Favorite Dark Chocolate Fudgy Brownies

The details

Dark Chocolate Fudgy Brownies are here after quite a few recipe tests (and fails) because I think we all need to be picky when it comes to our homemade brownies! I’m as guilty as anyone of indulging in store-bought brownie mix, but always find it lacks the chocolate-y depth that you can only get from brownies from scratch. This brownie features lots of the good stuff (dark chocolate), a thin crackle crust, and a dense, chewy mouthfeel. It’s a real winner and a decadent treat for any chocolate lover.

In search of the the thin crackle crust

There are a lot of blog articles out there on this subject (see Handle the Heat’s), so I did my research and put it to the test in my own kitchen. Pretty much everyone out there wants their brownies with a thin, shiny, easily crackled top crust. Some say it comes from hot butter, others say chocolate chips. I found the best way to get this crackle crust each and every time is to beat/whisk your eggs + sugar very thoroughly as the first step in your baking process. This creates a pseudo-meringue which rises to the top during baking–AKA your crackle crust! I also found adding cocoa powder into the melted chocolate, rather than adding it with the other dry ingredients, contributes to the crackle crust.

All this to say, please follow the recipe well for best results!!! I want you to love these brownies just as much as I do.

Other brownie notes

A few tips that I think really up your brownie game for classic, chewy, fudgy brownies:

• Use a combination of butter + oil in your recipe, like I do here. Butter imparts density and oil keeps your crumb delicate.
• Careful to add dry ingredients and fold until JUUUUUST combined. No more! Overmixing leads to a bready-like texture which is the opposite of what we want with our brownies.
• Use GOOD dark chocolate! I cannot stress this one enough. This recipe relies on the flavor of melted chocolate. I like to use Guittard 72% cocoa wafers in this recipe. But any good chocolate around 60-80% cocoa, per your preference, will work great. 60% cocoa will result in more mellow, sweet brownies and 80% will result in super rich, deeply chocolatey brownies.

Lastly, I love that these brownies are just a solid, classic, blank slate. You can absolutely up the ante by topping your brownie batter, once spread in the pan, with oreo pieces, peanut butter, swirls of salted caramel, or marshmallow fluff before baking. Or add chocolate chips!

fudgy vs chewy vs cakey brownies

Fudgy brownies melt in your mouth and are super dense. Chewy brownies have a slight elasticity in the chew. And cakey brownies…are just cakey. It’s probably pretty obvious that I prefer a chewy and fudgy brownie to a cakey one. These brownies fall on the strong end of the fudgy spectrum and medium end of chewy. If you want cakey brownies, sorry you’ll want to look elsewhere!

the process

1. Melt chocolate gently over the stove and add sifted cocoa.
2. Whisk room temp eggs + sugar together WELL until lightened in color. Add oil + vanilla.
3. Stream in chocolate to egg mixture, whisking well.
4. Add dry ingredients and mix/fold until JUST combined!
5. Spread in prepared pan and bake!

I would also like to note that these brownies are veerryy loosely adapted from Sarah Kieffer’s brownie recipe. I’m very grateful for all her baking which inspires my own!

Other Brownies + Bars

• Coconut Oil Espresso Brownies (dairy-free!)
• Gooey Browned Butter Blondies
• Dulce de Leche Brownies

Bake to this music

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