The Best Brownie Recipe With Chocolate Frosting
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Let me introduce you to the best brownie recipe ever. With a creamy chocolate frosting, make a big batch of these homemade chocolate fudge brownies and you’ll make any chocolate lover’s day (or year).
Welcome to the best fudge brownie recipe! I use this homemade brownies recipe when I want to make a big batch of brownies all at once, as it makes anywhere from 30-40 servings. I promise that these brownies are fudgy and moist with a deep chocolate flavor. They’re finished off with the perfect spreading of creamy chocolate frosting. Although I have several brownie recipes in my personal collection, this one is a favorite of both of the men in my house.
Fortunately, these homemade brownies are super easy to make from scratch. You just have to slowly combine all of the ingredients (I bet most are sitting in your pantry right now) and then bake your brownies for about 25 minutes. Once cool, top them with the creamy chocolate frosting, which is also very quick and easy to make.
If you’re like me and think the fewer dishes the better, whip up the big batch of brownies in one large bowl and then wash that same bowl to make the icing in to lessen the mess. Aside from that, you’ll just dirty up an 18×13 baking sheet (this is a standard half-sheet size), like this. I buy these in two packs for about $15 at Sam’s Club and I have been using them for years – they are the best baking sheets I’ve ever had.
Alright, I think it’s time we make a big batch of chocolate fudge brownies, what do you think?
Recipe Ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Sugar
- Cocoa powder
- Salt
- Vanilla
- Butter (a lot)
- Eggs (a lot)
- A wee bit of milk
How to Make the Best Brownie Recipe Ever
Melt your butter however you see fit to melt it and set it aside to cool a bit.
Put your eggs in a large bowl. Beat the eggs up with an electric mixer. By the way, if you have a stand mixer this batter will just fit in that bowl so go for it.
Add in sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla extract. Beat for about a minute or until it’s good and blended.
Add in the flour, melted butter, and milk and beat again until well combined and a good brownie batter is formed, scraping down the sides as needed during the mixing process.
This is my finished batter. If this recipe was just for the batter, I’d call it “luxurious brownie batter”. But this recipe is not just for the batter because you don’t really eat raw brownie batter with a spoon because we live in a fallen world. And that is all I will say about that. ~sniff~
Spread into a greased 18 x 13 half sheet pan (I just spray it with nonstick cooking spray).
Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.
Make sure the middle is set and done before you remove it from the oven. I know this doesn’t seem like a lot of time but your batter is kinda thin here and spread out over a large area.
These are my cooked brownies. Hi, brownies!!! (y’all wave at my brownies)
How to make the creamy chocolate frosting for brownies
Now clean out that mixing bowl and make up your icing.
(I can’t believe you didn’t wash it while the brownies were baking. Okay, totally believe that. Batter bowls have gone for days in my house without being washed. It gives my sink purpose though so I don’t fret. Never a bad thing to give something purpose, right?).
For the frosting, just put everything in the bowl and beat the heck out of it with an electric mixer until it is smooth and creamy. Y’all have seen me beat the heck out of things before so I’ll spare you the pictures.
Let your big batch brownies cool a bit and then spread the icing on them.
Sprinkle with nuts immediately after icing, if desired.
I usually don’t use nuts because they are outrageously expensive and it seems 9 out of 10 kids are allergic to them these days, but today got the better of me, and I just *NEEDED* walnuts on top of my . I gave in to my desires. Back to that fallen world thing, I am a fallen creature. But I feel better now so can we move on from this instead of focusing on my failures, mmkay?
Here, have a taste of the best brownie recipe ever.
Storage
Because of the frosting, you’ll want to store your brownies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the brownies in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight before serving.
Recipe Notes
- If you want to make a smaller amount of brownies, you can half this recipe yourself and make it in a 9×13 baking dish, but I don’t recommend that. Instead, I suggest you just make this big batch brownies recipe according to my instructions and then share the brownies with folks. We have a severe shortage of people who share brownies in our society!
- If you use self-rising flour, the brownie batter will overflow the pan and make a mess in your oven. And if you use a smaller-sized pan from what I am using, your brownie mix will overflow the pan either in a big way or small way (depends on the size of the pan) and make a mess in your oven.
- I promise you’ll live if you use salted butter. The extra salt won’t be noticed and might even add a nice little touch. Just don’t bother adding the salt listed in the ingredients.
- If you use skim milk, almond milk, rice milk, buttermilk, evaporated milk, goat’s milk, etc in place of the whole milk I am using, you’ll be fine in the brownies and most likely in the icing. I’d try to use the richest milk I could in the brownie frosting if I were you. I use whole milk but have used two percent before and the earth did not shift on its axis.
- Enjoy your with a scoop of
- Make this brownie recipe the best for you by adding in one cup of any of the below:
- crushed nuts: peanuts, walnuts, pecans, or almonds.
- dried fruits: dates, cranberries, or raisins.
- shredded coconut
- chocolate chips or chocolate chunks (because there’s no such thing as too much ).
- diced marshmallows
- peanut butter chips
Because you can never bake too many brownies:
Peanut Butter Brownies with Peanut Butter Fudge Icing
Valentine’s Day Brownies With Frosting
Ingredients
- 7 large eggs
- 4 cups sugar
- 2 cups cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 1/2 cup milk
Icing ingredients
- 4 cups confectioner's sugar
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place the eggs in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until broken and blended, about a minute.7 large eggs
- Add the sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla extract to the eggs and beat until well blended.4 cups sugar, 2 cups cocoa powder, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Add the flour, melted butter, and milk to the brownie batter and mix until well blended, scraping down sides as needed.3 cups all-purpose flour, 2 cups unsalted butter, 1/2 cup milk
- Spread into a greased half sheet pan (18x13) and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes, or until set in the center. Allow the brownies to cool slightly before icing.
To make chocolate frosting
- Place all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Spread onto the cooled brownies.2/3 cup cocoa powder, 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 4 cups confectioner's sugar
Nutrition
The world would be a better place if more people made brownies and shared them with others. ~Christy
Can I substitude butter with oil?
I’ve not done it with this recipe myself but you can certainly try. I’m sure the brownies will still taste good, just not sure how it will affect the texture. Please report back.
Hi Christy! I’d like any advice or suggestions you might have for the following scenario:
I’m making a brownie ice cream cake for my son-in-law’s 40th birthday party on Saturday (today is Wednesday) and your brownie recipe not only sounds great, but it was the only recipe I could find that uses one of the half sheet pans from Sam’s Club that I have and love! =0)
My plan is to bake the recipe twice tomorrow, then trim the sides so the layers will fit into a slightly smaller pan with higher sides. After the brownies have completely cooled, I’ll line that pan with heavy duty foil and put the first layer in, add a 1″ layer of softened vanilla ice cream, add the second layer of brownies, spread on a thick layer of whipped cream, then sprinkle over chopped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and finally, drizzle it with fudge sauce.
Then I’ll tightly wrap the whole thing and freeze it. My final step will be to pour a big glass of milk and enjoy it with the trimmings…heh heh heh.
Oh my goodness! My only suggestion is to take lots of photos and save me a piece!! This sounds wonderful and you’ve thought it through beautifully!
It took me over a year to leave a comment, but I just wanted to let you know that this is a great recipe! We had a dessert table (all from scratch – I baked for days!) for my daughter’s wedding last year and my son-in-law wanted brownies. I found this recipe and made three batches and I sprinkled caramel chips on the top. A big hit! I just looked it up again because we are having a big family picnic on the 4th and wanted to make them again.
No matter how long it took, I am so glad you let me know they were a hit!! I hope y’all have a Happy 4th of July celebration and blessings to you and yours!!
made two batches first one with choc chips mixed in and they were fine. the second with salted caramel chips and it didn’t rise but was rather bubbly. I guess the caramel and salt didn’t agree with the recipe. Too bad
I live at 7100 feet and need to make brownies for 100 people. How should I adjust this recipe for high altitude?
Hey Ajp! I’m afraid I’ve never lived at high altitude so I don’t have any experience adjusting recipes to such. I’ve lived in the Tennessee Valley all my life. Hopefully someone who knows can chime in!
I’d search for high-altitude baking until you come to the King Arthur Flour website! Be sure to make a small batch first to see if the adjustments work for you. Be sure to follow ALL of the guidelines given, or you could end up with a failed recipe like I did lol!
This did not work out at all! Made cooked them then took them out and they were all crumbs! I am not happy with this!
I’m sorry you’re not happy, Kay. Hopefully, this was the worst thing that happened to you today because that is a pretty good place to be. Still, it sounds as if something definitely went wrong and I hope your next baking session has better results!
Why do you not use ant baking powder or soda in these brownies
Short answer : Because they don’t need it.
Long answer : Leavening agents cause a baked good to rise and get fluffy. These are a dense, moist, rich brownie and I don’t want them to start acting like they are cake :).