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Chicken breast halves are sauteed in hoisin sauce and orange juice with mandarin orange slices, green onions, and cashews. Serve over rice.

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Inspired Taste - Easy Recipes for Home Cooks

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This is our best brownie recipe (our readers love them)! These rich, fudgy brownies are made entirely from scratch. They are much better than boxed brownies. You probably have everything you need in your kitchen already. There have been so many happy reviews!

Watch the video

Saying these are the "best brownies ever" is a bold statement, but it's true in our home. Here are three reasons why:

1. Thanks to cocoa powder, these brownies are easy to make and taste rich and extra chocolaty.

2. The perfect blend of butter, sugar, and flour guarantees brownies with fudgy middles and beautiful crinkly tops.

3. Far from cakey, their moist and fudgy texture is similar to what you'd expect from boxed mixes. These are perfect for boxed brownie lovers. Even better, these chocolate brownies are much more flavorful than anything made from a box. They taste amazing, just read the reviews!

For thicker brownies, see our no-fuss brownies that are fudgy in the middle and chewy around the edges.

Key ingredients for brownies

These brownies require one bowl and come together in minutes. There's also a good chance you already have the ingredients to make brownies in your kitchen.

Cocoa powder is what makes these easy brownies so delicious. Over the years, we have used a variety of cocoa powders. Natural cocoa powder, Dutch-processed cocoa powder, and raw cacao powder all work in this brownie recipe. Use what you love. I love the flavor of Droste Cacao (a Dutch cocoa powder) in these brownies since it's more mellow and reminds me of the chocolate flavor of Oreos. Natural cocoa powder makes these taste like sharp, rich dark chocolate.

Butter adds so much more flavor than oil ever could. We use 100% butter in the recipe. I use unsalted butter, but you can swap it for salt. If you use salted butter, leave out the salt called for in our recipe below.

Granulated sugar balances the bitterness of unsweetened cocoa powder in our recipe. It also adds to the texture of the brownies, making the centers soft and the tops crinkly. Brown sugar works, but you might lose the crinkly top.

Eggs add richness and provide structure to the brownies.

Salt and vanilla help to round out their flavor. Salt in baking might seem odd, but like in savory cooking, it makes all the other ingredients pop.

All-purpose flour is the last brownie ingredient, but you only need a little. We're on the hunt for extra fudgy brownies, and keeping the flour to a minimum helps with that. Cakey brownie recipes will call for more flour. If you are gluten-free, if you read through the comments below, quite a few people have successfully used a a gluten-free flour blend (like the Bob's Red Mill blend).

How to make the best brownies

These brownies are simple to make. Our updated method for these brownies requires one saucepan and a spoon. You do not need a mixer to make this recipe. For a single-serve brownie, see how we make a brownie in a mug.

Originally, this recipe used a double-boiler to melt the butter, sugar, and cocoa powder. After years of making these, we've simplified the method to make it easier and quicker, using fewer dishes while maintaining the same amazing results. For previous readers who love the original method, see the tips section of the recipe.

Take the butter off the heat and immediately stir in sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and salt. The mixture will look like a gritty paste, but don't worry. It will smooth out when we add the eggs and flour later. Stirring the sugar and cocoa into the hot butter helps with the shiny top. The heated sugar moves up to the top of the brownies when they are in the oven, which is how they get that shiny top. The hot butter also blooms the cocoa powder, making our brownies taste better.

Stir in eggs, one at a time, and then the flour. Beat your brownie batter with a spoon until it's thick and shiny and pulls away from the sides of your saucepan.

This extra beating ensures the butter emulsifies into the batter, guaranteeing the brownies bake perfectly in the oven. I usually tell you to avoid over-mixing batters, but that's not the case with these simple brownies. The same goes for blondies batter. Here's our blondies recipe, which are like brownies, but made with a vanilla batter.

Bake your brownies in a 325°F oven until the edges are set and the middle looks slightly underdone. See our video for reference on what the baked brownies should look like. I've also shared a section below telling you how I tell when brownies are ready to be pulled out of the oven because nobody wants an over-baked brownie.

Why don't you add chocolate?

These homemade brownies use cocoa powder instead of chocolate. Since we use cocoa powder, the brownies stay fudgy and aren't too sweet. If you are like us and find yourself reaching for dark chocolate over milk, these are most certainly for you.

This recipe is slightly adapted from Alice Medrich's Cocoa Brownies, found in many of her cookbooks. Medrich is a genius when it comes to chocolate. Search on Google, and you'll see that many brownie recipes call for chocolate that is melted into butter and then mixed with sugar, eggs, and flour. This recipe is different - and smart.

Medrich calls for cocoa powder instead of chocolate. By removing the chocolate (as well as the fat and sugar that goes along with it), she fine-tuned the brownies so that the middles were softer and moist and the tops were shiny and candy-like.This recipe is pure gold.

You can use your favorite cocoa powder to make these brownies. Our video shows Guittard Cocoa Rouge, which makes the brownies rich and tastes like decadent chocolate. I also love Dutch processed chocolate. It makes the brownies taste more similar to the chocolate flavor of Oreos (more mellow but still rich). Feel free to experiment with different cocoa powders in this recipe!

⭐️ If you want to add chopped chocolate or chocolate chips, you can. These are your brownies, after all! We recommend stirring a handful of chocolate into the batter before pouring it into the baking pan or scattering chocolate on top of the batter in the pan.

What pan should I use?

We bake the brownies in an 8-inch square pan. Since posting the recipe, quite a few readers have asked if it would be okay to use a larger pan. You can, but you will need to double the recipe.

If you double the recipe, a 9-inch by 13-inch rectangular pan is perfect, and the brownies will be slightly thicker.

Use light-colored or shiny metal baking pans since they cook more evenly. Dark pans or non-metal pans like glass or ceramic can affect bake time and the texture of the brownies when baked. If these pans are all you have, keep an eye on the brownies while they bake. Check on them 5 minutes before the recipe baking time below, and then again every 5 minutes afterward until they are done.

How to tell when brownies are done

Telling when brownies are ready to come out of the oven can be a little tricky, but don't worry, with my tips you'll be a brownie pro in no time! Watch our video for some visual cues.

1. Use a timer. I'm destined for overbaked brownies without a timer cueing me to check on them! They should take 20 to 30 minutes, so set the timer for 18 minutes to be safe. This way, you can watch them closely towards the end of cooking.

2. Use a toothpick. Stick it into the center of the pan and pull it out. If there is a lot of wet batter on the toothpick, they need more time. If you only see a small amount of wet batter and the hole where you inserted the toothpick is visible, they are finished baking. If there's nothing on the toothpick, you might have overbaked them, so definitely take them out of the oven.

3. Use your eyes. Perfectly baked brownies will look a little underbaked in the middle. (Sounds strange, right). As the brownies cool, they continue to cook. So when the edges look dry, and the center slightly underdone, take them out of the oven. Even if it ends up that you took them out a minute early, an underbaked square in the middle of the pan is much better than the whole pan being overbaked. Plus, I'd happily eat the underbaked middle if I were at your house.

Why did my brownies take longer to bake?

After sharing this brownie recipe years ago, some readers have found that they needed to bake their batch for 5 to 10 minutes more than we suggest in the recipe. These take 20 to 25 minutes in our oven. Still, ovens vary, so having visual cues for telling when something is done is so important.

Don't be afraid to take your brownies out of the oven with the center still a little underdone.

If your brownies need extra time, I'd check the oven temperature. Some in-home ovens are uncalibrated, so while you think you've set the temperature properly, the oven can be off by 25 degrees! A simple oven thermometer set on a rack inside your oven can help. Most kitchen stores sell them. Ours was about $10.

Easy Fudgy Brownies

Say hello to our favorite brownies recipe from scratch. You only need a saucepan and spoon to make these brownies. Mixing the sugar and cocoa powder into the hot melted butter helps get that shiny, crinkly top we all love.

If you reach for darker chocolate over milk chocolate, these bittersweet brownies are for you. Use natural or Dutch-process cocoa powder. See the tips below the recipe for guidance on choosing the best cocoa powder for your brownies. Try this brownie recipe for less bittersweet brownies with chewy edges.

Recipe update: Originally, we melted the butter, sugar, and cocoa powder using a double boiler. After years of making the recipe, we've updated the recipe so that it all happens in one saucepan. This is easier, uses fewer dishes, and delivers the same results. If you've made this recipe using the double-boiler method and loved it, feel free to stick with it. Tips for the older method are below the recipe.

You Will Need

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 large cold eggs

Directions

Prepare Batter

1Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 325°F (162°C). Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on opposite sides to help remove the baked brownies from the pan.

2Add the butter to a medium saucepan. Place over medium-low heat and cook until the butter melts completely, then turn off the heat. Stay close, and do not let it brown.

3While the butter is hot, stir in the sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt. Stir well until blended. Don't worry if the batter looks gritty. Once you add the eggs, the brownie batter will become smooth.

4Set the saucepan aside to cool until the mixture is warm, not hot - 5 to 10 minutes. Test the temperature by touching the batter, it should be comfortable to hold without feeling hot.

5Add the cold eggs, one at a time, stirring vigorously after each egg.

6When the batter looks thick and well blended, add the flour. Use a spoon to beat the flour into the batter until it is very thick and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. I use a wooden spoon or spatula and beat for 40 to 50 strokes (see video for reference).

7Stir in nuts or chocolate chips (optional).

Bake Brownies

1Spread the thick brownie batter evenly in the prepared pan - it can be hard to spread because it is so thick. Do your best to push the batter to the corners and even out the top.

2Bake the brownies until the edges look dry and the middle is slightly underbaked, 20 to 30 minutes. A toothpick plunged into the center should emerge somewhat moist with batter. As the brownies cool, they firm up but will always be moist and fudgy in the middle.

3Cool completely before removing the brownies from the pan - this step is essential and helps the brownies set. Cut into 16 squares.

Adam and Joanne's Tips

Cocoa powder: Use your favorite cocoa powder for this recipe. Dutch-processed cocoa makes these taste more mellow and chocolatey. The chocolate flavor reminds me of Oreos. Natural cocoa powder like Ghiradelli or Guittard (Guittard Cocoa Rouge is used in the video) makes the brownies taste richer and like sharp dark chocolate.

Measuring the flour and cocoa powder: Mismeasured flour can cause this recipe to fail. Either measure by weight (grams) or use the spoon and sweep method to fill your measuring cup. Stir the flour in your storage container, then sprinkle the four into your measuring cup with a spoon. Use a flat edge to sweep excess flour from the top. See me do this in our video.

Microwave: Combine butter, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a microwave-safe bowl, and then microwave for 20-second increments until the butter melts into the sugar. Stir the mixture in between microwaving.

Double-boiler: Originally, we recommended using a bowl set inside a saucepan with barely simmering water to melt the butter, sugar, and cocoa powder together. After years of making this brownie recipe, we no longer do this ourselves and instead melt the butter and sugar in the saucepan. Our updated method saves a little time but delivers the same results. To make these using the double-boiler method, place a heat-safe bowl with the butter, sugar, and cocoa powder over barely simmering water. When the butter melts, set aside to cool, and then add the salt, vanilla, and cold eggs (one at a time). Continue with the flour as written in the recipe above.

Baking pan: We prefer a metal 8-inch square pan. Ceramic and glass pans may affect bake time. Check on doneness 5 minutes early and every 5 minutes after that.

Cutting brownies: Cooled brownies are much easier to cut. For clean edges, use a chef's knife and wipe it clean after each slice. For guaranteed perfect edges, chill the brownies in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours before slicing.

This brownie recipe is slightly adapted from Alice Medrich's Cocoa Brownies, which is found in many of her cookbooks, including Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts. If you love dessert as much as we do, buy it.

Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.

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Rich and fudgy brownies recipe made from scratch with fudgy middles and the best crinkly tops! These are much better than the box -- just read the reviews!

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51

Kim

"Because sometimes you want your unicorns to taste a little bit less like rainbows, and little bit more like chocolate cake."

Original recipe yields 8 servings (1 9-inch layer cake)

Directions

Prep

Cook

Ready In

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper.

2. Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.

3. Combine sugars and butter in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, thoroughly mixing after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract.

4. Mix 1/3 of the flour mixture into the butter mixture until just combined. Mix in 1/2 of the coffee and 1/2 of the sour cream until just combined. Add remaining flour mixture alternately with remaining sour cream and coffee. Do not overmix. Divide batter between the cake pans.

5. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in the pans for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pans before inverting cakes onto cooling racks. Peel off parchment paper. Cool cakes completely, about 30 minutes.

6. Make frosting while cakes cool. Beat butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until incorporated. Mix in vanilla extract and salt. Add heavy cream. Beat frosting on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add more heavy cream if needed to reach a spreadable consistency.

7. Place 1/2 cup frosting into 2 separate bowls. Stir blue food coloring into one bowl and purple food coloring into the other. Place colored frostings into a piping bag fitted with a star tip.

8. Place 1 cooled cake layer onto a cake plate. Top with 3/4 cup of white frosting. Place second cake layer on top. Frost the outside and top of the cake with remaining frosting.

9. Divide the cake into 8 wedges by tracing a sharp knife through the frosting on the top; do not cut all the way through. Place 2 pink sprinkles in the innermost point to make unicorn's nostrils. Pipe the eyes and eyelashes near the upper portion of each wedge using the black decorating gel. Pipe blue and purple unicorn hair at the top of each wedge.

10. Stretch marshmallow quarters into ear shapes and dip into pink sugar. Attach 2 ears to the edge of each slice. Pipe more hair around the ears. Place 1 candle into the hair for the horns. Keep cake refrigerated until ready to serve.

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Reviews
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My review

i made these cake for one of my sister for there birthday she loved it

I didn't do all the decorations. I wanted a decadent dark chocolate cake that was soft and almost melt in the mouth like. This recipe took it for me. I made it for a friends birthday. She enjoye...

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51 Kim "Because sometimes you want your unicorns to taste a little bit less like rainbows, and little bit more like chocolate cake." Original recipe yields 8 servings (1 9-inch layer cake) Prep Cook Ready In Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

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"Learn how to make cake pops the easy way. Who needs Starbucks cake pops when you can make and decorate cake pops at home! Easy tips for the perfect cake pops"

Watch me make these cake pops from start to finish!

I thought I HATED cake pops. I made them for a baby shower a few years ago and they were a pain in the butt cheeks with all that freezing and refreezing, dipping, twirling, decorating, and oh that texture!! Ewww!!

It was soggy, grainy, and tasted like someone had chewed it up already. My hubby sat quietly, ate the whole thing and calmly said: "you don't have to make these again please".

I seriously did not see what all the cake pop hype was about, but I kept getting requests to "PLEASE DO A CAKE POP TUTORIAL!". I can't let my babies (you) down so I got back in the kitchen to figure these things out. Something had to give!

I discovered that I LOVED cake pops. Here's what I learned:

1. Go EASY On The Frosting: What a lot of folks failed to mention in the cake pop tutorials that I was following was to ONLY ADD A LITTLE BIT OF FROSTING. That is super important!! Most cakes are already moist. Too much frosting and it's ruined in my opinion, not unless you add more cake.

2. Use Your Hands To Mix: It really helps to mix it up with your hands so that you can get the feel of it. When I used a spoon to mix it up, it looked as if I wasn't putting in enough frosting but it turned out that it was way too much when I went to make a ball. The cake should still be a bit crumbly even when the frosting is mixed in.

3. Mini Ice Cream/Cookie Scoop Works Great: Use a mini ice cream scoop to scoop out the "dough" so that you will have equal portions.

4. No Need To Keep Refreezing- I only placed these in the freezer once. Twice if you plan on bagging them or you want to speed up the final setting time.

5. Use A Deep, Narrow Cup For Dipping: The melted chocolate/candy coating should be deep enough to submerge the cake ball completely to avoid having to twirl it around.

6. Box Cake Is Just Fine- If you're not against the ingredients, make it easy for yourself and just purchase a box cake and make some homemade frosting. No one will know.

7. Use A Styrofoam Holder- A block of Styrofoam makes a really great holder to stick the cake pops in while they are drying and it's cheap.

These cake pops are what I consider cake pop perfection!!! They are the best cake pops I've ever had. No need to keep refreezing and double dipping! The texture is fluffy AND moist and it was nowhere near as messy and time consuming as my first attempt at making cake pops.

Now if you're looking for a tutorial on how to decorate cake pops...ugh, I'm not the girl for the job!! Sprinkles is as good as it gets over here : )

Even without fancy decoration, these cake pops can still make a pretty cute, cheap and festive gift idea! Let your imagination run wild!

Can I make these the day before? You sure can! But I'd use candy melts instead of chocolate. That way you can store them on the counter and not have to worry about the chocolate melting and smearing on the bag. Plus candy melts come in so many fun colors!

HELPFUL CAKE POP MAKING SUPPLIES

Give these cake pops a try and let me know what ya think! I can't wait to make these again!

The Recipe

How To Make Cake Pops <g class="gr_ gr_147 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear Punctuation multiReplace" id="147" data-gr-id="147">....</g>EASILY!!!

By Divas Can Cook

Chocolate Cake, prepared (I used ½ of a 9x13 devils food box cake)

Chocolate Frosting (amount depends on moistness of cake. I used two big spoonfuls. See video)

2 boxes Premium white chocolate ( I used Baker's brand) *update* I now use candy melts

cake pop sticks

sprinkles

1. Add cake to a large bowl.

2. Crumble until it resembles fine crumbs

3. Add in frosting a little bit at a time until cake is moist and can hold a ball shape, yet still slightly crumbly.

4. Use your hands to incorporate the frosting into the cake crumbs.

5. Use a mini ice cream scoop and scoop out two balls of cake mixture.

6. Roll the mixture into a tight ball and place on a plate.

7. Repeat until all the cake mixture has been rolled into balls.

8. Melt 2-4 ounces of white chocolate in the microwave.

9. Dip the tip of the cake pop sticks into the white chocolate and insert into the cake balls about half-way.

10. Freeze for about 20 minutes.

11. Meanwhile prepare all of your decorating supplies.

12. Melt the remaining chocolate in a large cup. Make sure you have enough chocolate to completely submerge the cake ball.

13. Remove cake balls from freezer.

14. Dip cake balls carefully into the chocolate until covered.

15. Let the excess chocolate drip off. Swirl and tap gently if needed.

16. Add the sprinkles while the chocolate is still wet. It will harden quickly.

17. Stick the decorated cake pop into a styrofoam block to finish setting.

18. Place into the freezer to speed up setting time.

19. Cover with a clear treat bag & ribbon for gift giving, if desired.

20. Store in a cool area in a single layer, in an airtight container.

21. Enjoy!

This post contains affiliate links.
Original Cake Pop Creator: Bakerella!!! How fun is her site?!
Like Cake Pops? Check out these other fun tutorials!

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How To Make BEST Cake Pops Recipe- Easy | Divas Can Cook

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"Learn how to make cake pops the easy way. Who needs Starbucks cake pops when you can make and decorate cake pops at home! Easy tips for the perfect cake pops" I thought I HATED cake pops.