How to make the best fudgy cocoa powder brownies - This simple and easy recipe uses Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder with eggs, flour, sugar, butter, and oil to make the best moist homemade chewy chocolate fudge brownies from scratch. One bowl recipe.

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a stack of fudge brownies on a cutting board

My go-to hobbies during the quarantine have been walking, reading, crocheting, baking, and gaining weight. I have done a lot of all five.

When the lockdown was really tight, and we were asked not to go to the grocery store more than once a week, I was desperate to make some brownies but had no chocolate. And even if it would have been okay to go to the store, they were closed since now that there is a pandemic, even Walmart closes at 8:30pm. (The horrors! What is this world coming to when Walmart closes?)

I had only ever made brownies with chocolate chips or unsweetened chocolate before, so I didn't know exactly what to do. Even so, I was convinced that it was possible to make good brownies with only cocoa powder, and I went to work.

I fudged (haha) my way through the brownies though and ended up with a very nice fudge brownie recipe. I have included the single batch recipe, but I always double it because they disappear so quickly. As always, I prefer to use a brownie pan, but a muffin pan or even an 8x8 pan will work.

I prefer the single serving pans because then no one complains about having been cheated by poorly measured cutting, and also because everyone gets brownies with crisp edges. My family likes the crisp edges (even though I prefer the softest center piece).

How to make the best cocoa powder brownie recipe

Preheat the oven to 350º. Spray the pan you'll be using with cooking spray and set aside. If you are using an 8x8 pan, it would be helpful to line it with parchment paper. If using a pan with wells, this is not necessary.
In a medium bowl, combine the hot melted butter, canola oil, and sugar. Whisk for at least a minute so that everything is well combined, and the sugar is as dissolved as possible. Ad the eggs and vanilla and beat until the batter turns a lighter color, at least another minute.
Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. (If you don't have a flour sifter, you can use a strainer or even a metal colander in a pinch.) Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until they are just incorporated. Be careful not to overbeat after you add the dry ingredients or your brownies will get too much air inside and be more cake-like than fudgy.
Use a large scoop to measure out the batter into the wells of your brownie pan or muffin pan.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until the top is just set. A tester inserted in the brownies should come out dirty but not wet.
If you have made your brownies in a pan with wells, you can pop them out and eat them while they're still warm. If you've made them in an 8x8 pan, you will need to wait until they have cooled completely to room temperature in order to cut them or they will be too gooey and may fall apart.