Brownies are an easy, quick way to have a delicious chocolate dessert. Top them with powdered sugar for an extra little pop of flavor.
Jump to RecipeWho doesn’t love a good brownie? I mean, seriously. Chocolate. Sweet. Dessert. Top with powdered sugar and we have a winner! I love these brownies from scratch, no worries about what they put in that boxed stuff.
Bonus: they are made from ingredients that I always have on hand. Sometimes we are out of chocolate chips, but only if I eat them the chocolate chip gnomes eat them all!

You could also easily make this dairy-safe by subbing in vegan butter and vegan chocolate chips. I have a friend who can’t have dairy, so I’ve been learning a lot about that dietary restriction since she’s over every month for our Harry Potter club!
The brownies only take about 15 minutes to prepare, which is not that much longer than the boxed brownies. And you still only have one item to clean in addition to the baking dish. With the boxed, it’s usually a bowl, with this homemade recipe, it’s a pot.
Sometimes, I’ll buy regular chocolate chips instead of the semi-sweet if we really want a sweet taste. But most of the time, the semi-sweet are still enough for this dessert.

Brownies from Scratch Step by Step
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 325F and grease an 8×8 baking dish.
In a medium saucepan melt the butter.
Stir in the sugar and water then set the heat to medium and cook until it starts to boil, stirring frequently.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chocolate chips until they are melted and smooth.

Mix in the eggs and vanilla. the mixture may be a bit hard to stir, but it loosens up.

Sift the flour and baking soda into the chocolate mixture and stir until combined.
Spread the batter evenly into the greased baking dish.

Bake for 30-45 minutes, until the brownies have set and a toothpick comes out clean.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.


Recipe
Originally Published On: January 12, 2017
Last Updated On: April 5, 2022

Brownies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F
- Grease an 8×8 baking dish
- In medium saucepan combine sugar, butter, and water
- Cook over medium heat until boiling
- Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted and smooth
- Mix in the eggs and vanilla
- Combine the flour and baking soda and stir into the chocolate mixture
- Spread evenly into the baking dish
- Bake for 30-45 minutes or until brownies have set and toothpick comes out clean
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Ironic you posted this recipe. Today I’m baking cookies and making candy. I’m definitely adding this one to my list. Thank you for sharing!
Oh how awesome, I hope all of your baking was delicious!
These brownies look so good! I must try your recipe for my Christmas dessert party!
I hope these were a hit for the party! They don’t last long here when we make them for friends.
These brownies look amazing! We are not big desert people in our house, but I know my family would enjoy these, so we will make them soon!
Oh man, we have such big sweet tooths in our house. I have to be careful with how much dessert I make because we will eat it all so fast.
This brownies look so ooey gooey! I would love to have a few hot brownies with my ice cream right now please!
These brownies are so soft when they are done! I love mine with ice cream, too.
I LOVE making brownies! Can’t beat them! Especially hot with ice cream!
Yes! Fresh, hot brownies with a scoop of ice cream is perfection!
Mmmmm I love me a good brownie recipe! May have to try these as the snack for Essie’s Girl Scout Brownie meeting sometime! 🙂
I remember how fun we thought it was to have brownies as a snack when I was in Brownies! I’m sure the girls will love them!!
Brownies are my absolute favorite and these look so good. I’m going to have to make some now.
We always have the ingredients on hand for these brownies. I can’t tell you how many nights I bake them at 9 pm. I hope you got your brownie fix and made them, too!
Chocolate brownies are my ultimate fav. I love to do them for family parties, so may try out your recipe xx
I agree, the more chocolate, the better! Hopefully your family loves this recipe as much as mine does.
I saw this recipe yesterday and I got already the ingredients. Can’t wait for the weekend to enjoy the brownies!
I’m glad you were able to get everything, I hope they are the perfect weekend snack!
I always make everything from scratch, but I haven’t done brownies in a decade and couldn’t find my old recipe, but yours sounds perfect! Thank you!
I love cooking from scratch! I’m sure this recipe isn’t exactly what you had before, but hopefully it is close enough for you.
Yum you have made this look so easy! I am hungry now! I have printed it off and want to try it asap!! ♥
Luckily it’s simple ingredients and so easy to make. I hope you enjoy the brownies when you get a chance to bake them.
I can never resist a good brownie! These look especially chocolatey. And look at those happy faces 🙂
I know, those are some older photos of the boys, but they are so happy I had to leave them on here. They love these brownies!
I will need to save this! I suck at baking from scratch and brownies are my weakness. I end up buying the store bought ones already
Definitely try these soon, then. The recipe is pretty easy, just make sure you continue to stir so they don’t burn. Other than that, simple and delicious!
Well now I need brownies RIGHT NOW! These look amazing and I have wanted a go to recipe!
We end up making these every couple of months, they are so good and easy to make. It’s usually when one of us decides we need them now just like you have!
Oh yum! Everyone in my fam loves some brownies. this recipe would be so perfect!
We do too, these last two days here if we are lucky!
These brownies look so yummy! I do not bake a lot, but these looks super easy, so I will give them a try.
Don’t worry, the brownies are super easy to make. Just make sure the chocolate doesn’t burn when you are melting it all together and you’ll be good to go!
Ok. that’s it. You’re a rock star. Brownies from scratch?! I wish I had your patience.
You don’t need a lot of patience for these, I promise. They are so simple.
My 2 weaknesses are brownies and chocolate chip cookies. Those brownies look so delicious that it’s making my mouth water right now. 😋
Girl, mine too! I joke around that there’s a “chocolate chip gnome” in our house when I happen to eat them all from the pantry!
These brownies look so yummylicious. I love brownies so I am going to try your recipe for a change.
I hope you do! These are so better than out-of-the-box brownies.
Yummmm….these look so yummy! I love brownies and I am going to try this recipe. What I loved about this recipe is that it is with photos which are very helpful for people like me. 🙂
I’m glad the photos help you out! I know there are a lot of people who prefer visual so like to provide that too.
Love the pictures! I love brownies and this recipe is easy and simple… I would love to try it out this weekend. Thanks for sharing
Brownies are a perfect weekend treat!
I love brownies so much! This recipe looks delicious. I’m going to try it this weekend!
Brownies are such a perfect weekend treat, I hope you enjoy them!
In our house, we actually love brownies. I had one yesterday they are super yummy. Will give your recipe a go xx
Brownies are easily a favorite here too. I hope this recipe is as good as others you enjoy!