Fudgy Cocoa Brownies

Make fudgy brownies from scratch with pantry ingredients like cocoa powder.

By
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.
Learn about Simply Recipes' Editorial Process
Updated June 10, 2024
Elise Bauer
A plate of brownies.
Elise Bauer

If one is going to take the trouble to make chocolate brownies, one may as well make them right. Brownies from a box? No, thank you.

Easy Chocolate Brownies from Scratch

I got this chocolate brownie recipe years ago from my dear friend Suzanne, who had adapted it from an Alice Medrich recipe from the book Bittersweet: Recipes and Tales from a Life in Chocolate she found on Epicurious.

Suzanne uses the same method and proportions, but instead of using vanilla, she flavors the brownies strongly with almond extract. So good! The almond extract gives these brownies a wonderful flavor, a perfect blend with the cocoa and pecans.

A Dense, Fudgy Brownie

They are the kind of brownie that can't make up their mind whether they would rather be cake or fudge. They're quite dense and fudge-like but have just enough flour and eggs to keep them in the brownie camp.

A plate of brownies.
Elise Bauer

How To Tell When the Brownies Are Done

With many brownies, you want a bamboo skewer or toothpick inserted into the center to come out clean to ensure they're done. Not so with these brownies, because they're dense and fudgy. If the skewer or toothpick comes out clean, these brownies will be overbaked.

To tell if these brownies are done, you want the end of the skewer or toothpick to come out a little moist, but not dripping with batter. When you take the pan out of the oven, make sure the brownies cool completely before slicing. They need time to set up, or they'll fall apart when you cut them.

If you love extra-fudgy brownies, try this trick from chocolate maven Alice Medrich: pop the pan into the freezer right after it comes out of the oven. The freezer "shocks" the brownies so they stop cooking and stay fudgy. Remove them after about an hour. Bonus: this makes them a lot easier to cut.

Storing and Freezing Brownies

To store the brownies on the countertop, keep them in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days. If they aren't eaten by then you can store them in the refrigerator for another 3 to 4 days, or you can store them in the refrigerator immediately for up to 1 week.

To freeze the brownies, put cut brownies - unwrapped - on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer until just frozen through. Wrap the frozen brownies individually in plastic wrap and then store them together in an airtight zip top bag in the freezer for up to three months. Brownies can be defrosted one at a time in the refrigerator or the countertop.

More Brownie Recipes To Try

From the Editors Of Simply Recipes

Fudgy Cocoa Brownies

Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 40 mins
Total Time 60 mins
Servings 16 to 25 brownies

This dense and fudgy brownie recipe is adapted from Bittersweet: Recipes and Tales from a Life in Chocolate by Alice Medrich.

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Ingredients

  • 10 tablespoons (140g) unsalted butter

  • 1 1/4 cups (250g) granulated sugar

  • 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (85g) unsweetened cocoa powder (natural)

  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

  • 2 cold large eggs

  • 1/2 cup (65g) all-purpose flour

  • 2/3 cup (80g) pecan pieces

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C):

    Place the rack in the lower third of the oven.

    Line the bottom of an 8-inch square baking pan with foil or parchment paper with an overhang on two opposite sides to make it easy to lift the brownies out when they're done.

    Parchment lined pan to make the best brownie recipe.
    Elise Bauer
  2. Heat the butter, cocoa, sugar, salt:

    Place the butter, cocoa, sugar, and salt in a large metal bowl. Fill a large skillet halfway with water and bring to a bare simmer. Set the bowl of the butter cocoa mixture in skillet of simmering water. The bottom of the bowl should be touching the bottom of the skillet.

    Stir the butter cocoa mixture until the butter has melted and the mixture is smooth and hot to touch.

    Remove the bowl from the skillet.

    A metal bowl with ingredients to make the best brownie recipe.
    Elise Bauer
    Ingredients melted in a bowl to make an easy brownie recipe.
    Elise Bauer
  3. Stir in the remaining ingredients:

    Stir in the almond extract. Then, beat the in eggs one at a time, beating strongly for about 30 seconds after each addition.

    Once the batter is well mixed, shiny, and thick, stir in the flour. Beat until the batter is very smooth, at least 40 strokes but as many as it takes to get a smooth batter.

    Simple Tip!

    Don't be afraid to overmix the batter. It has plenty of fat and not enough flour to get tough from mixing. Undermixing the batter will give you pock-marked, gritty brownies.

    Mix in the pecans until distributed throughout the batter.

    Eggs added to chocolate mixture to make brownies from scratch.
    Elise Bauer
    Flour added to chocolate mixture to show how to make brownies.
    Elise Bauer
    Nuts added to batter for a brownie recipe.
    Elise Bauer
  4. Pour the batter into lined pan:

    Pour the batter into the prepared lined pan and smooth the surface evenly.

    A pan filled with batter to make brownies from scratch.
    Elise Bauer
  5. Bake:

    Bake 25 minutes (at a minimum) at 325°F (160°C), or until a bamboo skewer or toothpick inserted into the center comes out still a little moist with the brownie batter. Depending on your oven, baking time may take from 25 minutes to 40 minutes. Cool completely on a rack.

    A pan of brownies cooling on the stovetop.
    Elise Bauer
  6. Cut:

    When the brownies have completely cooled, lift up the sides of the foil or parchment liner to remove them from the pan. Place the brownies on a cutting board and cut into squares or rectangles.

    Brownies cut into slices and cooling on a rack.
    Elise Bauer
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
130 Calories
8g Fat
15g Carbs
2g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 16 to 25
Amount per serving
Calories 130
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 8g 10%
Saturated Fat 3g 16%
Cholesterol 27mg 9%
Sodium 28mg 1%
Total Carbohydrate 15g 5%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Total Sugars 10g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 6mg 0%
Iron 2mg 8%
Potassium 23mg 0%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.