Easy Bakery-style Brownies
These easy homemade bakery-style brownies are thick, chewy, and packed with rich chocolate flavor. With shiny crackly tops and fudgy centers, they’re the perfect easy dessert for chocolate lovers.
Servings 9 -12 brownies
Equipment
- 8X8 inch (20 X 20cm) square baking pan
- mixing bowls
- whisk
- hand mixer (or stand mixer)
- microwave-safe bowl
- parchment paper
- silicone spatula
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (170g)
- ¾ cup (64g) unsweetened dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup all purpose flour (125g)
- 1 ½ cups sugar (300g)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 medium eggs
- Optional: 3.5-6 oz (100-170 g) chopped semi-sweet chocolate
Instructions
- Grease and line a pan with parchment paper with about 2-3 inches overhanging on the sides to use as handles. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, add the butter, cocoa powder and vanilla. Heat in 10 second increments in the microwave, stirring well between each increment, until everything has melted. Alternatively, melt in a saucepan over simmering water, over medium heat, whisking continuously. Set it aside to cool.¾ cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (170g), ¾ cup (64g) unsweetened dutch-processed cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour and salt together. Set aside.1 cup all purpose flour (125g), ¼ teaspoon salt
- In another large bowl, add the eggs and the sugar all at once and beat on high speed with an electric mixer for about 5-8 minutes. The mixture should be thick like cake batter (see picture in post).1 ½ cups sugar (300g), 3 medium eggs
- Add the cooled melted cocoa mixture to the egg mixture and beat until well combined.
- Gently fold in the dry ingredients and chopped chocolate, if using, until you don’t see any more white streaks. Don’t overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly on top.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Start checking the brownies at 28 minutes, then continue checking every 2 minutes to avoid overbaking.
- Allow to cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes before using the overhanging parchment paper to lift the brownies out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cut into squares and enjoy!
Notes
- For cakier brownies:
Add ½ teaspoon baking powder to the dry ingredients. - Measure ingredients accurately with a digital scale for consistent results.
- Fold gently when mixing dry and wet ingredients to avoid deflating the batter.
- Use an 8x8-inch pan (20x20cm) for thicker brownies or a 9x9-inch pan (23x23cm) for thinner ones; pan size affects baking time.
- Line the pan with parchment paper and leave a 2–2 ½ inch overhang for easy removal.
- Don’t overbake to keep brownies fudgy; longer baking makes them dry and cakey.
