Can I reduce the sugar in this recipe?

Not really. The sugar in this recipe is essential to achieving the rich, fudgy texture of these brownies. We tested this recipe with varying amounts of sugar, and the recipe below produced the best texture! If you reduce the sugar, the brownies won't be as fudgy and chewy (they'll be drier, more puffy, and cakey).

What can I use instead of a metal pan?

We've tested this batch fudge brownies recipe in several different pans. A metal 8x8-inch pan is our top choice; our favorite alternatives were a 7-inch square ceramic baking dish and an 8" cast iron skillet. If you use a different pan, you will likely need to adjust the cook time of this recipe, so keep an eye on the brownies as they bake! Glass pans, in particular, often require an extra 5-10 minutes in the oven. Different types of pans will also conduct heat differently: A cast iron skillet, for example, yields brownies with much thicker, crispier edges than a metal pan.

What cocoa powder should I use for brownies?

We prefer dark, unsweetened, Dutch process cocoa powders for our homemade brownies. We love this recipe with King Arthur's Double Dark Cocoa Powder or Black Cocoa Powder . You can use a lighter cocoa powder (like Hershey's, Nestle, or ALDI brands), but the brownies won't be as rich and complex, and they'll be a bit lighter in color (they'll still taste great, though!) If you prefer milk chocolate or very sweet chocolate to bittersweet or dark chocolate flavors, you can use a lighter cocoa powder and milk chocolate chips here.

How can you tell when brownies are cooked?

Brownies are notoriously finicky when it comes to judging done-ness, but there are a few key signs to look for! When these chocolate chip brownies are ready, the edges will be slightly puffed up and just beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. The top will be somewhat shiny and crinkly, with a few thin cracks running across the surface (similar to gingersnaps or brown sugar cookies ). In this recipe, those hairline cracks are fairly easy to spot because they tend to radiate out from the chocolate chips along the surface. See the image below for a close up of what you're looking for! These brownies are meant to be quite chewy, so even when they're fully cooked, they will still be fairly soft and moist in the center! Fudgy brownies will also set up as they cool - after a few hours at room temperature, the centers will be much firmer than they are when they're fresh out of the oven.

Should I use room temperature eggs for brownies?

Generally, yes: We recommend letting eggs for sweets like brownies or cakes/cupcakes come to room temperature for an hour or two before mixing them into the batter. A room temperature egg will "shock" the batter less and incorporate more evenly, keeping the temperature more consistent and resulting in a taller, more even rise (see this in action in our post on making the best homemade cupcakes !) That said, the impact in this particular recipe is pretty negligible: In our testing, brownies baked with a room temperature egg rose slightly more than brownies baked with a cold egg, but we couldn't tell a difference in a blind taste test. If you have the time, go ahead and let your egg come to room temp on the counter before making this recipe (just like you would in other desserts, like cakes or cupcakes). But if you don't have time to bring the egg to room temperature here, don't worry about it too much — the chocolate chip brownies will turn out just fine!

Why are my brownies cakey and not chewy?

If your brownies turn out cakey, it may be because too much flour was added to the batter. If you measure your ingredients - especially dry ingredients like flour and cocoa - by volume (with measuring cups) instead of by weight (with a kitchen scale), it's easy to over-measure and end up with a too-thick batter. For perfect-every-time brownies, we recommend using a kitchen scale and following our weight measurements! Cakey brownies can also result if you make any changes to the recipe. If you reduce the sugar, if you use all white sugar (instead of the brown sugar), or if you add extra components that aren't listed in the recipe (like stirring some chocolate syrup or melted chocolate into the batter, or adding cornstarch), this recipe can turn out fluffy and cakey, rather than fudgy.

Can I make a half-batch of this recipe?

We recommend our small batch brownies recipe if you want just a few brownies!

Can I double this recipe?

Yes! Use the handy 1x, 2x, 3x buttons in the recipe card below to double or triple this recipe. We recommend using a larger baking dish if you double the recipe (like a 9x13 cake pan).

Fudgy Chocolate Chip Brownies

Description

These rich chocolate chip brownies are easy to make and have a beautiful shiny, crackly finish.

Ingredients

Scale

113 grams unsalted butter, melted (1 stick)
150 grams sugar (⅔ cup)
150 grams brown sugar (⅔ cup)
2 eggs (if you have time, let eggs come to room temperature on the counter for half an hour first!)
80 grams all purpose flour (⅔ cup)
80 grams cocoa powder (⅔ cup)
2 gram kosher salt (½ teaspoon)
4 grams vanilla extract (1 teaspoon)
160 grams bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 cup), divided

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Instructions

Heat oven to 325° Fahrenheit and line a metal 8 x 8 pan with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, combine melted butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Mix vigorously for one minute, until the initial graininess of the mixture has softened slightly. Take your time with this step: Thorough mixing helps the sugar dissolve as much as possible, which creates shiny, glossy, crackly brownie tops.
Add eggs and stir until you have a smooth mixture. Give this mixture a few extra stirs to ensure the egg is fully incorporated.
Add flour, cocoa powder, kosher salt, and vanilla extract to batter; stir until just combined.
Reserve a handful of chocolate chips for topping the brownies later. Add remaining chocolate chips to the brownie batter and stir until no dry pockets of flour or cocoa powder remain.
Transfer batter to your prepared pan. Use a spatula or offset spatula to smooth batter out towards the edges of the pan, until you have an even layer. Scatter reserved chocolate chips over the top of the brownies.
Bake at 325° F for 45-50 minutes. When they're done, the brownies should have a glossy finish and you should see several small, hairline cracks across the surface.
Let brownies cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes, then transfer them to a cutting board or wire cooling rack and let cool completely before slicing.

Notes

Please use a kitchen scale! Measuring ingredients by volume (with cups) is notoriously unreliable; For best results, use a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients by weight using the gram measurements provided above. If you don’t have a scale, measure your dry ingredients with the scoop-and-level method for best results.

A note on measuring salt. Some kitchen scales aren't sensitive enough to measure in small, 1-2 gram increments. While we recommend following the gram measurements for all other ingredients, you may want to measure the kosher salt by volume with a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon.

A note on chocolate. We recommend using a dark, dutch process cocoa powder for best results (our favorite is the King Arthur Double Dark Cocoa). A rich cocoa powder gives these brownies a deep, complex flavor that takes them from good to great. Our go-to chocolate chips are the Ghirardelli 60% baking chips, available at most major grocery stores.

Use hot melted butter for best results. You can melt the butter in the microwave, but we actually prefer to melt it in a small skillet or saucepan on the stovetop. Heat the butter until it reaches a very low simmer, then immediately mix it with the sugars (don't let it sit and cool down). Using very hot melted butter helps the sugar dissolve into this batter more effectively, which determines how shiny and glossy the crackly brownie tops will be.

Equipment. This recipe works best with a metal 8x8 pan. If you don't have a metal pan, you can use a medium (8-10") cast iron skillet or a ceramic baking dish. Brownies baked in cast iron will have a slightly tougher, more pronounced crispy edge; brownies baked in a ceramic dish will be a bit fudgier throughout. You can use a glass baking dish if you need to, though you may need to extend the cook time; in a glass baking dish, the brownies also won't rise quite as much.

Additions and Substitutions. Use white chocolate chips or chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds, pistachios) in place of some or all of the chocolate chips. Use melted coconut oil in place of the melted butter if you like.

Store extra brownies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

How do you know when brownies are done? When brownies are cooked through, they'll be slightly puffed up at the edges, and wrinkly and crackly on top, with some small cracks just beginning to form across the surface.