Ultimate Fudgy Brownies Recipe

There's truly nothing better than a fudgy brownie. Sure, a warm or chocolatey brownie sounds pretty good, but "fudgy" really captures the essence of a rich, dense, and incredibly flavorful brownie. As it turns out, it doesn't take much to make the ultimate fudgy brownie, as proven by recipe developer Jennine Bryant. "My favorite thing about these brownies is how chocolatey they are — they are so packed with cocoa," Bryant describes. "They aren't too sweet but they are so soft, fudgy, and chocolatey."

While this recipe is a pretty simple one, only requiring a handful of ingredients that likely already live in your pantry and fridge, there's a special method behind the fudginess. "In the process for making these brownies I browned the butter, which isn't a commonly used technique when making brownies," Bryant explains. It really does pay off in the end though, as she says that the method adds "a much deeper, richer flavor" to the brownies, and it really isn't much extra work. In fact, the whole recipe comes together in just under an hour, so you can whip these brownies up for an after-supper treat in a breeze. 

As we already mentioned, very few ingredients go into these brownies, but often the simplest recipes are the best ones. You'll need unsalted butter, soft brown sugar, room temperature eggs, vanilla extract, cocoa powder, and flour. That's it!

First things first, get your oven preheating to 350 F, and line a 12x6-inch baking dish with parchment paper. Once you have those little chores out of the way, place a saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat. Add in all of the butter and allow it to melt, stirring it as it breaks down. Let the butter cook in the pan for a few minutes, but be sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn. The butter will eventually begin to foam and change in color. Once it has a golden-brown hue and begins to smell nutty, remove it from the heat and transfer it to a clean bowl. Then, leave the browned butter to cool for 5 minutes.

Once the butter has had a chance to cool a bit — but is still warm — add the brown sugar to the bowl and whisk it in. When you do so, the mixture will still be a bit grainy, but the sugar should mostly incorporate into the butter and it should look glossy. At this point, allow the sugar and butter mixture to cool for another 5 minutes.

After those 5 minutes have passed, add in the eggs one at a time, whisking each one before adding the next. Finally, pour in the vanilla extract, and give the mixture a good stir once again.

Here's where things really start to get fudgy. Add the cocoa powder and flour into the bowl, then fold them in until they're just combined. Now, pour the brownie batter into the prepared baking dish, and pop the whole thing into the oven. 

Bake the brownies for about 35 minutes — you'll know they're done when the edges begin to set but the middle remains slightly gooey. At this point, remove the brownies from the oven and allow them to fully cool before diving in.

Once the brownies have cooled, go ahead and cut into them, serve, and enjoy. While any brownie is delightful on its own, Bryant offers up some refreshing serving options. "These brownies taste amazing with fresh fruit such as strawberries and raspberries, or bananas," she suggests, adding that if you take the banana route, a peanut butter drizzle also complements the whole thing wonderfully. "They also taste amazing with vanilla custard or ice cream as it cuts through the richness and complements the chocolate flavor," she adds.

And, if you have leftovers, you can rest easy knowing that they will keep for 3-4 days at room temperature. If you store leftovers, Bryant has one final tip: "Make sure to keep them well wrapped or in an airtight container so they don't dry out!"