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Best Fudge Brownies Ever

An easy recipe for brownies made with cocoa powder.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Basic Fudge Brownies, Hershey's, King Arthur
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 28 minutes
Total Time 38 minutes
Servings 24
Author Cookie Madness

Ingredients

  • 8 oz unsalted butter (230 grams)
  • 2 ¼ cups sugar 440 grams**
  • 1 ¼ cups Dutch process cocoa (best to weigh out 3.75 oz/105 grams)
  • 1 teaspoon salt (reduce to ½ if using salted butter)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 4 large eggs
  • 180 grams unbleached all purpose flour (somewhere between a generous 1 ⅓ cup and 1 ½ cup)
  • 2 cups chocolate chips semi-sweet (or Hershey's Dark)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch metal pan or line it with foil and grease the bottom.
  • In a microwave-safe mixing bowl, or in a saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to combine. Return the mixture to the heat (or microwave for 1 minute) and heat until mixture is very hot but not bubbling; it'll become shiny looking as you stir it. Heating the butter and sugar a second time will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies.
  • Transfer the mixture to a bowl (if you melted the butter and sugar in the mixing bowl, you don't have to transfer anything).Stir in the cocoa, salt, baking powder and vanilla. Add the eggs, beating till smooth; then add the flour and chips, stirring until combined. (Note: if the batter is still very warm, let it cool slightly before adding the chips, otherwise they will melt into the batter).
  • Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
  • Bake the brownies for 28 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out dry. Remove them from the oven and after 5 minutes, loosen the edges with a table knife. This helps prevent sinking as they cool. Cool completely (and chill for better cutting) then cut and serve.
  • Makes 2 dozen brownies

Notes

If you can't weigh the flour, make sure to measure with a very light hand.  That is, stir it well, then spoon it into the cup and level.  
I do NOT recommend cutting the sugar because the recipe calls for 1 ¼ cups of cocoa powder which balances it out.  The sugar also adds moisture, so if you cut the sugar you risk making the brownies too dry.