Here you will find all the information for How to Make Brownies, plus some of the Best Brownie Recipes you’ll ever make or eat.

From Easy One-Bowl Brownies to more complicated Brownie Recipes, it’s great to have several delicious options in your repertoire!

Brownie recipes collage with title box.
Table of Contents hide
1 What’s Your Favorite Type of Brownie?
2 How to Make Brownies
3 Expert Tips
4 Best Frosted Brownie Recipes
5 Best Fudgy Brownie Recipes
6 Best Cakey Brownie Recipes
7 Unique Brownie Recipes
8 Other Brownie Recipes
9 Frequently Asked Questions

What’s Your Favorite Type of Brownie?

Do you prefer fudgy brownies, cakey brownies, or a special gourmet brownie? Or will you eat any kind of brownie recipe? I’m on team fudgy. Check out my expert tips below if you want to learn all there is to know about how to make brownies!

How to Make Brownies

  1. First, select a recipe for the type of brownie you want to make.
  2. Read through it thoroughly, noting the equipment and ingredients you may need to purchase.
  3. Set eggs, butter, cream cheese, etc., out on the counter to bring to room temperature unless directed otherwise.
  4. Preheat the oven.
  5. Prepare the pan as directed.
  6. Prep ingredients like toasting nuts, chopping chocolate, etc.
  7. Mix with the method suggested in the recipe, by hand or with a mixer.
  8. Fold or stir in the flour to minimize gluten activation.
  9. Scrape the batter from the bowl into the baking dish.
  10. Bake as directed.
  11. Check for doneness, and remove to a cooling rack when done.
  12. Cool completely before frosting.
  13. Slice and dive in!!!
Overhead view of slices Caramel Brownies on a white rectangular tray with a couple of red handled forks.

Caramel Chocolate Brownies

Expert Tips

Of course, perfect depends on whether you want fudgy, cakey, or chewy brownies. Here are some of the best tips for helping you make the Best Brownie Recipes.

  • Read through the recipe before you start. Then read it again. Do you have all the ingredients? The right size pan?
  • Prepare your pan properly. PRO-Tip: Instead of greasing or greasing and flouring the pan, try Nonstick Foil, which provides a sling to help you remove the brownies to a cutting board when cooled. Plus, due to its non-stick surface, the foil peels right off the brownies.
  • PRO-Tip: If you’re making cakey brownies, check your baking powder. It most often expires before you use it all. If you’d like to be extra cautious, put a spoonful in a cup of very hot water. If it bubbles vigorously, it’s active. If not, replace it to be safe.
  • PRO-Tip: Baking Powder (affiliate link) is not the same as baking soda. If you’re a new baker, check your labels. These two leavening agents are not interchangable.
  • Have your eggs at room temperature. They will incorporate best if not cold.
  • Other ingredients like butter (if not melted), sour cream, cream cheese, etc. It should also be at room temperature.
2 Cocoa Brownies on a square white plate.

Frosted Brownies

Best Frosted Brownie Recipes

Chocolate Glazed Walnut Brownies featured image

Glazed Walnut Brownies

Best Fudgy Brownie Recipes

A raspberry brownie topped with cream cheese frosting and a fresh raspberry on a white plate.

Raspberry Chambord Brownies

Best Cakey Brownie Recipes

2 milky way brownies on a square white plate.

Milky Way Brownies

Unique Brownie Recipes

German Chocolate Brownie Pie in a ruffle edged pie plate with pecan halves

German Chocolate Brownie Pie

Other Brownie Recipes

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do Fudgy and Cakey Brownies Differ?

Why do brownies turn out fudgy? It’s all food chemistry. Fudgy brownies have less flour, more butter, and no baking powder. The butter is often melted instead of being creamed with sugar. It’s all in the ratio of flour to fat. The fat comes from butter, egg yolks, and chocolate. The fat-to-flour ratio is crucial. Fudgy Brownies have a higher fat-to-flour ratio.
Cakey Brownies, on the other hand,  have more flour, less butter, and a leavening agent like baking powder. Like with a cake, the sugar is creamed with butter, which incorporates air into the batter. The air along with the leavening, helps the batter rise, creating a more cake-like result. Cakey Brownies have a lower fat-to-flour ratio than fudgy brownies. And they utilize baking powder to leaven.
Note that there are also categories for Chewy Brownies and Blondies. See below for how to make a chewy brownie.
Blondies can be cakey or chewy and are bars made with brown sugar, butter, eggs, and flour with add-ins like nuts, chocolate chips, flavorings, etc. However, there is no chocolate in the batter, resulting in them being blonde instead of dark brown.

How Do You Make a Chewy Brownie?

Find a recipe that uses vegetable oil. The addition of oil is why box brownie mix brownies tend to be chewy.
Also, you can replace some or all of the white sugar with brown sugar. Brown sugar speeds up gluten formation, which creates a chewier brownie.
Chewy Brownies may have an extra egg and two kinds of chocolate, such as semisweet and unsweetened. Adding unsweetened chocolate with its higher proportion of starches makes a stiffer batter, therefore chewier brownies (according to C&H Sugar’s website).

Do Brownies Bake Better in a Glass or Metal Pan?

Metal baking pans work best for baking brownies. Glass is an insulator, so it takes longer for the oven’s heat to get to the middle of the brownies. This can result in the edges being overcooked in order to get the center cooked.

What’s the Best Way to Slice Brownies?

To make it easier to cut your brownies, once they’re cooled, cover and chill them. Once they’re cold, remove them from the pan to a cutting board (this is where lining the pan with foil comes in handy to lift the brownies out).
Use a hot, dry knife to slice into squares. Run it under hot water or briefly run the blade through the flame of a gas burner.
Use a ruler or just eye it to cut the brownies into nice squares, but make sure to keep your knife clean so that the slices are neat and clean.

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