I am a sucker for a good brownie recipe. I like consistently good brownies. I like it to have a flaky crust. I like it chewy inside. I like to taste chocolate. I wanted the best homemade BROWNIE RECIPE and this is it! I use this recipe in my Brownie Cookies and Cookie Dough Brownie Cake!
Brownies Made with Homemade Brownie Mix
When it comes to baking I also love convenience. And being able to dump stuff in a bowl and make magic. So this is my attempt to capture the ease of a box brownie mix without the other icky stuff.
Homemade Brownie Mix Uses
This recipe tastes amazing and easily lends itself to adaptations. For instance, you can add any sort of chocolate chip, white chocolate chip, M&M’s, Nutella, etc. You can also double the recipe or pair the brownie mix with frosting. It is also the recipe I used for my Salted Caramel Marshmallow Brownie Hi-Hats! One thing to note, this brownie mix recipe is not huge. It yields 9 brownies and is made all in one bowl!
Optional Add-Ins for Brownies
- Morsels – milk chocolate, white chocolate, peanut butter, butterscotch, you name it! I use about 1/2 – 3/4 cup total.
- Nuts – again, any you prefer. About 3/4 cup works perfectly.
- Nutella – drizzle it on the brownie batter in the pan and swirl if you want it fancy!
- Oreos or other cookies – rough chop on top or add about 1 cup to batter.
- To make the brownie in the first image from this post, I added chocolate chips to the recipe as well as a couple on top after I took them out of the oven.
Can These Brownies Be Gluten-Free?
I haven’t tested it personally, but a number of readers have said that they use a good quality 1:1 Gluten Free Flour blend in place of all-purpose in this recipe with success.
Coffee in Brownies?
Adding coffee to brownies is one of those most amazing ways to enhance and uplift the chocolate flavor. There is no coffee in this recipe, but I do have another Brownie Recipe that does. If you want to add coffee, I suggest adding instant espresso powder. The instant coffee powder will work in a pinch!
Perfect Brownie Frosting
Here is the perfect chocolate frosting made just for these brownies! My secret ingredient is the perfect complement to the perfect homemade brownie recipe. In fact, I loved the frosting so much, I also added it to my Double Fudge Brownies, too!
How to Store & Freeze Brownies
The Mix: You can store the mix in an airtight container in your pantry for 6 months or the life of the ingredients.
Baked Brownies: Once baked, brownies are best in an airtight container at room temperature and will last 2 days.
To freeze: To freeze baked brownies, wrap them with plastic wrap and then place them into an airtight container, in a freezer-safe plastic storage bag, or wrap them again with aluminum foil. Be sure to label them with the date. When you are ready to enjoy the brownies again, remove them from the freezer and place them in the refrigerator overnight or on the counter until they come to room temperature.
How to Get Ooey Gooey Brownies
An unconventional tip for achieving a particularly moist and decadent brownie is to remove them from the oven five to seven minutes prior to its intended baking time. It should be noted, however, that this technique is not recommended for those who oppose eating undercooked batter. If one desires a gooey, chocolatey brownie experience, this approach may be worth exploring.
More Brownie Recipes
Homemade Brownie Mix
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup (40 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- ½ cup (64 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick / 113 g) unsalted butter, melted, then cooled
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray an 8×8-inch pan with non-stick spray.
- Sift (or whisk) together granulated sugar, cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl.
- Melt butter and set aside to cool.
- In a medium bowl, beat two eggs and vanilla extract with a hand-held mixer.
- Add the egg mixture and melted butter to the dry ingredients. Stir until just incorporated.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20-22 minutes.
Notes
On a gift tag or label write the wet ingredients and quantities and then directions. “Melt butter and set aside to cool slightly. In a medium bowl, beat two eggs with the vanilla. Add in and gently stir dry ingredients. Pour the melted butter into brownie mixture and mix until just incorporated. Spread batter in a prepared 8-inch square pan and bake for 20-22 minutes at 350 degrees.”
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
Very clever! I’m glad you “made up” this recipe. I’ve zip-listed it, plus added it to my Chef Tap app. So many recipes call for a “boxed brownie mix” as a base. It’s not something I keep in my pantry. Sooo – this side-steps a trip to the store or passing on a recipe I would like to try.
Thanks Georgia! That is an excellent point about the base for others recipes!!
That is so cool!
Thanks Chloe!
Hi the brownie looks fantastic and u havent even added choc to it great one question if I wanted to make it in a 9×13pan do I simply double the recipe how long would ive to bake it
Hi Mash- I would start checking the brownies at 25 minutes. I think 25-30 minutes is about what I did for the larger pan and a double batch. Thanks!
Hi Amanda!
I’ve got a question: How do you make your vanilla extract? It looks homemade on the picture and as I’m not able to purchase good vanilla extract / paste over here in Germany, I just wanted to ask you, cause YOU would have to know 🙂
Greetings from Wiesbaden!
Greeting Ines! I got that vanilla from Tidymom. Here is her recipe: http://tidymom.net/2012/recipe-for-vanilla/ It is SO wonderful, I use it in everything!
Thanks a lot!!!:) That looks great
I love this!!! I love that you can make a bunch of the dry mix and keep it on hand. Yeah!!!
Thanks lady! 🙂 xoxo
These look amazing! My daughter is 11 and becoming a little chef just like mommy! She loves helping me, and we’ve made a lot of your recipes! This is one that we will be making today! One quick question though.. I don’t have a sifter.. Is there another step I could take?
Yes, sure! I put all the ingredients in a larger jar and then shook the jar for about a minute, or until everything looked really combined. Worked great! Just make sure the jar is only about half full. I am thinking a plastic bag or tupperware would work too. 🙂
I have only attempted to make brownies from scratch once and it was such a disaster I never tried again. I love that these have no oil. Thank you for inspiring me to try again!
Oh yay!! These will be a great recipe to start back with! 🙂
This would be a fabulous DIY gift, with maybe a really nice bottle of vanilla, and even a baking pan if you wanted to get nuts!
Great idea!
THANK YOU!!! Here in Austria a boxed cake or brownie mix will run us $12-13!!! This is awesome.
OH WOW!! That is a lot. Guess it pays to back from scratch in Austria! Question… do you have my book there? (Surprise-Inside Cakes)
I’ve not seen it, but I’m still in the early phases of learning German, so I’ve not ventured in to any book stores. I’ll keep my eyes peeled, though and I’ll take a pic if I find it! 🙂
Oh, an another crazy baking thing here: they don’t use liquid vanilla! They use vanilla sugar. :/
Sounds yummy. 🙂
What a wonderful idea for a hostess or holiday gift!
Agreed. 🙂 Be blessed!
I just turned 70 years “young” this past August and still LOVE to bake, cook and try out new recipes. I will be keeping the brownie and icing recipe handy. Thanks so much for sharing them..