan out of the oven. If testing with a toothpick, the toothpick should come out dirty for fudge-textured brownies.
- After 15-20 minutes, carefully remove them out of the pan and allow to cool to room temperature before slicing into 16 brownies. They set while they cool.ENJOY!
OPTIONAL ADD INS:
- Crushed walnuts, peanuts, almonds, pecans, etc. Chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, shredded coconut, dried fruit (cranberries, raisins, etc)
STORING:
- Store at room temperature for 3 days, or refrigerator for up to 5 days. These brownies can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving OR reheat in the microwave.
Notes
- 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.
- Please try not to over bake them. Set a timer if you need too. I like mine at exactly 23 minutes in an 8x12-inch pan. 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 the world. Remember, they will continue to bake slightly in the hot pan once pulled out of the oven,
- I bake my brownies on the top shelf in the oven. I find the middle shelf cooks them a lot faster, slightly burns them on the top and dries them out.
Jane Kensett says
Hi all, bit late to the party, but have made these several times and they are brilliant. Has anybody tried freezing them? Theyve been requested at our christmas day get together, but I dont want to cook them at the last minute?
Jane
Barbara E says
I have frozen these brownies dozens of times. They are always fabulous; everyone loves them!
Vikky says
Best brownies. I tried the top 6 name brand baking companies brownies, they were all terrible, dry, not fudgy, to crumbly. These were perfect. I baked a batch for a customer and she was unable to pick them up. ! week later after being stored in the fridge wrapped and sealed they still tasted so fresh and delicious. They were very happy.
Thank you!!
Karina says
Hi Vikky, it’s great to hear that these brownies stood out as your favourite and that they stayed fresh and delicious even after a week in the fridge! It’s wonderful to know they brought happiness to your customer. Thank you for your kind words!
C Kane says
I’m back in one week and using this recipe for two events – one for a birthday gift (box of amazing homemade brownies) and other as part of a gift for the team mom for our my son’s “pee wee’ (10 year old) football team party!
I will be making these for potlucks at work as well and would be top pick for any bake sales. SO amazing…they actually were more ‘shareable’ after two days as they were so fudgy they feel apart, even after cooled…like a lava brownie of awesomeness!
Karina says
I’m thrilled to hear that you’re using the brownie recipe for multiple events and occasions! Your plans for a birthday gift, team mum appreciation, and potlucks at work sound fantastic.Thank you for sharing your wonderful plans and experiences. If you ever try more recipes or have questions, feel free to reach out. Happy baking and sharing!
Stacey Borge says
World’s best is RIGHT!! I’ll never use another brownie recipe again in my life. I swear.
Karina says
Haha, Stacey that is fantastic to hear! I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe and made it your go-to, thank you for your kind words!
George says
OMG! The perfect brownie. I had a 9×9 pan and 35 minutes produced a beautiful thick fudgey brownie. I’ll never need or make another recipe. Thank you!
Karina says
Hi George, it’s great to hear that you found the brownie recipe perfect! Achieving a beautiful, thick, fudgy brownie in a 9×9 pan is fantastic in 35 minutes!
Shal says
Tried these yesterday with whatever i had lying about in the pantry…and they turned out so fudgy and gooey! My little one is mint obsessed so I added every mint chocolate i could find, from after eights, aero mint balls/bars, some mint flavouring and also some solid white chocolate to balance it out a bit. My heavens… this is a d@mn good recipe.
Im not used to making brownies so I get a bit nervous when they appear so underdone (when it comes time to take them out as advised). So as usual (shakes head at self) I let them keep baking about 10 mins over (the batter was still jiggling so much!) and then let cool…and then i realised that aaaah… ok… they didnt really need the extra 10 mins. They got a little bit more crumbly than I wanted. So i just popped them in the fridge after cutting… and they seemed to collapse a bit and get that fudgy texture. So now i know what to do next time! Even so- they still ended up so fudgy!
Thank you so much for this recipe… I’ll be buying proper semi sweet chips next time, i think theyll be even more divine xx
Karina says
Hi Shal, I’m very happy to hear that you enjoyed the brownies and added your creative touch with mint chocolate – it sounds like a great twist. Experimenting with ingredients is part of the fun, and I’m glad you found a way to achieve that fudgy texture you desired! Thank you for your feedback, the semi sweet chips definitely make the recipe!
Terri says
Talk about a go to brownie recipe…this is it!!!
This recipe alone proves you are a superb cook/baker!
Thank you for sharing it with us…so much.
Karina says
Thank you so much for the kind words! I’m thrilled to hear that the brownie recipe has become a go-to for you.
Niken says
I love this recipe! I’ve been making this too many times! never had enough. SO good.
By the for my curiosity, can this recipe change to gluten free by changing the all purpose flour to gluten free flour? TIA
Jane says
I’ve made these twice with King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten Free flour, and they’ve come out perfect each time.
Cathy says
Followed the recipe and they came out perfect. My 10 yr old daughter enjoyed making them and gave it two thumbs up.
Yasmin says
I rarely leave reviews (I know everyone says that!) but these brownies are incredible! I made no changes to the ingredients and they baked up excellently. I went longer on the bake time (maybe by 5/10 mins) because I forgot they were in the oven and they are the IDEAL consistency! I will definitely make them again <3