Our homemade brownies recipe is thick, fudgy, and tastes perfect with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. This brownie recipe with cocoa powder is prepared on the stove top and bakes in the oven in about an hour in a half. So, you’ll have warm, chocolate fudge brownies in no time!

Kim was craving homemade brownies for weeks, but with the holidays coming up we were trying to hold off. However, she decided to make them after all.

Not that I’m complaining, I certainly enjoyed these cocoa powder brownies. I think you’ll enjoy them as well. They’re soft, chewy and loaded with chocolate.

Believe it or not, you only need 8 ingredients to create homemade brownies. Technically, you only need 7, but they won’t be as fudgy and delicious.

We recommend taking a few extra minutes to make Nutella Frosting or even a decadent Chocolate Frosting to spread across the top! Or make these Guinness Brownies!

Three fudgy brownies stacked on a plate.

How to make Homemade Brownies with Cocoa Powder:

First, start by preheating your oven to 350°F, and greasing a 9×9-inch square baking dish. Set aside.
After that, place a saucepan over low heat, and add the unsalted butter. Let the butter melt. You only want it to be slightly warm, not popping and sizzling.
Once all the butter is melted, add in the granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and eggs. Be sure to add the ingredients in that order. You don’t want the eggs to cook in the butter. Stir to combine.
Sift in the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Then, whisk the mixture to combine the ingredients. Don’t over whip the batter or your brownies will be tough and dense instead of fudgy.
Add the baker’s chocolate to the saucepan. Stir the batter just until all the chocolate melts. Don’t overmix.
When your brownie batter is smooth and creamy, transfer it to the prepared baking dish.
Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the brownies comes out mostly clean or with a couple of crumbs attached.
Allow the brownies cool for 30 minutes before serving.

Collage showing how to make homemade brownies.

Tips for the Best Brownies Recipe:

If you only have an 8×8-inch baking dish, it’s okay. Simply increase the cook time by about 5-minutes. Don’t forget to use a toothpick to check the doneness.
Glass brownie pans are great; however, our temperature and cook time will need to be adjusted. For glass pans, I recommend reducing the temperature to 325°F, and increasing the cook time to 45-50 minutes. Otherwise, the outsides of the brownies will overcook by the time the center is done.
I don’t recommend using semi-sweet chocolate chips. Baker’s chocolate is the way to go for our recipe.
Don’t over bake these brownies; otherwise, they’ll turn out dry and dense. It’s best to remove the brownies from the oven a couple minutes early and let them finish setting up in the pan rather than let over bake in the oven.

The dessert served on small square plates.

Other dessert recipes you may love: