Old-fashioned homemade Hershey’s brownies are incredible! Especially when they are made from scratch with Hershey’s cocoa and simple ingredients. Satisfy your chocolate craving with these irresistible chocolate brownies.
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What makes Hershey’s cocoa brownies so good?
Brownies are an American tradition, and what’s more natural than using one of the most popular brands of cocoa powder in the US, Hershey’s 100% Cocoa Powder to bake them?
This old-school Hershey brownie recipe is very close to the one on the Hersheyland official website, but it has a few minor tweaks that deliver even better results!
If you have fond memories of your grandmother making you chocolate brownies when you were young, this will probably be very similar. And if your grandmother didn’t do that, why not start a tradition for your kids and grandchildren?
Why you’ll love Hershey cocoa powder brownies
Who can say no to brownies, especially when they are as easy to make as these? With this Hershey’s cocoa powder brownies recipe, you’ll never need to open a who-knows-how-old box of store-bought brownie mix stuffed full of preservatives ever again!
Both kids and adults love brownies, and with so many great options to customize and decorate them (see the ‘What Mix-Ins Can I Add?’ section below), you can effortlessly make ones that your family will love.
Hershey’s chocolate brownies ingredients
For the chocolate brownies, you’ll need:
- All-purpose flour
- Hershey’s 100% Cocoa Powder
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Unsalted butter
- Sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Eggs
- Walnuts pieces (optional)
Ingredient notes and substitutions
You can substitute a different brand of cocoa powder, but don’t replace it with any labeled Dutch-processed cocoa powder, or bad things could happen. Unfortunately, Hershey’s changed its Special Dark Cocoa Powder recipe by adding an alkalizing agent, making it unsuitable for this and other old-fashioned recipes.
Besides walnut pieces, consider using crushed hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios, or macadamias.
How to make Hershey’s brownies
To prepare the Hershey’s chocolate brownies batter:
- Line an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil. Lightly spritz the foil with non-stick cooking spray or brush it with butter.
- Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into a mixing bowl. Set the dry ingredients aside for later.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat.
- After the butter melts, add the sugar and vanilla extract. Whisk well until the sugar dissolves, and then remove the saucepan from the heat.
- Let the melted butter mixture cool for about five minutes. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and reserve them for later.
- Pour the eggs into the cooled melted butter mixture and stir constantly to prevent the eggs from cooking.
- In batches, add the dry ingredients to the saucepan. Use a spatula to stir well until there are no more dry patches before adding more dry ingredients.
- Stir in any nuts or other add-ins you want to include.
To bake Hershey’s cocoa powder brownies:
- Pour the brownie batter into the prepared baking tray and bake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the brownies.
- Place the baking pan on a wire rack and cool the brownies in the pan for at least 15 minutes.
- Place an upside-down wire rack on top of the pan of brownies and turn everything over.
- Carefully remove the foil and flip the brownies onto a cutting board using the same method as above.
- Cut the brownies while they are still warm, and allow them to cool to room temperature before serving or storing.
What mix-ins can I add?
Are nuts not enough for you? You can add anything else that will go well with this brownie recipe. Here are a few suggestions:
- Chocolate chips: You can always have a little more chocolate.
- Peanut Butter chips: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups fans will want to try this option.
- Mini M&MS: Super festive, especially if you match the color of the M&Ms with the colors of the holiday.
- Mini marshmallows: Marshmallows add a light and creamy element to your brownies or combine with peanut butter chips for a S’mores vibe.
- Candied orange peel: Just the right amount of citrus flavors to elevate the chocolate brownies to the next level of culinary sophistication.
How to store them
Transfer the room-temperature brownies into a non-clear, airtight container and keep them on the counter.
For longer storage, freeze the brownies on a baking tray before putting them in a freezer-safe container or plastic freezer bag.
How long will they last?
Hershey’s cocoa powder brownies should stay fresh on the counter for up to three days and in the freezer for a month.
Thaw the brownies in the fridge for at least six hours before serving. Freezing brownies can dull their flavor, and some folks find that sprinkling the tiniest amount of table salt on top of the thawed brownies really pumps up the taste of chocolate.
Do you love brownies? Try these chocolate brownie recipes
- Marbled Brownies
- Milky Way Brownies
- Turtle Brownies from Box Mix
- Sara Lee Brownies
- Creme de Menthe Brownies Recipe
Popular bars and cookies recipes
- Fudge Cookie Bars
- Old Fashioned Lemon Bars
- Hello Dolly Cookie Bar
- Almond Cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Homemade Ginger Snaps
- Grandma’s Old Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies
Be sure to check out more of my easy brownie recipes and the best copycat recipes for store-bought products and restaurant food.
These Hershey’s Brownies are a recipe from Maida Heatter’s Book of Great American Desserts. She is known for delicious desserts.
Hershey’s Brownies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup Hershey’s cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup walnuts broken into pieces (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch square pan with foil and butter the foil.
- Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
- Melt the butter in a 3-quart saucepan over moderate heat. Add the sugar and vanilla and stir to combine. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Crack the eggs into a small bowl and then add the eggs to the saucepan, stirring rapidly to avoid cooking them.
- Add the sifted dry ingredients and walnuts to the saucepan and stir.
- Spread the mixture smoothly in the prepared baking pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center just barely comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes.
- Cover the pan with a cooling rack and flip the pan over. Remove the pan and foil lining from the brownies. Then cover the brownies with a cutting board and flip them back over. Remove the cooling rack from the top of the brownies.
- Let stand until cool and cut into 16 squares.
Where’s the frosting?
This recipe does not have frosting, what type of frosting did you want? I have a good peanut butter frosting, and a cream cheese frosting.
So easy to make… moist and delicious 😋
This is my only brownie recipe! It’s 4th of July and I have a batch in the oven right now! I sprinkled some red, white and blue sprinkles on top to be festive, my adult children still ask and expect these every year!
Awww 😉 I am so glad you enjoy them!
The best fudge-like brownie I have found. So easy and so good!
I have been using this recipe for years and is a family favorite. I have made it for our family, for family get-to-gathers and also as thank you gifts for friends and neighbors. They are quick and easy to make and taste much better than a box mix.
I am so glad you enjoy these brownies!
Been making this recipe for years! Kids love them and I have a batch in the oven now, a tradition on the 4th of July!
Very good. Went fast. No leftovers. Seems to make less than a brownie box recipe so may want to double. Note that it is less sweet than a box brownie recipe.