Extremely decadent, chewy, and oh so rich, these Fudgy Dark Chocolate Brownies are the best! Both a dark chocolate baking bar and dark cocoa powder are used to get the ultimate chocolate flavor to please any chocolate-fanatic and brownie lover.
This recipe was originally published in May of 2020, but was updated on June 16, 2021 with newer content and fresh pictures.
For my whole life, I've been a boxed brownie kind of girl, but from this moment on I have found my true brownie love: these homemade dark chocolate brownies!
Not only are they beyond easy to make (everything is mixed in one bowl!) but I've never had a more chocolatey brownie. Plus, it's dark chocolate times two! Both dark chocolate cocoa powder and a bittersweet chocolate bar were used in order to create that rich chocolate flavor within the brownies.
If you're looking for even more chocolate desserts you'll definitely have to check out these Dark Chocolate Cupcakes, Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie, or these Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies. We love chocolate around here friends!
The deep dark chocolate flavor that's found within these brownies make them the best brownies ever. So move on over boxed-mix because there's a new easy recipe in town. Let's get baking!
Why These Are The Best Brownies:
- Both a dark chocolate baking bar and cocoa powder are used.
- They're beyond rich, fudgy, and chewy.
- You can make them using just one bowl.
- They're not cakey.
- They are ooey, gooey, and just so darn good!
If you've noticed about a boxed brownie mix it always calls for oil, whereas most homemade recipes use melted butter. Well, in this recipe we use both. Why? Because butter provides a deep and delicious flavor, while the oil helps to create that chewy and dense texture.
Another plus about this brownie recipe is that it all comes together in just one bowl. Before, I used to mix the wet and dry ingredients in seperate bowls and make twice the mess, but that's really unnecessary. One bowl is all you need!
The reason why we use both a chocolate bar and cocoa powder is to intensify the dark chocolate flavor. I almost always use Hershey's cocoa powder, and in this case I used their special dark cocoa powder. And for the baking bar I used Ghirardelli.
Those two high quality chocolates in one recipe makes this my favorite brownie recipe!
Baking Tips Before Starting:
- Baking Pan: Line your 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, creating "handles" that hang over the sides. Then grease your pan with non-stick spray. This makes extracting the brownies once they're cooled extremely easy.
- Chocolate: Definitely use high quality chocolate for this brownie recipe. For this recipe I used Ghirardelli for the chocolate bar and Hershey's for the cocoa powder.
- Folding: This means we carefully combine our ingredients without stirring or beating. We do this with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula until the ingredients are just combined with each other, “folding” everything together.
- Cooling: To easily cut and serve the brownies, allow them to cool completely. If not, they'll still be delicious, but messy.
Ingredients Needed:
Another reason why I think this brownie recipe is the best is because it only needs 9 ingredients! Plus, these are fairly common ingredients that you probably already have in your own kitchen pantry.
- Unsalted butter: Used for flavor.
- Bittersweet Chocolate Bar: I highly recommend Ghiradelli's dark chocolate bar (I say this because I truly love the brand!) for these brownies. I used 60% dark chocolate.
- Vegetable Oil: Makes the brownies very fudgy and moist.
- Sugar: One whole cup of sugar is absolutely necessary because of the amount of bittersweet chocolate we are using.
- Vanilla Extract: Adds extra flavor.
- Eggs: Provides structure and leavening.
- All-Purpose Flour: Binds all of the ingredients together.
- Dark Cocoa Powder: I used Hershey's.
- Salt: Enhances the other flavors.
How To Make Dark Chocolate Brownies:
All you need is one mixing bowl and 10 minutes of prep in order to prepare these brownies!
- Melt Chocolate: Melt the butter and chopped chocolate in a medium-sized mixing bowl and then mix in the oil. Set aside and cool for 5 minutes.
- Wet Ingredients: Whisk in the sugar and vanilla extract into the melted chocolate mixture. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking until completely incorporated.
- Dry Ingredients: Add the flour, cocoa powder, and salt and fold together with a silicone spatula until combined. Do not overmix!
- Bake: Spread the brownie mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. Completely cool before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions:
This recipe was created for an 8x8-inch baking pan. With that in mind, if you only have and want to use a 9x9-inch pan please note that your brownies will be slightly thinner and the bake time would be less.
When the center is set and does not jiggle when you shake the pan.
Keep the brownies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 7 days.
Here's a quick tip for cutting brownies that I learned from my mother: Always use a plastic knife! It cuts right through without sticking to the brownies.
If you made this recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below. I love hearing from you!
And as always, if you have any questions or recipe ideas, let me know below in the comments or on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
More Chocolate Recipes You'll Love:
- The Best Chocolate Cake
- Dark Chocolate Ice Cream
- Chocolate Raspberry Brownie Cake
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Double Chocolate Chip Muffins
Fudgy Dark Chocolate Brownies
Equipment
- 8x8 inch baking pan
- Mixing Bowl
- Silicone Spatula
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 4 oz chopped bittersweet chocolate
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup dark cocoa powder, sifted
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line your 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, creating "handles" that hang over the sides. Then spray with non-stick spray.
- Melt the butter and chopped chocolate in a medium-sized mixing bowl for 20 second intervals in the microwave, mixing each time, until completely melted. Then mix in the oil. Set aside and let it cool for about 5 minutes.
- Whisk in the sugar and vanilla extract into the melted chocolate mixture. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking until completely incorporated.
- Add the flour, cocoa powder, and salt and fold together with a silicone spatula until combined. Do not overmix!
- Spread the brownie mixture into the prepared pan. Use your silicone spatula to spread out the batter evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes. The brownies should be just firm enough to touch and if using a toothpick to test the middle, the toothpick should come out a bit crumbly to determine doneness.
- Completely cool on a wire baking rack before serving.
These look and sound delicious! Can’t wait to try them myself. Thanks for sharing.
Can you u substitute butter for the oil?
Yes you can! Just substitute the 1/4 cup of oil for a 1/4 cup of butter. So in total, you'll use 3/4 cup of melted butter for the recipe.
These look so yummy and I love dark chocolate, can't wait to try!
Omg, these look divine! Those tops! I love a good brownie too. Adding these to my list to try! Thanks for sharing!
Oh why did I read it now! It's late evening and I want brownies 🙂
These look so yummy and simple! Gonna try them this week! Thanks for sharing 🙂
looks delicious huh.. thanks for sharing, i will try this one.
Thank you, Jaz!
These rich brownies look incredible! I’m dreaming of using them in a brownie sundae as we speak!
That would be delicious 🙂
The baking time so WRONG! Brownies shoud NEVER bake for so long! It seemed a little weird to me when i read 25-28 min so i baked them for 20 and they STILL turned out dry and fully baked. 15 min TOPS!! Change it!! Very disappointed.
Hi Lizzy, I'm so sorry your brownies did not turn out right. I have made this recipe numerous times and it's one of my most popular recipes. Do you have an oven thermometer for your oven? Often ovens can be off by 15F in either direction. That's a common reason baked good don't turn out right.
The size of the pan makes a difference in the cook time as well. I wrote this recipe for an 8"x8" cooking pan. Many recipes that use bigger pans such as a 9"x9" recommend a shorter cook time to compensate for the thinner layer of batter.
When reading up on other common brownie recipes (such as Hersheyland and Allrecipes, in addition to other first-page results) the cook time for many recipes is matching my time here or is even longer.
All this said, I hope these brownies can come out well for you in the future if you try them again, and I'll look at updating the recipe to add some FAQ's for the good of the common baker. Thank you and again, I'm sorry for the bad experience with the recipe.
hi there! for the cocoa powder, do you use hershey’s special dark or the regular unsweetened? :))
I used the Hershey's special dark cocoa powder for these brownies, but you could certainly use the non-dark chocolate one. 🙂
I made these brownies today and they were delicious! Thanks for the recipe!!
Thank you for trying my recipe, Kara! I'm so glad you enjoyed them!