Homemade brownies, warm from the oven are about as good as it gets. There's no need to use a store-bought, boxed brownie mix. Make your own Homemade Brownie Mix from scratch and enjoy freshly baked brownies any time you're craving the richest, most chocolaty brownies ever.
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Ingredients to Have on Hand
Chocolate is a wonderful ingredient for so many classic desserts, like Old Fashioned Chocolate Pound Cake. And ingredients for Homemade Brownie Mix are pantry staples, and easy to keep on hand.
- Flour
- Sugar
- Cocoa Powder
- Vanilla Extract
- Butter
Scroll to the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
No Salt, No Baking Powder
Believe it or not, you don't need either salt or baking powder for this homemade brownie mix recipe.
Usually salt helps bring out the best flavor in recipes with chocolate, but with this brownie mix recipe you can rest assured that both of those ingredients can stay put in your spice cabinet.
Easy to Make Brownies
Scratch-made brownies are so much better than what we get in a box. Homemade Brownie Mix offers the same convenience as a store-bought brownie mix, but this is from your pantry shelf, not the grocery shelf.
Be assured, this is one of the easiest brownie recipes EVER.
Easy to make desserts and treats and so much fun to share, my Fresh Apple Cake recipe is an example of another sweet option that uses few ingredients but has incredible flavor.
Great for Gifts
Homemade Brownie Mix is great to keep on hand in your pantry. But it's also a delightful gift to share any time you want to offer a sweet treat to a neighbor, a teacher or to take along as a hostess gift.
As a bonus, I like to include a small jar of vanilla extract with the gift. It's an especially nice touch if you are giving it to someone who may not normally bake from scratch and might not have vanilla extract on hand.
Frosting or No Frosting
These chewy, fudge-like brownies are fantastic with or without frosting. Each serving is rich with plenty of sweetness as-is.
If you have a favorite chocolate or vanilla frosting that your family loves then by all means layer that on top.
Homemade Brownie Mix Storage
The dry, homemade brownie mix ingredients will stay fresh and ready to bake for as long as the expiration dates on the ingredients you use.
Pro Tip: I like to buy the flour, sugar and cocoa powder from the grocery store shortly before I prepare the mix to help ensure I'm using the freshest dry ingredients possible.
The brownie mix will stay fresh for an estimated 3-6 months in your pantry.
Recipe FAQs
In many baking recipes you can make that substitution, but I don't recommend making the swap with brownies. Shortening and butter are two very different ingredients.
Shortening is made with hydrogenated vegetable oil, has no water and no taste. Butter is 80% butterfat and 20% water (occurring naturally).
As we all know, butter adds delicious flavor to baked goodies.
As an option, margarine is a better substitute for butter in this recipe.
A quart-sized container is perfect, but any covered or sealed bag or jar that holds 4 cups will work great.
Pro Tip: If you use this brownie mix as an edible gift, be sure to include the list of the additional ingredients and baking instructions on a tag or sticker (see below) so your recipient knows how to bake their brownies from scratch.
What to Write on a Gift Tag
Either copy and paste these instructions onto a label for printing or write them on a recipe card to include with the homemade brownie mix.
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 13”x9” baking pan or spray with Pam.
- Combine the brownie mix ingredients with 1 cup melted butter, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract and four eggs.
- Stir to combine.
- Pour into the baking pan and bake for 24-30 minutes or until the edges begin to pull away from the side of the pan.
- Remove from the oven and cool before cutting into bars
The Inspiration for Homemade Brownie Mix
This brownie recipe was kindly shared by Byron Yankey, a friend of my husband. Byron spent 50 years in public education, much of that time as a teacher and a principal.
Byron says he took these brownies to countless meetings across the state of Idaho. "They are often more welcome than I am," he said.
He estimates that he makes about 100 batches a year.
Thank you Byron for sharing your fantastic recipe with the Crinkled Cookbook!
Note: I've adapted the recipe only to add the option of preparing it as a mix but the ingredient list and instructions are all Byron's.
Cookies and Treats
Here are a few more sweet treats to enjoy!
If you tried Homemade Brownie Mix or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below.
Addie says
This is such a great idea! I’d love to gift this brownie mix to family and friends!
Melinda O'Malley Keckler says
Thanks Addie! This gift in a jar is super easy for the recipient to make too. 🙂 Thanks for the five star rating!
Nora says
In my opinion, it's great to always have a brownie mix at home! And it is so easy! Thanks for the recipe!
Freya says
Such a simple idea, I love that I can have brownies whenever I want now!
Melinda O'Malley Keckler says
I agree Freya, and scratch-made brownies any time are truly the best!
Jerika says
I love homemade brownies!:) YUM! Thank you for sharing your freshly baked brownies recipe.:)
Andrea says
love how simple the recipe ingredient list is for this brownie mix! so simple, sweet and delicious!
Melissa Jensen says
I can't wait to try! This would be a great Christmas gift for neighbors -- homemade Brownie Mix!
Melinda O'Malley Keckler says
Thanks Melissa! Please share pictures of your jars if you make them at Christmastime @crinkledcookbook. I have a feeling they will be BEAUTIFUL! 🙂