An easy Homemade Brownie Mix recipe! Just a handful of basic ingredients and you can have a jar in your pantry ready to go at all times (this is also an easy recipe to whip up in a pinch)! Make it for yourself, or give as a sweet gift this holiday season. Recipe includes printable gift tags/instructions and a how-to video!
If you’re scrambling for a last-minute gift idea, I’ve got you covered. Or, if you’re scrambling for a quick but decadent chocolate fix, I’ve still got you covered.
I know I’m scrambling right now (as I’m sure many of you are) because so many of my gifts that I ordered still haven’t arrived. While everyone will get their gifts eventually (hopefully?) instead of showing up empty-handed I’m prettily packaging some of my favorite gift-able desserts. If you need me tomorrow, I’ll be busy preparing dozens of Hot Chocolate Bombs, my Christmas Cookie Gift Jars, homemade Peanut Brittle for my brother-in-law, and this easy but delicious homemade brownie mix.
If you’re not in need of a gift, it’s great just to make for yourself, too. Homemade brownie mix is perfect to whip up, toss in a Ziploc bag, and just have on hand for whenever a chocolate craving strikes (and no excuse for store-bought brownie mix ever again!).
What is the Difference in This Recipe and Your Best Brownie Recipe
I’m borderline obsessed with my best brownie recipe. It’s chocolatey, fudgy, and incredible, but I wanted something super quick, fast, and easy for when I needed to satisfy a chocolate craving in a pinch.
All while still being absolutely, deliciously, can’t-eat-just-one irresistible.
This recipe ticks all the brownie-boxes, but it’s a bit less dark (which my husband prefers as he doesn’t particularly care for dark chocolate) and a bit less fudgy (it’s still fudgy, though!).
What You Need
We have two sets of ingredients we’re working with today. First is the ingredients you need to make the actual brownie mix. You’ll need:
- Flour. Use all-purpose (plain) flour. It may seem like a small amount (and it is), but this is critical for chocolatey, fudgy brownies that nearly melt in your mouth.
- Sugar. While I love using brown sugar in my brownie recipes whenever I can, the moisture makes it difficult to evenly mix all of the ingredients together. Don’t worry, you won’t miss it here!
- Cocoa powder. I use natural unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Baking Powder. Just a pinch helps keep the brownies from being so dense that they actually seem like fudge. A tiny bit of baking powder adds a smidge of lightness (just a smidge!) for the perfect consistency.
- Salt. for flavor of course.
- Chocolate chips. These are an optional ingredient, and keep in mind if you’re storing the brownie mix in a pint-sized mason jar they won’t fit, so you’ll need to use a larger container. I like semisweet chocolate chips, but use your favorite flavor (or try M&Ms!).
Then, of course, there are the ingredients that you’ll add later when you’re ready to bake your brownies. You need just three things:
- Melted butter. I wrote this recipe using salted butter which isn’t my usual preference but when I shared my cookie mix in a jar I received a lot of feedback that most gift recipients of the jars kept salted butter in the fridge only. I wrote this recipe with that in mind (your comments matter, I read them all!). If you want to use unsalted butter, just bump the salt in the mix recipe up to ½ teaspoon instead.
- Two large eggs.
- Vanilla extract. If you don’t want the recipient (or yourself!) to have to add vanilla later, you can always whisk 1 teaspoon of vanilla powder into the mix instead.
Write the ingredients above and the (brief) instructions on a tag or print my free printable tags that I linked to in the recipe.
For the full instructions please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
Frequently Asked Questions
Ultimately it depends on the expiration date of your ingredients. However, most of the ingredients called for have a long shelf life and you should be able to store this homemade brownie mix for a minimum of 3 months.
Honestly, if I’m just making this to store in my own pantry I often use a Ziploc bag. You could also use any airtight container.
If I’m giving as a gift I like to use pint sized mason jars (or 1 ½ pint jars if I want to include chocolate chips in the mix).
You can add up to one teaspoon of instant coffee into the brownie mix to enrich the chocolate flavor. Add a bit more (or some espresso powder) if you’re looking for a mocha flavor!
More Recipes You Might Like
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! Make sure to check out the how-to VIDEO in the recipe card!
Homemade Brownie Mix
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (250 g) granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup (83 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (50 g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- ⅛ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips optional, these will not fit in a pint sized mason jar
To be added when you are ready to bake the brownies:
- 8 Tablespoons salted butter melted
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Recommended Equipment
- You will need pint sized mason jars for the brownie mix or 1 ½ pint jars if you wish to include chocolate chips. See note.
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.1 ¼ cups (250 g) granulated sugar, ⅔ cup (83 g) all-purpose flour, ½ cup (50 g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder, ⅛ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Pour mixture into a pint-sized mason jar (or container of your choice), or if using chocolate chips pour into 1 ½ pint-sized jars, tamp down with a spoon, and then fill to the brim with chocolate chips. Cover and attach a tag with the following instructions:½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions for Baking Brownie Mix
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Pour brownie mix in bowl and add melted butter, eggs, and vanilla.8 Tablespoons salted butter, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Stir very well and spread into a lightly greased 8×8” or 9×9” pan.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes in 8×8” pan or 23-25 minutes for 9×9”.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Anne Marie
can you use this mix to make things like cookies that call for a box mix of brownies?
Sam
Hi Anne! I haven’t personally tried it, but I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work. 🙂
Ashley
Easy to follow and the best chewy brownies! They were perfect!! 😍
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, ,Ashley! 🙂
Charlene
I don’t have unsalted butter. what can I use.
Sam
Hi Charlene! Normally you would adjust the salt, but I am assuming that this is already mixed for you? I would probably just go ahead and make it with the salted butter. The brownies may be a bit saltier than they should be.
Kim
Delish!
Mareth
Have you ever tried making brownie waffles with this recipe?
Sam
Hi Mareth! I haven’t tried it, but it sounds like a fun experiment. Let me know how it goes if you do try it! 🙂
Evelyn
What pint sized jars are y’all using!!!!???!?!??! It DOES NOT fit in a pint jar
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Evelyn. Are you adding chocolate chips? If so, you will need a 1 ½ pint jar as indicated in the recipe card. Hope that helps!
Chelsea C
Even without chocolate chips, this would never fit in a pint jar. A pint jar is 16 oz, or 2 cups.
1 1/4 cup sugar + 2/3 cup AP flour + 1/2 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder,
Thats, 1.25 + 0.67 + 0.5, which is 2.42 cups. That’s over a pint jar.
So this is very disappointing.
Sam
Hi Chelsea! The math is actually a bit different when you are talking about fluid ounces and weighing dry ingredients in ounces. It does fit. You can see me do it in the video. 🙂
Di
Evelyn,
You have to tamp down the mix a couple of times to get it all in a pint jar, but it does fit.
Jody
I’d like to store a bunch of the mix in a bag to use when I need. I’m going to do a batch of 5 times the single amount. question is how much do I scoop out when I want to make an 8×8 inch batch?
Sam
Hi Jody! That’s a great idea! Unfortunately I have never measured if after mixing it all up. If you have a kitchen scale, I would make the mixture as you wish at the 5 times amount, weigh it, and divide by 5 to know how much to scoop out each time. I hope that helps. 🙂
Jody
why didn’t I think of that!
I weigh everything when I bake so that makes perfect sense! thanks.
Sam
The dry mix without chocolate chips is about 2 cups I doubled the recipe and have 4 cups in a jar of dry mix. Hope this helps.
Jody
good to know, thank you!
Mikayla Bloom
Hi! How much would you scoop out/add if you wanted to make a single serve brownie? I know that’s not what this recipe is necessarily for but sometimes I just don’t feel like making a whole batch.
Sam
Unfortunately, I can’t say for sure. Especially since you need to add other ingredients to bake them. 🙁
Liz Lane
I like walnuts in my brownies. How much would you recommend as an add in? I love your recipes! Thank you and Happy Holidays to you and yours!
Sam
Hi Liz! Somewhere between 1/2c to 1c would work here. 🙂
Mariah
Hi! Can I double the recipe in a 9×13 pan you think?
Sam
Sure thing! 🙂
Alison
Can you make this with any non-dairy fats instead of butter (I am dairy free) and add the 1/2 t extra of salt as directed for unsalted butter and get a tasty result? Thank you!
Sam
Hi Alison! Unfortunately I haven’t tried using a substitute so I can’t say for sure how it would turn out. If you do try it I would love to know how it goes. 🙂
Zee
Can you use canola or vegetable oil instead of butter? if so, how much would I use for this recipe?
Sam
Hi Zee! I haven’t tried it. I have done other recipes with oil and wasn’t satisfied with the results. I would try using the same amount or maybe a little bit less.