Ultimate Gooey Chocolate Brownies Recipe

I think brownies should be rich and fudgy, with an intense chocolate flavor. Sure, you can make brownies from a box. But when you really want to impress, it is just a few extra steps to make these gourmet brownies. This is the ultimate gooey chocolate brownies recipe that is fudgy all throughout, with a classic crackly top. The perfect combination of textures, all with incredible chocolate flavor!

When I was a kid, there was a brownie recipe that my mom would occasionally make from her Joy of Cooking cookbook called Brownies Cockaigne. To this day I remember how happy I was when she made these brownies instead of a box.

Not that I would be disappointed by box brownies, but these from-scratch brownies were perfect! Or so I thought at the time.

My taste buds have evolved over the years and I now prefer an even more chocolate-forward brownie. So I tweaked the recipe a little at a time. My family was not at all mad with all of my revisions. We had so many brownies! In the end, we have the ultimate gooey chocolate brownies!

Secrets to Fudgy Brownies

When I make boxed brownies I always look for the brownies that have the extra chocolate packet, because I love a really fudgy brownie. Making brownies from scratch is similar.

You'll find many brownie recipes that call for cocoa powder, but using cocoa powder will result in a chewy brownie. If you are like me and love a fudgy, gooey texture, you'll want to use melted chocolate. The fat content in the chocolate plus the fat content in the butter creates that fudgy consistency.

You can also make a fudgy brownie using a combination of melted chocolate and cocoa powder as I did with my Mini Egg Brownies. But I think this recipe is perfect with just the chocolate.

Three Ways to Melt Your Chocolate

1. The professional way to melt your chocolate is to use a double boiler. If you don't have a double boiler, just bring a couple of inches of water to boil in a small saucepan.
   
   Place a heatproof bowl on top of the saucepan. Make sure it isn't too small, or it will fall in! And too big will not allow the heat to get up to the bowl to melt the chocolate. But a bowl that is just right will sit on top of the saucepan, with the base of the bowl a few inches from the water.
   
   Stir the chocolate, and as the steam warms the bowl the chocolate will melt.
   
2. Another option is to melt your chocolate in the microwave. This doesn't melt as evenly, and it is easy to overheat your chocolate which will cause it to seize and be worthless.
   
   But if you are careful, it is a good way to get melted chocolate without the hassle of a double-boiler. If you go this route, melt your chocolate in 30-second intervals, stirring well in between.
   
   When most of the chips are melted, but there are still some small chunks left, stir and let the heat of the melted chocolate distribute throughout, until all of your chocolate is smooth.
   
3. But the way that I melt my chocolate is in a regular saucepan over the stove. Heat it on medium-low and stir almost constantly.
   
   Don't let it start to boil. If you see some bubbles rising up, turn your burner down.
   
   Just before the chocolate is completely melted, turn the burner off and continue stirring until it is completely melted and smooth.

Tricks for the Sugar and Eggs

This recipe uses two eggs plus one egg yolk. This makes the brownies chewy and helps contribute to the gooey brownies that we are aiming for. I tried these with 2 eggs which were too little and 3 were too much. 2 plus an egg yolk made them just right!

Using an electric mixer, beat your eggs and sugar for at least 3 minutes. You want to beat it until it transforms into creamy ribbons. This dissolves the sugar into the eggs and makes it silky smooth.

You'll then mix in the vanilla and salt. After that, it is essential to switch gears and do the rest of the stirring by hand. This tender treatment of the batter will help produce a gooey texture. Over-mixing will make your brownies dry and tough.

Gooey Chocolate Plus Velvety Chocolate = Perfection

Now the fudgy brownie part is all well and good. Now that we have that taken care of, let's make it even better with little bites of melty chocolate scattered throughout the gooey goodness!

This recipe uses dark chocolate chips for the batter, to get a rich chocolate flavor without being overwhelmed by the sweetness of the sugar. Then we contrast it with milk chocolate chips, which adds just the right amounts of velvety texture.

The milk chocolate chips that I used were large, so I chopped them up to distribute them well throughout the brownie batter. If yours are the size of a regular chocolate chip then there is no need to chop them.

How Do I Know When My Brownies Are Done?

You may be familiar with the toothpick test used when baking cakes. The cake is done when an inserted toothpick comes out clean. If you aim for a clean toothpick with brownies you will have overbaked, dry brownies.

Instead, you measure a brownie's doneness 100 percent by sight. The brownies should be pulled away from the sides. The surface of the brownies should be dry and matte, and the top of the brownies starting to crack.

Be careful not to overbake your brownies, or they will be dry instead of gooey.

These brownies do need to cool in order to set up, so resist the urge to sneak a bite when they come out of the oven. Cool completely (or as close to complete as you can stand) and enjoy by themselves, or with some ice cream.

Recipe