• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About
  • Contact
  • Dessert
  • Main Dish
  • Breakfast
  • Appetizers/Snacks
  • Drinks
  • Salad
  • Bread

Dance Around the Kitchen

  • Recipes By Course
  • Recipes By Ingredient
  • Popular Recipes
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • About
  • Recipe Index
  • Recipes By Course
  • Recipes By Ingredient
  • Popular Recipes
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Dessert

    October 7, 2020

    Homemade Brownies

    • Share
    • Tweet

    These homemade brownies are dense, chewy and chock-full of chocolate! They've got a beautiful shine on top and a moist interior that'll have you asking for seconds....and thirds!!

    Jump to Recipe
    Brownies cut into squares

    There are few things that I enjoy better from a box mix rather than the homemade version.  Until recently, I could whole-heartedly say that I hadn’t met a homemade brownie recipe that was better than store-bought. 

    Well recently my sister-in-law introduced me to this recipe that she had cut out of a magazine years and years ago.  I was leery as homemade brownies I’ve tried in the past were just “mehhh.”  And why go through the extra work when a box mix was better??

    But you guys….this recipe is IT.  It’s the needle in the haystack that I wasn’t even sure existed.  And thinking back on some lessons of food science, I totally understand why!!  Lucky for you all, I’m sharing this pearl of a recipe I’m SO excited to have come by. 

    ingredients needed to make homemade brownies

    What ingredients do you need to make homemade brownies?

    • Cocoa Powder
    • Salted Butter
    • Hot Water or Coffee
    • Granulated Sugar
    • Large Eggs
    • Vanilla Extract
    • All-Purpose Flour
    • Salt
    • Baking Soda
    • Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips or Chunks
    • A High Quality Chocolate Bar, like Ghirardelli

    How do you make chewy homemade brownies?

    If you love a good, dense, chewy brownie, this recipe is for you! (And if you like a soft, moist, cakey brownie, try my Texas Sheet Cake!!) And luckily, making homemade brownies is really quite simple!

    First, you'll preheat the oven, grease a 9x13 pan and gather all of your ingredients.

    Then, in a mixing bowl, you'll whisk the cocoa powder and melted butter. This will help disperse any clumps of cocoa. Then, you'll pour the hot water (or coffee) over the cocoa/butter mixture and whisk until well-combined. What's the purpose of the hot water, you may ask?? We'll get to that in a bit.

    pouring hot water into the batter

    Next, whisk in the sugar, eggs and vanilla. Once combined, stir in the flour, salt, baking soda and chocolate chips.

    adding chocolate chips to the batter

    Spread the batter into the prepared pan and top with pieces of the high quality chocolate bar and bake!

    pouring brownie batter into pan
    smoothed out brownie batter in a pan with chopped chocolate bar pieces on top
    baked brownies cut up in a pan

    How do you know when brownies are done baking?

    Great question. Brownies are difficult because you can't see the "golden brown" appearing like you can on chocolate chip cookies. Instead, you will notice that the outer edge will be set and the middle will have a shiny, flaky-looking top.

    Use a toothpick and insert it about 1 inch from the edge of the pan. If it comes out clean, the brownies are done. (It will NOT come out clean from the center of the pan - this is a good thing! The brownies will set as they cool and be deliciously fudgy!)

    cut brownies on parchment paper

    What's the secret to making the best homemade brownies?

    Blooming the chocolate and NOT overbaking!

    When you add a hot liquid to cocoa powder, it helps it “bloom,” meaning it enhances the flavor of the chocolate. You can “bloom” the chocolate with any hot liquid, but for this recipe, I go with either hot water or coffee.

    The most important thing with this recipe (especially if you're going for a chewy, fudgy brownie) is to make sure you do not over-bake the brownie!!! Over-baking a brownie can take them from fudgy and delicious to dry and cakey. Learn how to tell if your brownies are done a couple paragraphs above! 🙂

    stack of moist brownies

    Alright, all you chocoholics, time to get baking! Be sure to tag Dance Around the Kitchen in your photos - I'd love to see how your brownies turn out! 🙂

    Other Delicious Brownie Recipes

    Buttermilk Brownies - More cakey & a lighter chocolate flavor.

    Cheesecake Brownies - A cream cheese mixture baked into the brownies.

    Rocky Road Brownies - A brownie layer, a marshmallow layer and then a fudgy, crunchy peanut layer.

    Connect with Dance Around the Kitchen!

    Follow us on Pinterest, Instagram and Factebook so you never miss a recipe!! And as always, thank you for following along with my blog, making my recipes, liking and sharing on social media and any other way you support Dance Around the Kitchen!  -Kelsey

    Homemade Brownies in a Pan

    Homemade Brownies

    These homemade brownies are moist, chewy and chock-full of chocolate!!
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe
    Prevent your screen from going to sleep.
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 25 mins
    Total Time 40 mins
    Course Dessert
    Servings 24

    Equipment

    • Oven

    Ingredients
      

    • ¾ c cocoa powder
    • ⅔ c salted butter melted
    • ½ c very hot water (or coffee)
    • 2 c sugar
    • 2 eggs
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla
    • 1 ⅓ c flour
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • ½ teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 12 oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (or chunks)
    • 1 4 oz high quality chocolate bar (I like semi-sweet chocolate) chopped

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9x13 pan.
    • In a mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and melted butter.
    • Pour the very hot water in and whisk until well-combined. Let cool for a couple of minutes.
    • Whisk in the sugar, eggs and vanilla.
    • Then, stir in the flour, salt, baking soda and chocolate chips.
    • Spread the batter into the prepared 9x13 pan and top with pieces of the chopped chocolate bar.
    • Bake for 25-30 minutes.
    Keyword brownies
    Tried this recipe?Follow me at @dancearoundthekitchen.kelsey and let me know how you liked it!

    More Dessert

    • Pistachio pudding pie on a white plate.
      Pistachio Pie
    • Butterfinger poke cake.
      Butterfinger Cake
    • Cherry Cheesecake Cookie on a wooden board.
      Cherry Cheesecake Cookies
    • Hot Chocolate Brownies
      Hot Chocolate Brownies
    • Share
    • Tweet
    about kelsey

    About Kelsey

    Combining my love for food and family is a pretty easy calculation. Almost all family gatherings include food… After all, a party without cake is just a meeting right? Read more...

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Kelsey! I am a wife, mother and BFFs with my KitchenAid mixer, happy to bring you easy meals and decadent desserts! Welcome to my blog!

    More about me →

    Popular

    • One Pot Tuna Noodle Casserole
      Stove Top Tuna Noodle Casserole
    • Skillet Lasagna
      Skillet Lasagna
    • M&M Cookie Bars
    • Vanilla wafer scooping up some brownie batter dip with mini chocolate chips on top.
      Brownie Batter Dip

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    SEEN ON

    as seen on promo graphic

    SEEN ON

    as seen on promo graphic

    About

    • Privacy Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2022 Dance Around the Kitchen