Basic Bea Brownies
Your basic rich and fudgy brownie with bittersweet chocolate chips and that signature glossy top.
What to Expect:
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Chill Time: 2 hours | Total Time: 2 Hours 55 minutes
Yield: 16 mini brownies
What kind of baking blog would this be if there wasn’t a recipe for easy, classic, homemade brownies? These brownies use both cocoa powder and chocolate chips and come together in no time.
Whether you’re a fan of edge brownie pieces or the coveted middle piece, these brownies are for you. They’re fudgy and a little, moist, and have that glossy, crinkly, crackly flakey top. I bet they’ll remind you of the boxed mix brownies you grew up on.
If you’re looking for something a little less “basic”, check out my salted dulce de leche brownies!
What You’ll Find In This Post
Feel free to jump to what you need!
- What You’ll Need (Ingredients and Equipment)
- What Type of Chocolate to Use for Brownies
- How to Cleanly Cut Brownies
What You’ll Need to Make Basic Bea Brownies
Ingredients for Basic Bea Brownies
- Granulated Sugar
- Large Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- Unsalted Butter
- Vegetable Oil
- Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
- All Purpose Flour
- Cocoa Powder
- Kosher Salt
Necessary Tools & Equipment
These brownies are made in an 8-inch x 8-inch glass baking dish, lined with aluminum foil. The aluminum foil makes it easy to remove the brownies from the pan, cut them into pretty slices, and serve them up (also you won’t need to clean the baking dish after – praises).
You’ll also need an electric hand mixer, two medium-sized mixing bowls, a whisk, and a stiff spatula.
You can make these by hand in a pinch, but the electric mixer makes it easier to whip up the eggs and get that signature glossy top.
What Type of Chocolate Chips Should You Use for Basic Bea Brownies?
When I originally tested these brownies, I used semi-sweet chocolate chips, but they turned out way too sweet. After that, I opted for bittersweet chips (look for ones in the 70%-80% range) and found that the balance of these brownies came out way better.
I opt for using chocolate chips in this recipe instead of a chopped bar of chocolate because I like how they partially melt in the butter and result in melted chocolate bites that are spread throughout the batter.
How to Cleanly Cut Brownies
Brownies are rich and fudgy – which is what we love about them. But that can make creating those pretty and clean brownie slices a bit difficult.
For the cleanest slices, go through the following steps:
- Wet a clean chef’s knife under warm water. It shouldn’t be dripping wet, but there should be a bit of water on each side of the blade.
- Press the knife down through the baked brownies so that the slice is made in a singular downward motion. Don’t use a sawing motion.
- Gently remove the knife from the brownies and wipe it clean.
- Repeat steps 1-3 for each cut until you have all of your necessary cuts.
If you make these basic bea brownies, let me know your thoughts and how they turn out! Be sure to tag me @ficklebea on Instagram so that I can see what you make.
PrintBasic Bea Brownies
Your basic rich and fudgy brownie with bittersweet chocolate chips and that signature glossy top.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Chill Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 55 minutes
- Yield: 16 mini brownies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
8 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, sliced into Tablespoon-sized pieces to improve ease of melting
2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
3/4 cup Bittersweet Chocolate Chips (you will use 1/4 a cup to add to the melted butter and the remainder to stir into the batter)
3/4 cup All-Purpose Flour * – spooned and leveled, see notes
1/3 cup Cocoa Powder * – spooned and leveled, see notes
1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
2 Large Eggs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 Fahrenheit and line an 8-inch by 8-inch glass baking dish with aluminum foil.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave the unsalted butter slices (8 Tablespoons) in 20-second increments until melted.
- Add the vegetable oil (2 Tablespoons), vanilla extract (1 Tablespoon), and bittersweet chocolate chips (1/4 cup, the remainder will be used later) to the cup with the melted butter, but don’t stir. Set aside and allow the heat from the butter to melt the chocolate.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the all-purpose flour (3/4 cup – spooned and leveled, see notes), cocoa powder (1/3 cup – spooned and leveled, see notes), and kosher salt (1/4 teaspoon). Whisk together until well combined for about 1 minute. Once combined, add the remaining bittersweet chocolate chips (1/2 cup) to the bowl. Set this bowl aside.
These are your “dry ingredients.” - In a separate medium-sized mixing bowl, add the granulated sugar (3/4 cup) and eggs (2). Use a hand mixer and mix on medium-high speed for about 45 seconds – until the mixture has lighted to a pale yellow.
- Stir the butter, oil, and chocolate mixture until almost all of the chocolate has melted and the mixture is combined.
- With the hand mixer on medium-high speed, pour the chocolate mixture into the egg and sugar mixture. Continue mixing while you pour in the chocolate. Pause the mixing to scrape the last of the chocolate into the bowl and then make sure everything is combined.
These are your “wet ingredients.” - Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently fold the ingredients together with a stiff spatula or wooden spoon until everything is combined and there are no dry patches.
- Pour the batter into the foil-lined baking dish and smooth the top of the batter so that it’s spread evenly in the pan and has a relatively smooth top.
- Bake at 325 Fahrenheit for 35-45 minutes, or until lightly tapping the middle of the brownies feels like tapping your inner forearm with your fingers.
- Allow to cool completely before removing from the pan by lifting out the aluminum foil. Store in the fridge for 2+ hours to get the fudgiest texture.
- Slice into four even columns and four even rows – giving you 16 mini brownies.
Please leave a review by visiting the recipe on ficklebeabakehouse.com!
Notes
* For the most consistent results, measure both the flour and cocoa powder using the following method:
Stir the flour or cocoa powder with a spoon to break up any spots where it has settled, then spoon into the measuring cup and level with the back of a knife or the handle of a spoon or fork.
To help with your grocery shopping, I’ve listed the ingredients used in this recipe below, as well as where they can generally be found in the grocery store.
Dairy
- Large Eggs
- Unsalted Butter
Pantry
- Granulated Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
- Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
- All-Purpose Flour
- Cocoa Powder
- Kosher Salt
Will M says
Best brownies I’ve ever had
Sierra says
Woo! Happy to hear it!
Kaylee says
I am constantly trying different brownie recipes on Google and I think now I FINALLY have a staple I can stick with. These are crazy good!
Sierra says
Yay! Love to hear it!