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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Table of Contents
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.
Paulette
This is really good recipe just made these brownies.
Kathy Luna
Thank u so much for sharing this simple recipe. They were delish ????!
My family loved them. I have physical therapy tomorrow n will b baking them a batch!!!
Thank you stephaniemanley, good job ????????
Kathy
I did it by hand, no mixer. Was easy ladies.
Abbey
This is my go to brownies recipe. Made a batch yesterday and made the mistake of adding coffee extract instead of vanilla. Best mistake EVER!!!
Best brownies
These are the best homemade brownies I have ever eaten the a chewy and chocolaty!! But I usually double it!!
Stephanie
I am glad you enjoy this recipe.
Jill
Do you bake a double batch in a 9 x 13? How long?
Marilyn Torrance
I have been cooking/baking for almost 50 years, I’m 67 years old. I had 3 growing boys and a husband to feed, so they endured many new recipes and my old standbys or recipes handed down from my mom and granny. I’ve prepared Thanksgiving/Christmas dinners for 20 to 30 people. My sons have always been good about helping, all 3 are good cooks. The past few years my daughter-in-laws have stepped in and helped prepare some foods. With arthritis in my knees the past 8 years, it has been more difficult to be on my feet in the kitchen for long periods of time.
I’ve prepared so many recipes, but one I have never been able to make a recipe I liked and that is. . . .homemade brownies. I’ve tried numerous recipes over the years, they either come out dry and crumbly, too thin and smooth on top like a cake. I’ve always had better luck with Betty Crocker’s brownie mixes.
So I thought I would try the recipe for brownies on this site. I just got them out of the oven and sad to say, they are thin and smooth like a cake. I’m letting them cool now. I followed the recipe exactly. Except for when I mixed in the dry ingredients, I noticed little lumps (I sifted the dry ingredients) in the batter, so without thinking I automatically started beating the batter with my wooden spoon, but just for a minute and then realized that wasn’t suppose to be done. ha ha
I wonder if that little bit of beating of the batter caused the brownie to be thin and smooth instead of having a crackled top? I am willing to try the recipe again another time and not do any beating of the batter. I had/have high hopes for the brownie recipe.
Stephanie
I am sure you are a great cook. It sounds like you are well-seasoned cook with a lot of cooking knowledge. I am currently attending culinary school, so I know what you mean when you say your knees hurt because you have been on your feet.
Let’s look at some things that may have happened there. It is possible the brownies were beaten a little too much, I only mix mine until everything is fairly well stirred up and all of the flour is moistened. You may want to make sure everything is at room temperature, so everything cooks evenly. One other tip I would have is to try to undercook your brownies, that way they won’t be hard.
I know that when I have used a fancy stand mixer on a boxed cake mix, I have beaten the mix way too much and I have had bad results. I hope this helps.
Brooke Gazer
I made them in cupcake tins and put another tin cupcake tray over top so that they come out like bowls and you can fill them wiht ice cream. You need to bake them a bit longer but the ywere GREAT. thanks
Kim
Good brownie recipe.
Brownies came out delicious;-)
Rebecca
These brownies were terrible! Way too cakey and dry!! 0/10 🙁
Tina
You could have been the one who messed them up not her recipe??
Meemz
But where’s the Hershey’s in the brownies?
Patricia Weigand
I’m sure Stephanie meant Hershey’s cocoa.
ashley bush
I have been trying to make homemade brownies for the past two years and every single one came out WAY to cakey. I stumbled across this recipe on pinterest and I have to say I am completely in love!! I did however use 1/3 cup coconut oil because I was out of butter and I put them in mini muffin liners, baked about 15 minutes give or take and they were sooo delicious! I’m making them again tonight with butter. I think either way they are still the best recipe I have ever had. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe
Stephanie Manley
I am happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe.. I don’t like cakey brownies either.
Howard Reichert
Sounds pretty interesting. I’m going to try that for a different way of eating brownies. Thanks for letting us know.
Jade2011
I followed the recipe to a T they took 25 min in my oven , I checked them with a toothpick. They are the most decadent, awesome brownie I have ever had! I am never using another recipe for brownies! I got so many compliments! Thank you Stephanie!
stephaniemanley
I am so happy these turned out well for you. I have always had great luck with this recipe. It is one of my go-to recipes for homemade brownies.
mandie
Made these today, turned out wonderful, nice texture and flavor.
tatiana
i tried more then 20 recipes over the years, and this was the only one that was not a brownie, it turned out like a regular chocolate cake, no crumbly texture, no fudgy inside, i was dissapointed
mandie
The key is not to over mix the batter, just fold in and hand mix until all is wet, Do not use a mixer as this creates air and cake like batter.
Its Andrea
weird! ive done this twice and both times it was the best brownie ever
Stephanie Manley
I am glad to hear you enjoy this recipe. Homemade always beats boxed mixes.
Sri
I tried it this morning. I do have some questions if someone can help answer for me.
It sayd to melt the butter. Then adds the sugar, vanilla, and egg. So, the question is do I need to wait till the butter is warm before adding the sugar, etc? Or, just dump it in straight while the butter is still hot?
Also, for some weird reason the top of my brownie is more cake like instead of crackly. it has lots of bubbles. Can someone help me figure out what I did wrong?
Thank you very much!
Sri
stephaniemanley
You don’t need to wait for the butter to cool. I will assume you gently melted the butter until it just melted.
The batter could have been over stirred to create the bubbles, you really should just stir it just enough until it is well blended. Also you may want to consider using a timer to make sure the brownie does not get over cooked.
Hope this helps.
Joanne
Stephanie,
I’ve made these brownies which are really good (My preference – plain brownies.) Told my sister in law about them cause she is planning on making these. She asked me about pouring half the batter in and then adding 1 can of Cherry Pie Filing and pour the rest of the Brownie batter on top of that and bake. I’ve never done this myself.
My question is…should it be baked longer and for how long and temp. stay the same?
Joanne
Stephanie
Thanks for your question. I would keep the temperature the same, and I would bake them for as long, but you will need to test them carefully for doneness. Be sure to poke with a toothpick, and check. It may come out with filling, but make sure it isn’t coming out with brownie batter. Good luck!
Jennifer C.
Can you double this recipe to make a 9×13 of brownies instead – also where’s the hershey’s in the recipe?
stephaniemanley
I would believe so.
Its Andrea
the hersheys is the cocoa powder.
lulu
BEST BROWNIE RECIPE EVER!!!
Mari
Made these tonight, and the kids loves them. I added powdered sugar sprinkled on top.
Dee
Tired this recipe and love it, I did however use veg. oil instead of butter
mira
How much oil did you use in replace of the butter ?
Thisheartdreams
Those brownies look amazing!
Michelle
I’m just getting ready to take these out of the oven. the batter tasted like chocolately goodness! Glad to find you on Facebook…