Fudgy Brownies (One-Bowl)
Life is too short for cakey brownies. Fudgy or nothing. I will not be taking questions.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter 115g / 1 stick
- 1 cup sugar 200g
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder 30g; Dutch-process for deeper colour
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 65g
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- Optional: 1/2 cup chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
Method
Melt and Mix
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Melt the butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl (or saucepan). Add sugar and stir until combined. Add eggs one at a time, stirring well after each. Add vanilla. The mixture should look glossy and thick — this is where the crackly top comes from. The more you stir at this stage, the more sugar dissolves into the eggs, and the more pronounced that beautiful crackly crust will be. Give it a good 50 vigorous stirs. Yes, I counted. My arm complained. The brownies didn’t.
Add Dry Ingredients
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Sift in the cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking powder. (Sifting the cocoa prevents clumps. You can skip it if you’re thorough with stirring, but cocoa clumps are surprisingly stubborn.) Fold until just combined — a few streaks are fine. Add chocolate chips if using. Pour into a greased and lined 8×8 inch pan.
Bake
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Bake at 175C / 350F for 20-25 minutes. Here’s the critical part: they should look slightly underdone in the centre when you pull them. A toothpick should come out with moist crumbs, not clean. Clean = overbaked = cakey = sadness. The brownies continue to set as they cool. Trust the underbake. Let them cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes before cutting. I know this is torture. The torture is worth it.
One-Bowl Fudgy Brownies — Dense, Rich, 30 Minutes
Life is too short for cakey brownies. Fudgy or nothing. I will not be taking questions.
The brownie debate in our house is settled and permanent: fudgy wins. Dense, dark, impossibly rich, with a crackly thin crust on top that shatters when you press through it. The inside should be somewhere between set and molten — when you pull a brownie out and it bends slightly before breaking, that’s the texture. If it snaps cleanly, it’s overbaked. If it falls apart, it’s underbaked. The sweet spot is narrow, but once you find it, you’ll never accept a cakey brownie again.
This is a one-bowl recipe because I firmly believe that brownie recipes requiring multiple bowls, a double boiler, and a degree in pastry arts are trying too hard. Brownies are the most democratic dessert — they should be fast, forgiving, and accessible. One bowl, a whisk, 25 minutes in the oven. The result is a brownie that my family will eat warm from the pan, standing in the kitchen, not even pretending to use plates. That’s how you know a recipe is good: nobody’s reaching for plates.
Ingredients
- • 1/2 cup (115g / 1 stick) butter
- • 1 cup (200g) sugar
- • 2 large eggs
- • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- • 1/3 cup (30g) cocoa powder (Dutch-process for deeper colour)
- • 1/2 cup (65g) all-purpose flour
- • 1/4 teaspoon salt
- • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- • Optional: 1/2 cup chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
How to Make Them
Melt and Mix
Melt the butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl (or saucepan). Add sugar and stir until combined. Add eggs one at a time, stirring well after each. Add vanilla. The mixture should look glossy and thick — this is where the crackly top comes from. The more you stir at this stage, the more sugar dissolves into the eggs, and the more pronounced that beautiful crackly crust will be. Give it a good 50 vigorous stirs. Yes, I counted. My arm complained. The brownies didn’t.
Add Dry Ingredients
Sift in the cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking powder. (Sifting the cocoa prevents clumps. You can skip it if you’re thorough with stirring, but cocoa clumps are surprisingly stubborn.) Fold until just combined — a few streaks are fine. Add chocolate chips if using. Pour into a greased and lined 8×8 inch pan.
Bake
Bake at 175C / 350F for 20-25 minutes. Here’s the critical part: they should look slightly underdone in the centre when you pull them. A toothpick should come out with moist crumbs, not clean. Clean = overbaked = cakey = sadness. The brownies continue to set as they cool. Trust the underbake. Let them cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes before cutting. I know this is torture. The torture is worth it.
The Crackly Top Secret
That thin, shiny, crackly crust on top of a perfect brownie isn’t magic — it’s technique. It comes from dissolving sugar into the egg mixture thoroughly. When you stir the sugar and eggs together vigorously (those 50 stirs), the sugar dissolves and creates a meringue-like layer on top as it bakes. The more dissolved sugar in the wet mixture, the crinklier and shinier the top. This is why fudgy brownies (more sugar, less flour) have better tops than cakey brownies (less sugar, more flour). Science, again, is on the side of fudgy.
Tips
💡 Pro Tips
✓ Stir the sugar-egg mixture vigorously. 50+ stirs. This creates the crackly top. It’s the most important step.
✓ Don’t overbake. Pull them when the centre jiggles slightly and the toothpick has moist crumbs. They set as they cool.
✓ Let them cool before cutting. 20 minutes minimum. Warm brownies are gooey and delicious but impossible to cut cleanly. Room temperature brownies slice like a dream.
✓ Use Dutch-process cocoa if you can. It has a deeper, darker flavour and colour. Regular cocoa works fine but the brownies will be slightly lighter in colour and more acidic.
Variations
• Spicy cayenne brownies: Add 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper to the batter. The heat blooms slowly after the chocolate — warmth, not fire. This is the version I make for adults-only gatherings and it’s spectacular.
• Peanut butter swirl: Drop spoonfuls of PB on top of the batter and swirl with a knife. The salt and fat of the peanut butter against the dark chocolate is perfect.
• Cream cheese swirl: Beat 4oz cream cheese with sugar, drop on top, swirl. Cheesecake brownies. My daughter’s birthday request every year.
• Espresso brownies: Add 1 tablespoon instant espresso to the batter. Coffee intensifies chocolate flavour without tasting like coffee.
How to Store
Room temperature in an airtight container: 4-5 days (they get fudgier over time, which is a feature, not a bug). Freeze for up to 3 months — cut into squares, wrap individually, freeze. Thaw at room temperature or warm in the microwave for 15 seconds for a molten-centre experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
Fudgy vs. cakey — what’s the actual difference?
Fat-to-flour ratio. More fat and less flour = fudgy. More flour and more leavening = cakey. This recipe uses very little flour (1/2 cup) and a full stick of butter, which is why it’s dense and fudgy. If you want cakey (why?), add more flour. But then we can’t be friends.
Can I use melted chocolate instead of cocoa?
Yes — melt 4oz of chocolate with the butter. Skip the cocoa powder. The brownies will be even more fudgy and intensely chocolatey. This is the “fancy” version I make when I’m trying to impress, and it works every time.
Why did my brownies turn out dry?
Overbaked. That’s the answer 95% of the time. Brownies go from perfect to dry in the span of about 3 minutes. Set a timer. Check early. Pull them while they still look underdone. Cool in the pan. You’ll be rewarded with fudgy perfection.
The After-School Brownie Protocol
In our house, brownies serve a specific emotional purpose: they’re the after-school reset button. When someone comes home from school frustrated about a test, upset about a friend situation, or just generally having a terrible, no-good, very bad day — I don’t ask questions immediately. I cut a brownie, warm it for 15 seconds in the microwave, put it on a plate with a glass of milk, and wait. The brownie does the emotional heavy lifting for the first five minutes. Then we talk. It’s not a parenting technique I read in a book. It’s one I developed through trial and error with four children who process feelings at different speeds. The brownie buys time and creates comfort. It’s the edible equivalent of a hug, and sometimes that’s exactly what a kid needs before they’re ready to use words.