Brownie Recipe without Baking Powder - Fudgy Perfection!- The Domestic Spoon (2024)

These delicious brownies are fudgy, gooey, and flavorful. This easy Brownie Recipe without Baking Powder comes together quickly and tastes like perfection!

There are few things better than the perfect, chewy brownie. But let’s be honest, the brownies from the box just don’t cut it.

The best brownies are homemade, from scratch. They are fudgy, they are chocolatey, and they have the perfect, chewy edges and flaky top.

These brownies definitely fit the bill and you can mix them up in about 15 minutes.

I prefer my brownies more fudgy and to achieve that we leave out the baking powder. Brownies without baking powder are more dense, less cakey, which makes them more moist and melt-in-your mouth decadent.

If that all sounds good to you, let’s dive in!

Why Make This Recipe

1. Perfect Flavor: Not too heavy, not too light. The taste of these brownies is perfectly chocolatey without being overwhelmingly rich.
2. Perfect Texture: This brownie recipe is fudgy and delicious, not light and cakey. Baking powder creates more air bubbles in your batter while leaving it out creates the perfect fudgy texture. They also have the perfect crinkly top and chewy sides along the sides of the pan. All around perfection!
3. Easy: If you’re the type of person who always relies on box mix brownies when a craving hits, trust me. Homemade brownie recipes just taste better and they are so easy to make! This recipe is going to be your new go-to recipe!

Ingredients

1. Unsalted Butter: I always recommend unsalted butter for baking so you can control how much salt you use. You want your butter completely melted for perfect brownies.
2. Brown Sugar: You can use light or dark brown sugar. Brown sugar not only adds great flavor but also makes brownies chewier than white sugar alone.
3. Chocolate Chips: You can use semi-sweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips. You can also use milk chocolate, but I think the depth of flavor in dark chocolate works better for brownies. These will be melted into the batter which provides a little extra moisture and flavor. Feel free to add extra that are not melted!
4. Vanilla Extract: A little vanilla really helps bring out the chocolate flavor.
5. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: You can use either natural cocoa powder or dutch processed. If you like dark chocolate, I recommend Hershey’s special dark chocolate cocoa powder.

Tools

1. Electric Hand Mixer: You can also mix these brownies by hand very easily
2. Microwave-Safe Bowl
3. Large Mixing Bowl
4. 8×8 Square Pan

How to Make This Recipe

Step One: Mix the Wet Ingredients

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Put the melted butter in a bowl with the granulated sugar and the brown sugar. Use an electric hand mixer to combine.

Add the eggs and vanilla and mix to combine.

Put your chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 20 second increments, mixing between each round. Microwave until fully melted, normally 3-4 rounds in total.

Add the melted chocolate into the butter/sugar combination. Use a rubber spatula to combine.

Step Two: Add the Dry Ingredients

Sift in flour, cocoa powder, and salt into your egg mixture. Use your rubber spatula to mix until combined.

Step Three: Bake

Grease an 8×8 glass pan with nonstick spray.

Cook for about 45 minutes depending on desired doneness. Your brownies are done when they pass the toothpick test. When a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

I like my brownies slightly fudgy without hard edges, so I normally take them out when there’s still a teeny amount of batter on the toothpick 😉

Expert Tips

• Use good quality chocolate chips. They melt better and will result in better-tasting brownie recipe. Don’t skip the chocolate chips either! The cocoa butter in chocolate chips is crucial to the texture of the brownies.
• Be careful not to overmix once you add in your dry ingredients. Mix until fully combined and then stop. Over-mixing may add air to your batter and create a more cake-like texture.
• Don’t over-bake your brownie recipe. It will make them tough and dry. You want a toothpick inserted into the center to come out with a few crumbs on it. Brownies will continue to firm up as they cool so if you are nervous it’s better to err on the side of underbaked than overbaked. If your brownies come out too done after 45 minutes, adjust your bake time for next time.
• For clean slices, let the brownies cool. I know the smell of fresh brownies is so irresistible but you truly get a better texture and overall eating experience when you let the brownies cool completely. Youcan hurry this process by placing the pan in the refrigerator for about a half hour. Cooled brownies will have so much more moisture and deeper flavor too.
• Do not use softened butter for this brownie recipe–you want it melted! Melted butter is what makes for the perfect, crackly layer at the top of the brownies.

Why Are My Brownies Dry?

The biggest mistake people make that results in dry brownies is overbaking them. Brownies will continue to firm up and cook a bit after you pull them out of the oven. Make sure to test the doneness with a toothpick and pull from the oven BEFORE the toothpick comes out clean. You want a few moist crumbs on the toothpick.

When the brownies are fully cool, be sure to store them in an airtight container or cover the pan with plastic wrap to keep them from drying out.

You may also have added too much flour. Make sure you are measuring your flour properly and leveling your scoops.

How to Measure Flour Properly for this Brownie Recipe without Baking Powder

Start by loosely fluffing up your flour. Take a large scoop with your measuring cup and then use the back of a butter knife to gently level off the top.

Do not tap your measuring cup on the edge of your container or mixing bowl to level your scoop. This causes the flour to settle and pack into the scoop rather than sitting gently in it.

Brownie Variations

This simple brownie recipe is so easy to customize. If you want to be a little extra you can try mixing any of these ingredients into the batter:

• Nuts: Walnuts are the best option but almonds, macadamia nuts or pecans would also be great.
• Chocolate Chips: Milk chocolate, white chocolate or dark chocolate
• Peanut Butter Chips: You can also add a peanut butter swirl on the brownies
• Mint Chips: Or a bit of mint extract! Go light, mint extract is strong.
• Butterscotch Chips: If you love butterscotch check out these Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies!
• Marshmallows: Or a swirl of marshmallow fluff. Add graham crackers for delicious S’mores Brownies!

You could also add these on top:

• Caramel Sauce
• Cream Cheese Frosting: Like Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting or Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
• Fresh Strawberries: Or make these Strawberry Brownies!
• Flaky Sea Salt
• Chocolate Ganache
• Ice Cream

How to Keep Brownies from Sticking to the Pan

If your brownies are always getting stuck to the pan, you may try a few different things.

You could line your pan with parchment paper. Parchment paper helps all sorts of baked goods keep from sticking, and it’s an excellent tool for baking.

​If you don’t have parchment paper on hand, you can also line your baking pan with aluminum foil. You will still have to spray aluminum foil with a non-stick spray, but pouring your brownie batter onto foil makes it easy to remove the baked brownies from the pan in one piece once they are done cooking and easily cut into slices.

Do Brownies Need Baking Powder or Baking Soda?

Baking powder and baking soda are rising agents. The chemical reaction gives your baked goods just a little bit more body and helps them rise. Without this ingredient, your baked goods may fall flat.

You may see baking powder or baking soda called for in some brownie recipes but the perfect fudgy brownies, that are more dense than cakey, do not need baking powder or baking soda. It’s a good thing when all that chocolatey goodness is condensed. This recipe is for the best fudgy brownies without baking powder.

How to Tell The Difference Between Fudgy vs Undercooked

I know I said it above–you do not want to overcook your brownies, but getting just the right amount of doneness can be a challenge. While you don’t want dry brownies, you also don’t want undercooked brownies that can’t hold their shape. When you pull your brownies out of the oven, you should notice a few things.

1. Edges: The brownies should be pulling away slightly from the edge of the pan. This will happen even with fudgy brownies.
2. Top: The top should be shiny all the way across and slightly crinkly.
3. Toothpick Test: If the edges of the pan look done and the top of the brownies is consistent, it’s time for the toothpick test. As soon as the timer on your oven goes off, take your brownies out of the oven and stick a toothpick into the center. if it comes out covered in batter, your brownies need a few more minutes. If it comes out with just a few moist crumbs–perfect! This is the sweet spot.

If your toothpick comes out completely clean it doesn’t necessarily mean your brownies are ruined. If they don’t look or smell burnt, they are probably fine. They may be a bit more dry than you intended but you can simply adjust your baking time next time.

FAQs

Did you love this recipe for Brownies without Baking Powder? If so, make sure to check out these other recipes I picked out just for you:

• Matcha Brownies
• Mummy Halloween Brownies
• Brownie Batter Dip