One Bowl Brownies

One bowl brownies are exactly what they sound like: rich, chewy, deeply chocolatey, and made in a single bowl with no mixer required!

I developed this one bowl brownie recipe as a weeknight staple: fast enough to make on a whim, reliable enough to bring anywhere. The goal was a brownie that baked up with a crackly top, chewy center, and crisp edges without requiring a second mixer bowl or a candy thermometer.

These brownies hold their texture for days, which I love, and the coffee extract adds a layer of flavor that makes them taste more complex than the ingredient list suggests. If you want to see the full depth of what a brownie can be, these brown butter brownies are one of my favorites, and I also have a fudgy brownie recipe if you prefer a denser, more intensely fudgy result.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Granulated Sugar: Sugar does more than sweeten here. Dissolved into the warm butter and beaten eggs, it creates that signature shiny, crackly top and keeps the brownies moist and chewy by slowing how quickly the starch and protein set during baking.
• Whole Eggs: Eggs are the primary structure builder, holding the high fat and sugar content together once baked.
• Coffee Extract: Coffee extract deepens the perceived chocolate flavor without making the brownies taste like coffee. It is highly concentrated, so the small dose is enough to add real depth without throwing off the liquid balance. If you do not have it, simply omit it or substitute an equal amount of vanilla extract. You could also whisk 1 tablespoon of instant espresso powder directly into the dry ingredients. I am particular about brands here: I typically use Nielsen-Massey but have recently tried and loved Watkins.
• Cocoa Powder: Cocoa is the primary chocolate component, delivering deep flavor without adding extra fat or sugar. Use the correct gram weight here. Its starch content lightly thickens the batter, and too much will make the brownies dry and crumbly. If you love an intensely chocolatey baked good, check out these [double chocolate chip cookies](https://cheflindseyfarr.com/triple-chocolate-chip-cookies!
• Baking Powder: A very small amount of lift helps keep the brownies from being overly dense or greasy. The quarter teaspoon is intentional. More would push them toward cakey territory.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations on This One Bowl Brownies

• Add some mix-ins. You can go crazy with your mix-ins! Fold in up to 1 cup of chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, Heath bar pieces, Reese’s Pieces, or chopped candy bars before the batter goes into the pan!
• Add a swirl! Swirl in some Nutella, cookie butter, jam, or peanut butter like these peanut butter brownies! You could also use slated caramel sauce like I do with my caramel brownie recipe!
• Add a topping! Top the cooled brownies with this peanut butter buttercream or you could go double chocolate with this chocolate buttercream frosting recipe! The milk chocolate ganache from these milk chocolate brownies would be a great way to elevate these!

Professional Tips

• Cool the butter slightly before adding the eggs. Hot butter will begin to cook the eggs the moment they hit the bowl, leaving you with streaks or, worse, scrambled bits in your batter. Let the melted butter sit until it no longer feels warm to the touch.
• Sift lumpy cocoa powder before adding it. Cocoa clumps stubbornly and does not fully disperse in a whisked batter the way it would in a creamed one. Lumps that make it into the batter bake into dry, bitter pockets. If your cocoa looks at all clumped in the bag, sift it.
• Pull the pan when the center still jiggles. Bake at 325°F convection or 350°F conventional, and start checking at 22 minutes. The brownies are done when the center puffs slightly and moves like Jello when you gently shake the pan. An overbaked brownie will look set all the way through, and it will slice clean and taste dry.

How to Make One Bowl Brownies

Use these instructions to make fudgy, chewy one bowl brownies every time! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Step 1: Prepare the pan and preheat the oven. Heat the oven to 350°F, conventional, not convection. Spray a 9×13-inch pan, then line it with a single piece of parchment paper that runs lengthwise with a slight overhang on each side. Those overhanging edges act as handles, making it effortless to lift the whole slab out of the pan later.

Step 2: Melt the butter. Melt the butter in a large heatproof bowl in the microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring between each, or set the bowl over a pot of barely simmering water. Either way, set it aside once melted. You want it warm, not hot, before the sugar goes in. (photo 1 above)

Step 3: Whisk in the sugar. Add the sugar directly to the bowl of melted butter and whisk vigorously until the mixture is smooth and fully combined. It will look grainy at first, then gradually come together into a thick, glossy paste as you keep whisking. (photo 2)

Step 4: Beat in the eggs and extracts. Whisk in the beaten eggs and extracts, and whisk. Keep whisking until the mixture looks uniform and slightly lightened. (photo 3-5 above)

Step 5: Whisk the dry ingredients separately, then combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet batter and whisk until no lumps remain. The batter will be thick, fudgy, and deeply dark. (photo 6 & 7)

I know this is called a one bowl recipe, but whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt together in a separate bowl before adding them to the batter. Just because you can make something in one bowl does not mean you should. If your cocoa powder has any lumps, sift it before whisking.

Step 6: Bake the brownies. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it into an even layer. Bake at 350°F in a conventional oven for 22 to 25 minutes. Start checking at 22 minutes. The brownies are done when the center has puffed slightly and the whole pan jiggles like Jello when you give it a gentle shake. The center will look soft and matte rather than glossy and wet. (photo 8)

Step 7: Cool completely before slicing. Set the pan on a wire rack and let the brownies cool fully to room temperature in the pan. They will continue to set as they cool, and the chewy texture you are after develops during this rest. Do not rush this step.

For clean, sharp slices, wrap the cooled pan in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cutting. Slice with a large, sharp chef’s knife, wiping the blade between cuts. The cold brownies hold their edges and cut far more neatly than room-temperature ones.

Step 8: Remove and slice. Use the parchment overhang to lift the entire slab straight out of the pan onto a cutting board. Cut into squares with one clean downward press per cut rather than dragging the knife through the batter. (photo 9)

Recipe FAQs

Before You Go

If these rich, fudgy brownies have you craving more, you will find plenty to love in the brownies & bars recipe, or just make these banana brownies next!