These brown butter brownies are the only brownie recipe you need! They're thick, chocolatey, and fudgy with the perfect amount of chew.
So if you're the kind of person who always goes for the corner piece for the perfect chewy edges, you can have that with every single brownie with this recipe. And since they can be made in one bowl and baked within just one hour, they're the perfect quick chocolate fix! Read below for tips on getting that shiny, crackle top. I also snuck some finely chopped chocolate in the batter for some puddles of melted chocolate throughout each bite! I hope you love these brownies as much as I do!
For more brownie recipes, try Decadent Oreo Brownies, Red Velvet Brownies, Small Batch Brownies, and Chocolate Cherry Brownies.
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Ingredient Notes
- All-Purpose Flour: You'll need a little more than one cup of flour.
- Cocoa Powder: I prefer to use dutch-process cocoa powder for a richer chocolate flavor.
- Espresso Powder: This is optional, but it amplifies the chocolate flavor!
- Eggs: You'll need three eggs at room temperature. Interestingly, eggs significantly affect the texture of brownies and determine whether they bake up cakey or fudgy. I settled for one less egg than I typically would use in a brownie recipe in order to ensure they baked up ultra fudgy and chewy!
- Vanilla: Extract: Every good brownie recipe needs high quality vanilla. My favorite brands are Rodelle and Heilala.
- Brown Sugar: I opted for dark brown sugar in this recipe because the extra molasses content that adds more depth of flavor, but you can use light brown sugar.
- Granulated Sugar: You'll need about 1 cup of granulated sugar.
- Chocolate: You'll need some chocolate to melt and add to the batter, and some to finely chop and mix in the batter for pieces of chocolate studded throughout each bite! I recommend using semi-sweet or bittersweet.
- Unsalted Butter: Brown butter is the star of this recipe, so don't skip out on it! Browning butter is very simple, you'll just need about 30g extra butter to start.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.
Step by Step Instructions
Here are step by step photos and instructions on how to make this brown butter brownie recipe! For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.
STEP 1: Mix wet ingredients. First, make the brown butter. Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and chocolate to the brown butter. Heat the mixture in the microwave in 20 second increments until the sugars and chocolate are fully melted. Whisk the mixture until smooth. Add the eggs to a separate small bowl and briefly beat them to break up the yolks. Add the eggs to the butter, sugar, chocolate mixture, and whisk until fully combined. Whisk in the vanilla.
STEP 2: Add dry ingredients. Next, fold in the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and salt until just combined.
STEP 3: Fold. Fold in the finely chopped chocolate.
STEP 4: Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake the brownies for 33-36 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow brownies to cool completely in the pan before removing and cutting.
Expert Baking Tips
- Make the brown butter first so it's ready to melt with the sugars and chocolate. There's no need for it to cool down. You could also make it the day before and store it in the fridge until ready to use.
- Do not over-mix the batter! Over-mixing leads to tough brownies.
- Add in your favorite extras, like chocolate, candy, or oreos.
Recipe FAQs
The secret ingredient for the ultimate fudgy brownies is melted chocolate! Adding both cocoa powder and melted chocolate ensures that your homemade brownies bake up ultra chocolatey and fudgy.
The best cocoa powder for making brownies is dutch process cocoa powder! Since dutch process is alkalized, it is neutral rather than acidic, and is far richer in flavor than regular cocoa powder.
The key to achieving that perfect shiny, crackle top on brownies is the ratio of sugars and the method of mixing. After MANY recipe tests, I landed on the perfect ratio of granulated sugar to brown sugar and the method of melting the sugars and chocolate in the butter. This combination ensures that your brownies bake up with a shiny, crackle top that everyone loves.
Place unsalted butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. You will need to start with a few extra tablespoons to account for water evaporation. As it melts, swirl the pan to encourage even cooking. After it is fully melted, it will start to foam up and then it will start to form big bubbles like it's boiling. You should be able to see the fat solids begin to separate. Then it will foam up again, and the fat solids will start browning. Continue cooking for another minute or so until the butter is evenly golden, the fat solids are brown, and it gives off a nutty aroma. Transfer the brown butter to a bowl for immediate use, or place in the fridge to solidify again.
Baking in Grams
All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale.
If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.
But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!
Happy baking! x
Other brownie and bar recipes you'll love
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📖 Recipe
Brown Butter Brownies
Ingredients
- 125 g all-purpose flour
- 80 g dutch process cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon espresso powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs, room temp
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 140 g dark brown sugar
- 198 g granulated sugar
- 85 g chocolate
- 170 g brown butter, start with 200g
- 150 g finely chopped chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9x9 inch square pan with parchment paper.
- Start by making the brown butter. In a small saucepan, heat 200g of unsalted butter over medium heat for several minutes, swirling to even out the color. The butter will be ready once the fat solids have separated and darkened, and the butter is an even medium amber color.
- Weigh out 170g of the brown butter in a large bowl. If you are short a few grams, just add regular unsalted butter to make up the difference.
- Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and chocolate to the brown butter. Heat the mixture in the microwave in 20 second increments until the sugars and chocolate are fully melted. Whisk the mixture until smooth.
- Add the eggs to a separate small bowl and briefly beat them to break up the yolks. Add the eggs to the butter, sugar, chocolate mixture, and whisk until fully combined. Whisk in the vanilla.
- Next, fold in the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and salt until just combined.
- Fold in the finely chopped chocolate.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake the brownies for 33-36 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow brownies to cool completely in the pan before removing and cutting.
Notes
- Make the brown butter first so it's ready to melt with the sugars and chocolate. There's no need for it to cool down. You could also make it the day before and store it in the fridge until ready to use.
- Do not over-mix the batter! Over-mixing leads to tough brownies.
- Add in your favorite extras, like chocolate, candy, or oreos.
Michele says
I've made your small batch brownies and am very excited to make a larger amount! If I wanted to use a 9x13 pan, do you think I could just double the recipe and have it be about the same thickness?
Sloane says
Yes you can!
Nikki says
Love this recipe! By far the best homemade brownies I've made. Sloane, do you think these could be made ahead and frozen for about a week?
Chris H says
New baker here, I have a question. Can I substitute Confestioners sugar for granulated? Also Cake flour for All Purpose flour? I have an excess of both from making cakes and frosting. 🙂
Sloane says
Hi! Unfortunately, neither of these substitutions would work. Powdered sugar should never be substituted for granulated sugar, and only very rarely can cake flour be substituted for all-purpose flour (this usually only works in cake recipes).
Katelyn says
These came out incredible and were such a hit! So fudgy, rich, and decadent. I doubled the recipe and it still came out great. Super easy to follow along, and I love that all the measurements are in grams. This will definitely be my new go-to brownie recipe!
Maria Elena says
They look amazing!!
What brand of Dutch cocoa do you use? Recommendations on a good Dutch cocoa?
Sloane says
I typically use Rodelle's dutch process cocoa, but I also like Hershey's special dark cocoa!
Ellen says
What to make some of your recipes. How do you go from grams to cups. I don't have a scale. I am such a chocolate lover and your cakes look so good
Thank you,
Ellen
Sloane says
Hi Ellen,
All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed to create incredibly delicious baked goods that you can easily recreate in your own kitchen with success. The only way this is possible is to standardize the way ingredients are measured - by weight. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), I can ensure that you can make the recipe accurately and with less cleanup! You can buy a good kitchen scale for around $10, which is cheaper than quality measuring cups.
If you would like to convert the recipe to volume measurements, here is the best conversion chart: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/ingredient-weight-chart. If you chose to do this, I cannot promise a good result as I do not test my recipes with this method.
Jade says
My family loved these brownies! Moist, chocolatey & fudgy! Will definitely be making these again.
Anne says
This brownie was a huge hit with my family. It has a very good chocolate flavour without being cloyingly sweet. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
Juliet says
Just made these brownies and they were so so good! So chocolaty and fudgy! Loved the uniqueness of the brown butter, and could really smell and taste it in these! My whole family was raving about them!
Hannah says
these were really good! I loved the brown butter flavor 🙂
Elisa M says
Just tried out the recipe and these brownies came out beautifully! So decadent and delicious, def adding this to my go-to list 🙂