About this recipe

Rich, dense, and deeply chocolatey — these classic fudgy brownies are the gold standard home recipe. Made with real melted butter and chocolate, they bake up with a crackly top, chewy edges, and a moist, fudge-like center. Simple pantry ingredients, one bowl, and foolproof every time. Perfect for bake sales, weeknight treats, or satisfying a serious chocolate craving.

Instructions

1. 1

   Preheat your oven to ![350°F]. Grease an 8x8-inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides for easy removal.

2. 2

   In a medium saucepan over ^[low heat], melt the butter and chopped semi-sweet chocolate together, stirring constantly until smooth and fully combined. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.

3. 3

   Whisk both sugars (granulated sugar and brown sugar) into the warm chocolate-butter mixture until well combined.

4. 4

   Add the eggs one at a time, whisking vigorously after each addition. The batter should become slightly glossy and thicken a bit. Whisk in the vanilla extract.

5. 5

   Sift in the unsweetened cocoa powder, all-purpose flour, and fine salt. Switch to a spatula and fold gently until just combined — do not overmix. A few streaks of flour are fine; they'll disappear with a few more folds.

6. 6

   Fold in the semisweet chocolate chips if using. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly with the spatula.

7. 7

   Bake for 28–32 minutes, until the edges are set and a toothpick inserted 1 inch from the edge comes out clean (the center may still look slightly underdone — that's perfect for fudgy brownies). Do not overbake.

8. 8

   Remove from the oven and let the brownies cool completely in the pan on a wire rack — at least 30 minutes, ideally 1 hour. The center will firm up as they cool.

9. 9

   Use the parchment paper overhang to lift the brownies out of the pan. Transfer to a cutting board and slice into 16 squares (4x4 grid) with a sharp knife, wiping the blade clean between cuts for neat edges.