These are some seriously fudgy brownies, guys. Like, if you’re not really into chocolate, you might want to just skip this one because these homemade brownies are about as close as you can get to fudge while still being a brownie. Consider the lines blurred. But if you like ’em thick, rich, fudgy, and moist, these are the brownies for you!
P.S. Did I mention that you can make these incredible brownies in just one bowl? Yeah, they’re easy AND delicious!
Fudgy Brownies vs. Cakey Brownies
There are two main camps when it comes to brownies: fudge brownies and cake brownies. Fudge brownies are dense, chewy, and rich. Cakey brownies are lighter and fluffier, and just more cake-like in texture. I’m definitely all about those fudge brownies, so that’s what we have here. But not just any fudge brownies, SUPER fudgy brownies.
How to Make Brownies Fudgy
The secret to making moist, fudgy brownies is all in the type of fat you use and how you use it. Butter offers the best flavor for brownies, but because it’s solid at room temperature, adding a little cooking oil in addition to the butter helps keep the brownies extra soft and moist as they cool.
Using melted butter instead of cold butter also helps keep the brownies extra rich and fudgy. When solid butter is creamed together with sugar, it aerates the batter creating a light cake-like texture in the brownie. Melted butter can’t trap air in the same way, resulting in a dense, rich brownie.
What Type of Chocolate to Use for Homemade Brownies
This recipe calls for chocolate in two forms: unsweetened cocoa powder and chocolate chips. I used a generic cocoa powder because I wanted to make sure these brownies would still be excellent even on a budget (they are), but if you have room in your budget for a higher quality cocoa powder, your brownies will only get better.
As for the chocolate chips, you can choose just about anything. Semi-sweet, dark, mint, peanut butter, large, small, whatever. Anything goes when it comes to the chips! This is a great way to use up leftover chips that you might have in your pantry. ;)
Super Fudgy Homemade Brownies
Servings 9Ingredients
- 12 Tbsp butter (salted) ($1.32)
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.08)
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder ($0.42)
- 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar ($0.20)
- 2 large eggs ($0.42)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract ($0.56)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.01)
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour ($0.05)
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips ($0.83)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Melt the butter in a large bowl in the microwave (or in a saucepot and then transfer to a bowl).
- Add the cooking oil and cocoa powder to the melted butter and whisk until smooth.
- Whisk the sugar into the chocolate mixture until evenly incorporated, then whisk in the eggs, vanilla extract, and salt.
- Stir in the flour until it forms a thick batter. Finally, fold in the chocolate chips.
- Prepare an 8×8-inch baking dish by coating it with butter or non-stick spray, then laying in a piece of parchment paper (the paper does not need to cover all sides of the dish). Add the brownie batter to the prepared dish, then spread it out evenly.
- Bake the brownies in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. The brownies will be quite soft and moist, even when fully baked.
- Remove the brownies from the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes before lifting them out of the baking dish. Slice into nine pieces and serve.
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How to Make Fudgy Homemade Brownies – Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Melt ¾ cup (12 Tbsp, or 1.5 sticks) butter in a large bowl. I use a microwave, but you can also do this in a saucepot and then transfer it to a bowl.
Whisk ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder and 2 Tbsp cooking oil into the melted butter until smooth.
Whisk 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar into the butter and cocoa mixture.
Whisk two large eggs, 2 tsp vanilla extract, and ¼ tsp salt into the batter.
Stir ¾ cup of all-purpose flour into the brownie batter until evenly combined.
Fold ½ cup chocolate chips into the brownie batter.
Coat an 8×8-inch baking dish in butter or non-stick spray, then lay parchment paper in the dish (it doesn’t need to cover all sides, it just makes it easy to lift the brownies out of the dish). Transfer the batter to the prepared baking dish and spread it smooth.
Bake the brownies in the preheated 350ºF oven for 40 minutes. The brownies will be very soft and moist when hot, so let them cool for 10 minutes before removing them from the dish.
Once the brownies are slightly cooled, you can use the parchment to lift them out of the baking dish. You can cut them while still warm (they will still be quite soft) or let them cool even further for cleaner cuts.
Enjoy all that fudgy brownie goodness! 🤤
These are so good! The bake time on mine was shorter, 35 minutes instead of 40, but everyone’s oven can run a little different. My family and friends loved these brownies and they were gone quick! These are the perfect brownie to pair with some ice cream.
I absolutely love these brownies!! Are you able to freeze them?
YES!! Beth and I chop them into little squares and freeze them. Then we gobble them up like “brownie bites.” xoxo -Monti