If you enjoy brownies, you are going to love this simple homemade brownie recipe. They are dense and chocolate-y. . . and a snap to make. You start by melting the butter in a saucepan, take it off the heat, mix the rest of the ingredients right in that pan, then scoop it into an 8×8 baking dish and bake.
Viola! Homemade brownies in next to no time!
I especially love this recipe because you don’t have to wait for the butter to soften. Not only do I either decide last minute I feel like baking or forget to take it out in time to soften up–but in the winter my kitchen is cold enough that butter *doesn’t* soften on the counter!
***Edited to add the amount of flour. Ooops! ***
Ingredients
- 1/2 C Butter
- 1/2 C Cocoa
- 1 C Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 2/3 C Flour
- 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/4 tsp Salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Melt butter in a saucepan.
- Remove from heat, add cocoa and stir until no clumps remain.
- Add eggs, sugar, vanilla and mix well.
- Mix in flour, baking powder and salt.
- Pour into an 8X8 pan and bake 15-20 minutes.
- Add 1/2 C nuts (Walnuts are classic) or 1/2 C chocolate chips after the flour/baking powder/salt
- Use half whole wheat flour and half white flour.
- Use 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1/2 tsp of another extract such as orange or peppermint
Variations:
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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Love it! i know i wish this was a video, LOL i’m still slow with instructions. But this is great!
Maybe someday I’ll do a quick video. But trust me, it’s really super easy. Just remember you need to melt the butter first, then you add the cocoa because you want it to sort of melt into the butter and be more like melted chocolate. Then the sugar & wet stuff, then the dry stuff. Honestly if you just dumped in everything together after the cocoa/butter part and mixed well it would probably be fine.
Jenn, the amount of flour wasn’t listed in the recipe. Can you email me the amount of flour? Thanks. **Edited to remove email**
Woops! Thank you SO much for pointing that out Joyce, I have no idea how I forgot that
it’s been fixed in the recipe now, but it’s 2/3 a cup. I’ll try emailing you later, but right now due to a hacker I’ve been locked out of sending emails from my account. So I’m not ignoring you 
It’s ok. I came back to check. No need for email!!!
Just microwave the butter in your bowl and add ingredients. No pan needed; one less thing to clean
Can’t wait to make these! Thank you for that nifty “print” option, too…I love it!
Any recommendation for whether “regular” or “dutched” cocoa? I have both but I’m never sure when they might be interchangeable.
The recipe calls for regular unsweetened cocoa, which is all I’ve ever bought. Apparently there is a difference and it can effect your recipe depending on what kind of leavening agent you are using. Here’s the page I found which explains it a bit
Thank you for editing! The recipe on the email had no flour! I am making them now, thank you so very much!
I can’t wait to hear how you like them
Making them for a second time in as many weeks. What does that tell you? They are wonderful! Thank you again. I have finally overcome my fear of making brownies! xxx
I just made these, substituting buckwheat flour and using 3/4 cup sugar. They turned out delicious! My husband and 12 y/o son are inhaling them. Thank you for yet another wonderful recipe!
Glad you guys are enjoying the recipe (and Barbara too!). I thought they were so easy and so tasty!