Name: Easy Chewy Cocoa Powder Brownies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 1/3 cup granulated sugar (266g); 2/3 cup melted butter (150g or about 11 tbsp); 2 large eggs; 2/3 cup all purpose flour (86g); 1/2 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder (50g); 1/2 tsp baking powder; 3/4 tsp salt; Optional: 100-150g chopped chocolate or chocolate chips of choice; I like a mixture of milk and dark

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This brownie recipe is about to change your life – figuratively AND literally. They’re unbelievably easy and fuss-free: just 7 basic ingredients, one bowl, no mixer and 30 minutes start to finish. Made with cocoa powder only (no melted chocolate required!), they still have a deeply rich, chocolatey, not too sweet flavor. Add a perfectly chewy texture and a beautiful shiny, crackle top, and these brownies gives box brownies a run for their money. And the secret to all of this? Simply grinding your sugar! They may sound too good to be true – but lucky for us, they aren’t!

A close-up of a stack of three rich, fudgy chocolate brownies with melted chocolate chunks oozing out, set against a light background. Another brownie is blurred in the background.

Funnily enough, these brownies are one of the very first desserts I learned to bake, – the recipe that started my love for baking and earned me the title of “brownie girl” in high school! I only recently revisited it after more than a decade, and was genuinely shocked at how good they were. A few tweaks to make them match my adult palette, and I now consider them perfect! You can even make a brownie cookie version of this recipe, which take 20 minutes start to finish.

7 basic ingredients and an optional upgrade

This recipe is at simple as it gets, but here are some helpful notes to keep in mind:

Butter: You just melt it in the microwave, no need to soften or brown! I prefer unsalted, but you can also use salted butter and reduce the added salt if needed
Sugar: Start with granulated or caster sugar, and grind it in a food processor (details below!). This recipe is already adjusted to use as little sugar as possible, so I don’t recommend reducing it further
Eggs: Cold or room temperature both work fine
Flour: I highly recommend measuring with a scale and sifting it in for the best results
Dutch Processed cocoa powder: I strongly recommend Dutch Processed cocoa powder instead of natural as it is richer and more chocolatey. Especially because we’re not adding melted chocolate to the batter, the quality of cocoa powder makes a big difference
Baking powder: The tiniest amount causes the batter to rise slightly in the oven, then deflate as it cool. This push-pull on the gluten strands gives the brownies a chewy texture!
Salt: Last but definitely not the least – it balances the sweetness and adds flavor complexity

Optional, but recommended: chopped chocolate stirred in at the end. This adds flavor, texture, and makes the brownies even shinier! Have fun with it: milk, dark, white, or even chocolate candy works.

A batch of chocolate brownies with a shiny, crackled top, cut into nine squares on a round white plate. One brownie square is slightly separated from the rest.

The secret is grinding the sugar!

This actually started out of necessity: back in Pakistan, sugar comes in large granules that don’t dissolve easily, so I would always grind it in a food processor. But after a few tests, it turns out grinding makes a huge difference even when you’re using the finer granulated sugar in the US! Grinding the sugar breaks it into smaller particles, similar to powdered sugar, helping it dissolve more easily and giving the brownies their chewy, moist texture and shiny crackle top.

And NO, you can’t just use powered or icing sugar. It may seem like a shortcut, but powdered sugar contains cornstarch and gives brownies a chalky, unpleasant texture. So take the extra 2 minutes to pulse granulated sugar in your food processor. It’s worth it, I promise.

Step by step photos

Let’s quickly go over the steps with photos to help you visualize this easy one-bowl recipe:

A glass mixing bowl on a wooden surface, containing melted butter and a mound of sugar in the center, ready to be mixed together. — Start by grinding the sugar in a food processor until it looks like powder, and melt the butter. Add both to a bowl

A metal whisk rests in a glass bowl containing a pale yellow mixture of sugar and butter on a wooden countertop. — Whisk for about 30-60 seconds until the mixture looks smooth. This is easy to achieve because of the grinding step!

A glass bowl on a wooden surface contains melted butter and two raw eggs being mixed with a metal whisk. — Break in the eggs.

A glass bowl with a yellow liquid mixture being whisked, sitting on a wooden surface. A metal whisk is partially submerged in the mixture, indicating that it is being mixed or blended. — Whisk again until the egg is fully incorporated.

A glass bowl filled with ingredients being mixed, including cocoa powder and flour, with a whisk resting inside on a wooden countertop. — Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Sifting removes lumps and aerates the dry ingredients, making it easier to incorporate them.

A glass bowl filled with chocolate brownie batter is being mixed with a metal whisk, resting on a wooden countertop. — Whisk gently and slowly until the dry ingredients are just combined; do not overmix at this stage as that can create too much gluten!

A glass bowl filled with chocolate brownie batter and chunks of chopped chocolate, being mixed with a metal whisk, sits on a wooden surface. — If you’re adding the chopped chocolate, now’s the time! I like to reserve some to press onto the brownie batter before baking!

A glass bowl filled with thick, glossy chocolate brownie batter and chocolate chunks sits on a wooden surface, with a small pile of chopped chocolate and the edge of a black-handled knife nearby. — Gently fold until just combined; avoid overmixing.

A square metal baking pan filled with chocolate brownie batter, topped with chunks of chocolate, sits on a wooden countertop. — Spread the batter into a 9×9″ metal pan lined with parchment paper, and press in any reserved chocolate on top.

A square baking pan filled with freshly baked chocolate brownies, featuring a shiny, crinkled top and scattered chunks of chocolate. The pan rests on a wooden surface. — Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350F until the brownies are *just* done.

Let the brownies cool in the pan for at least 20-30 minutes, as they will be too soft when warm. Then cut with a sharp knife, serve and enjoy.

If you want to turn these brownies into more of a dessert, try topping them with a pistachio knafeh mixture like I do in my Dubai Chocolate Brownies! You could even add a pecan pie topping halfway through the bake, like I do in this gooey pecan pie brownie recipe.

Close-up of rich chocolate brownies on a light surface, with one brownie split in half to reveal melted chocolate chips inside and a glossy, crackly top.

Two more tips to perfect these

Here are 2 very important tips you need to remember:

Use a light colored metal baking pan. Glass or ceramic take too long to conduct heat, and lead to an uneven bake. Dark metal pans conduct heat too fast, causing the brownies to darken too much. This USA Pan from Amazon is my favorite
Watch the bake! Brownies should be slightly underbaked: set around the edges with a slightly soft middle. They continue to bake and set as they cool. If you insert a toothpick in the center, it should come out with moist crumbs on it. Wet batter means the brownies need more time, while a completely clean toothpick means the they are overdone.