DEC
15
Recipe Exchange: Homemade Fudgy Brownies
I teased you with an image of these delicious brownies in my parchment paper kitchen tip last week (related: Kitchen Tip: Lining Pans with Parchment). Are you ready for the recipe now? These simple from scratch brownies are one of our family’s favorite weeknight desserts.
Without fail, we always have the ingredients on hand and can whip them up in a matter of minutes. I love decadent, elegant, and creative desserts. But, some evenings all I really need is a cushy place on the warm couch, a little something to watch on TV, and a fudgy chocolate brownie. Why complicate something so deliciously simple?
If you want to mix things up from the traditional, you can change up the extracts you use, add some orange zest, chopped peppermints, or any number of mix in ideas. This is the perfect bare bones brownie recipe, and it’s delicious just like this.
I really enjoyed making this recipe with Kerrygold butter. The brownies tasted so rich and moist. If you’d like to try Kerrygold too you can participate in this recipe exchange for a chance to win an amazing gift basket!
What is your favorite recipe to use butter in? Is it a sweet one or a savory one? Come share your favorite recipe! Check out Jamie’s recipe for Holiday Recipe Exchange: Cranberry Bliss Bars.
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Simplest Homemade Fudgy Brownies
Ingredients:
12 tablespoons Kerrygold Salted Butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 - 1 teaspoon pure vanilla, orange, or peppermint extract, optional
3 large eggs
1 cup flour
A heaping 1/2 cup chocolate chunks, optionalDirections:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x8 or 9x9 square baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
Set a medium sized saucepan over medium-high heat and melt the butter. Next, add the granulated sugar and your choice extract. Stir well. Remove pan from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder.
In a separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Pour the chocolate mixture into the bowl and whisk in with the eggs until well combined. Stir in the flour and chocolate chunks, but do not beat.
Pour batter into the previously prepared baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-40 minutes. Cool completely, or if you’re impatient like me – at least 15 minutes, on a wire rack.
Remove parchment paper (with brownies) from the pan. Peel away the parchment paper and cut the brownies into serving size pieces and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days – if they last that long!
How To Participate
For a chance to win a $150 Kerrygold Cheese and Butter Gift Basket:
- Write and post a recipe on your blog featuring BUTTER.
- Include “Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Kerrygold.” in your blog post.
- Add your link to the widget on either GoodLife Eats or My Baking Addiction (we have the same widget code, so only add it on one site).
- Submit your post before Dec. 18, 11:59 AM. On Dec. 19, 12:00 AM the widget will switch to voting mode. Be sure to encourage your readers to vote for you and/or vote for your favorites.
- Anyone can participate in the link up, but the prize will ship to US residents only.
- More detailed info, including buttons for your posts are available here.
Link Up Your Recipes:
This Week’s Prize:
$150 Kerrygold Cheese and Butter Gift Basket (1 winner), provided by Kerrygold.
Recipe Theme Schedule:
We still have three weeks open for this Holiday season. If you would like to discuss scheduling a sponsored recipe exchange please contact Katie or Jamie to discuss availability and themes.
click image to enlarge
How To Promote Your Recipe:
Help us spread the word by letting your friends, family, and followers know about the contest. Email, Facebook, Tweet, Stumble…anything you want to do to promote this post is welcome.
- Sample Tweet 1: Join @GoodLifeEats and @BakingAddiction for a Holiday Recipe Exchange. See how you can participate (and WIN) here: http://bit.ly/9YCFgA Pls RT
- Sample Tweet 2: Enter BUTTER recipes in @GoodLifeEats & @BakingAddiction Recipe Exchange 4 chance @ $150 @kerrygoldusa gift http://wp.me/p14Uvo-14V
- Sample Tweet 3: Have a winning BUTTER recipe? Share in @GoodLifeEats & @BakingAddiction Recipe Exchange 4 chance @ $150 GIFT http://wp.me/p14Uvo-14V
- Sample Tweet 4: Vote 4 my BUTTER recipe in @GoodLifeEats & @BakingAddiction Recipe Exch so I can win $150 @kerrygoldusa basket http://wp.me/p14Uvo-14V






Hello! I'm Katie Goodman, author of GoodLife Eats Etc. where I share what I find in my life. A mix of great recipes, family memories, adventures, good reads, and anything else that I love is what you will discover here.



This sounds wonderful. I def prefer fudge-like brownies to cakey ones!
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Oh these sound just divine! Chocolate heaven! And what don’t we love with butter..!?!
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Basic brownies are my favorite!
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My kids love brownies, I never thought to add orange extract……great idea. Sounds heavenly! YUM.
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Love homemade brownies. So much better from scratch!
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These look fabulous… YUM!!
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Oh my word, Katie. These look yum, yum, yum!
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These brownies look pretty fantastic!
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at which part does the vanilla get added?
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Katie replied: — December 16th, 2010 @ 10:00 AM
It is added with the sugar.
First time visiting your blog. Your pictures are amazing.
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can you use unsalted butter?
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Katie replied: — December 27th, 2010 @ 8:23 AM
I’ve used both…whatever I have at the time. If I use unsalted then I add 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the recipe.
Just baked this brownie, I added a tsp of orange concentrate and it tastes really moist and yummy…. thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe.
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I chose this recipe when looking for a made-from-scratch recipe. The brownies are delicious. Thank you!
I used 1/2 tsp vanilla, and I sprinkled sea salt on half the brownies before baking. The salt gave them a more complex flavor, but I prefer the plain ones. This will be my go-to brownie recipe from now on.
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Yesterday was my first time visiting your blog after searching for a home made brownie recipe.
My daughter {3} and I made these brownies last night.
Alyssa asked for “circle brownies” so I baked them in a cupcake pan and added a dollop of caramel to each. They were absolutely delicious.
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These were awesome! Found them through pinterest and made them tonight. I used a glass 8×8 pan and cooked them for 30 mins. They were perfect and gooey with a nice crust on he outside. Also I think I added more like a cup of chocolate chips. I am pregnant and measured with my eyes for that part
lol.
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I followed this recipe exactly and it turned out amazing. This is my new go-to brownies from scratch. This is so much better then my current recipe. Delicious, moist, and perfect amount of chocolate.
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I just made this recipe for my xmas “santa hats” and can I just say it it totally awesome. Everyone is totally loving it, just gorgeous. Thank you so much and Merry Christmas!
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Just made this tonight for some guest! Super easy and everyone loved them!!
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These sound wonderful! I don’t have a lot of experience baking and can’t quite figure out how to measure out 12 tablespoons of butter when the butter is still hard. Could you maybe give me a measurment in ounces or grams?
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Katie replied: — April 16th, 2012 @ 11:06 AM
In the US butter is marked on the sticks in tablespoons. There are 8 tablespoons per stick and 1 stick is 4 ounces. So for 12 tablespoons you will need 6 ounces of butter.
This recipe is so easy and the brownies tasted great! I made mine with added chocolate chips and orange extract.
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Made these tonight for a bible study group. I love fudgey brownies and not cake-like, so they looked good. The first batch I mixed up the steps a little, but they still turned out great. They were a bit dark-chocolatey to me, so I made a second batch and increased the sugar. I also used a teaspoon of vanilla and added walnuts. They were super easy, and a big hit with the family AND the women at bible study. Thank you!
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I doubled these and used coconut oil instead of butter. I reduced the sugar by 1/4 cup and added about 6 oz dark choc.chips. I later frosted them with the leftover Bailey’s buttercream frosting from the Guiness Bailey’s cupckaes I made last week. After a few hours in the fridge the brownies became hard, like a decadent crust and were fabulous amd better for adults than kids!
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Amber replied: — February 10th, 2013 @ 8:52 PM
Wow! Those sound like a good alternative to regular brownies.
Best brownie I’ve had so far. So fudgy and delicious! It almost killed me to eat a whole piece with all the chocolate!
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I had neither butter nor parchment paper. I used olive oil on the pan. I used coconut milk and olive oil instead of butter and just sort of guessed. I also added an extra egg in hope of adding more fat to compensate for no butter. I did use about 1/4th to 1/2 teaspoon sea salt also. I thought the brownies turned out quite well considering, and find this particular recipe to be very easy to alter. I look forward trying this again when I actually have all the standard ingredients!
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How long are we suppose to leave the butter, sugar and vanilla extract on the stove? Mine turned into what looked like butterscotch and I thought it was cooked all the way through, then I added the cocoa powder and it came out really thick, I transferred the chocolate mixture into my egg mixture and the chocolate turned rock hard. I feel really dumb at the moment but let me know what the proper procedures are, Thank you very much!
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Katie replied: — October 10th, 2012 @ 11:57 AM
Just until the butter is melted. As stated in the instructions: “Set a medium sized saucepan over medium-high heat and melt the butter. Next, add the granulated sugar and your choice extract. Stir well. Remove pan from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder.“
Super easy and the best brownie I’ve ever had!
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I just made these. Oh.my.GOD. They’re the best brownies I’ve ever had!
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Does it make a difference whether you use All purpose flour or self rising flour? I am guessing that you used all purpose flour for these? Thanks : )
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Katie replied: — February 12th, 2013 @ 9:10 AM
I have not tried self rising flour.
Sherry replied: — February 12th, 2013 @ 10:34 AM
Thanks Katie : )