Devan at All D’s has got me in the mood for brownies, and I don’t like my recipe. My complaint is that it’s not very chocolatey, and I think there’s a funny stale taste to them, and the middle is often too moist when the edges are too done. Here it is:
Swistle’s Unsatisfactory Brownie Recipe
2 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
1/2 c. shortening
2 eggs
1 c. sugar
3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
In a small saucepan, melt chocolate and shortening.
In mixer, beat eggs. Mix in sugar and melted chocolate/shortening. Add dry ingredients. Add vanilla. Pour into greased 8×8 pan. Bake 350 for 20-25 minutes.
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I don’t like my recipe. I want YOUR recipe. Send it to me, or post it in the comments. I usually get, like, ONE response to these recipe requests, but this is a pregnant woman emergency, people. I must have chocolate brownies, and I must have them now. Also, frosting is nice but what I’m looking for is the basic chocolate brownie recipe, nothing fancied up.
Hmm, my brownie recipe is: Add two eggs and 1/2 cup oil, beat with packaged mix until free of lumps. So uh, if what you’re craving is brownies from scratch, I can only say good luck.
I’m going to have to pinpoint the unsweetened baking chocolate as the stale-flavor culprit. That stuff tastes like straight gramma’s attic if you ask me.
I cannot resist the call of the recipe, so even though this isn’t a brownie recipe, if you want MORE CHOCOLATELY you pretty much can’t go wrong here:
CHOCOLATE REVEL BARS
2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup softened butter
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
3 cups quick cooking oats
12 oz. package chocolate chips (emphatically NOT unsweetened)
2 Tbsp. butter
14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
Dash salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 tsp. vanilla
Beat sugar and 1 cup butter together until fluffy. Add eggs and 2 tsp. vanilla. Mix well. In a small bowl, stir together flour, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. baking soda, and 3 cups oatmeal. Add to sugar and butter mix. Mix well. Pat 2/3 of mix into an ungreased 9×13 pan. Set aside the rest of the mix. In a heavy saucepan, melt 2 Tbsp. butter and chocolate chips. Add sweetened condensed milk and dash salt. Mix well. Remove from heat. Add chopped nuts and 2 tsp. vanilla. Spread chocolate over oatmeal in pan. Dot with remaining oatmeal mix. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.
D.H.: Ha ha! Want to recommend a favorite mix? I like brownie mixes, too.
Tessie: I knew I could count on my recipe girl. Baking chocolate is the problem, hm? I wonder if I could substitute something else? Is cocoa just as bad? What about melting actual chocolate, and reducing the sugar?
LOL I am so, totally with desperate. That’s what I came in here to post. I like the.. uh.. kind in the red box. Duncan Hines I guess? And Shop Rite’s brand of cake and brownies is pretty good for what it is.
I use the triple chocolate chunk box mix from SAM’s club. ;)
this is my first ever blog comment so forgive me if it comes out all wonky. but here’s a recipe for some good brownies, i also have a recipe for triple chocolate brownies, but that might be too much chocolate for you?
here goes:
1 1/4 cup cake flour
1/2 tsp table salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
6 oz unsweetened chocolate (chopped fine)
12 tbsp unsalted butter (cut up)
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 13 x 9 inch baking pan with cooking spray.
Combine flour, salt, and baking powder in bowl, set aside.
Melt chocolate and butter in the microwave (45 sec, stir, 30 sec, stir, 15 sec intervals til melted).
When it’s nice and melty mix in sugar a third at a time.
Then the eggs one at a time.
Then the vanilla.
Then the flour mixture a third at a time until all incorporated.
The batter will be thick so you’ll have to spread it into the pan.
Bake for 30-35 min.
Let them cool as long as you can and enjoy.
I hope this helps. Let me know if you want the triple chocolate brownies.
My favorite brownie recipie is also whatever it says on the back of my brownie mix box. They’re kind of pricey, but the girhideli or godiva ones are WORTH IT. Good luck Swistle!
This recipe came from my newspaper’s food section and they are awesome.
MAN-CATCHER BROWNIES
Makes twenty-four 2 1/4-by-2-inch brownies (can be halved)
Ingredients:
* 12 ounces (3 sticks) unsalted butter
* 2 cups cocoa powder, sifted (natural, not Dutch processed)
* 6 large eggs
* 2 cups sugar
* 2 cups packed light brown sugar
* 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
* 2 cups flour
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-by-13-inch pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking oil spray.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from the heat and add the cocoa powder, stirring to combine. Let cool slightly.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs together, then add the sugars and vanilla extract, stirring to combine. Add the cooled butter-chocolate mixture, then fold in the flour and salt until just combined; do not overmix. Spread the batter evenly in the pan, making sure the corners are filled. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a crust forms on the surface and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack; cool completely before cutting the brownies.
Nice twist to the boxed brownies… Add 1/2 cup peanut butter into the mix. MMMmm!
Janet, I don’t know about swistle, but I want the triple chocolate!!!
6 months ago I could have offered up the best brownie recipe. I could make brownies like nobody’s business. But, I didn’t make them for a few months and completely lost my knack for them. Sigh. I either over or underbake them now. It’s the King’s fav goodie too.
I hope you find a good one!
This is a recipe my Grandma swears by.
13 Tablespoons butter (no substitute)
6 & 1/2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped (she usually doesn’t chop hers)
1.5 cups sifted flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1.25 teaspoon vanilla
1.25 cup chopped walnuts, toasted*
Grease a 9″ x 13″ cake pan. In a heavy small pan, heat butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly till melted and smooth. Cool to lukewarm.
Stir together flour, baking powder & salt. Beat eggs and sugar on high with electric mixer for 5 minutes till lemon colored and fluffy. Scrape sides of bowl often. Add cooled chocolate mixture & vanilla and beat on low till combined. Add the flour mixture. Beat on low till combined, scraping sides often. Stir in nuts. Spread in pan. Bake at 325 for 30 min. or till appears set. Cool in pan on wire rack.
*To toast the chopped walnuts, pour into a shallow baking pan, like a pie pan.
Toast in oven at 350 degrees for about 7-8 minutes, stirring often and watching closely so they don’t burn.
Buy this brand of brownie mix. Cook for maybe ten minutes less than the box says to. MMMMMM.
Duncan Heinz triple chocolate brownie mix! It’s the best ever, Swistle, but I repeat… it must be the TRIPLE CHOCOLATE variety!
You will not be sorry. People love me because of these brownies, and they are from a BOX, people!
GO out and buy them right now! (That’s how strongly I feel about these brownies!)
=)
Janet: Hi! Look at you, commenting like a pro! YES, I would love to have the triple-chocolate recipe too!
Kathi: “MAN-CATCHER” brownies? How very 1940s! I like the sound of all that butter.
Mimi: I am on my way to the car.
Looks like you probably have more than you can handle, but a favorite TV show reviews products, and (though it was cake, not brownies) they chose Betty Crocker:
http://www.wnetwork.com/tv_shows/shows/The_Shopping_Bags/ViewProduct.asp?ID=305&View=OUR
Here’s my sister’s secret recipe: Buy generic brownie mix and use olive oil instead of vegetable or canola oil. Moist, fudgy brownies will be yours.
Hmm…that link didn’t work. It’s “The Shopping Bags”. Just google it. If you look under product reviews and Cake Mixes, you’ll find the reviews and comparisons.
I started Weight Watchers this week and now I must have brownie.
Damn you, Swistle! Damn you AND your brownies!!!!!!!!!!
This is my recipe…frosting is optional :)
½ cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 (1 oz) squares of semi-sweet chocolate
¾ cup sifted flour
½ cup chopped nuts (optional)
Frosting:
2 (1 oz) squares of semi-sweet chocolate
3 tbsp butter
1 ½ cups icing sugar
1 tbsp milk
In medium saucepan melt chocolate and butter. Remove from heat, cool slightly. Stir in sugar. Blend in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla, stir in flour and nuts.
Mix well but do not beat. Pour into 8×8 inch buttered pan. Bake at 325°F for about 25 minutes. Be careful not to overbake and lose fudgeness.
To make icing, melt chocolate with butter. Add icing sugar and milk, keep stirring and keep pan on low heat while mixing. Add more milk or sugar if needed for texture. When ready, spread on brownies.
Honestly. I love fudge brownies from the box. They are hard to beat. Well, not too hard if you’ve got an electric mixer. But taste-wise, they are yummier than a lot of scratch brownies I’ve had. Good luck to ya.
Erica: WITH vanilla ice cream, I think, don’t you? In for a penny, in for a pound (or possibly 5 pounds).
Heres my favorite recipe! I always double this and add a whole 2 cups of chocolate chips to the batter. Yummy!!
Best Brownies
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 eggs
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/3 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
* 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup chopped nuts(optional)
* CREAMY BROWNIE FROSTING(recipe follows)
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 9-inch square baking pan.
2. Stir together butter, sugar and vanilla in bowl. Add eggs; beat well with spoon. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually add to egg mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in nuts, if desired. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan.
3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into squares. About 16 brownies.
My from scratch recipe uses the cocoa powder and it is awesome. A couple years ago I started adding a big squirt of hearshey’s dark chocolate syrup to my scratch and box brownies. Just makes them richer and yummy-er. As for the soft in the middle, that’s my favorite part.
This is my best recipe. I posted it a while back on my blog. It is for a deep, fudgy, cakey but chewy at the edges brownie.
I would not call these “Man Catcher” brownies (although I will absolutely try Kathi’s recipe this weekend). I would call them Best Girlfriend Has the Blues Brownies.
http://mommycakes.blogspot.com/2006/07/brownies-for-happy-fun-ball.html
The Betty Crocker mix with the Hershey’s syrup package. . . I’ve never had brownies I like better than those.
Why look for a brownie recipe when Ghiradelli makes heaven in a freaking BOX?? The chocolate syrup brownies are to die for!
I have two recipes that girlfriends have given me:
Rosie’s Award Winning Brownies
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
8 tbsps unsalted butter, at room temperature (1 stick)
1 1/4 cups plus 1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsps chopped walnuts (optional)
Preheat the oven to 325’F. Lightly grease an 8″ square pan with butter or vegetable oil.
Melt the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler placed over simmering water. Cool the mixture for 5 minutes. Place the sugar in a medium-size mixing bowl and pour in the chocolate mixture. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, mix until blended, about 25 seconds. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula.
Add the vanilla. With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the eggs one at a time, blending after each addition until the yolk is broken and dispersed, about 10 seconds. Scrape the bowl after the last egg and blend until velvety, about 15 more seconds.
Add the flour on low speed and mix for 20 seconds. Finish the mixing. Stir in ½ cup of the nuts.
Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of nuts over the top.
Bake the brownies on the center oven rack until a thin crust forms on top and a tester inserted in the center comes out with a moist crumb, about 35 minutes. The center of the brownies should never quite rise to the height of the edges.
Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a rack to cool for 1 hour before cutting the brownies. Serve the next day – it takes a day for the flavor to set.
Makes 9-12 brownies.
(From “Rosie’s Bakery All Butter, Fresh Cream, Sugar-Packed, No-Holds-Barred Baking Book” by Judy Rosenberg)
And if you like SUPER CHOCOLATEY brownies, this is the recipe for you. It is too much for Jeff and I only like it really once it has sat a couple of days.
Cocoa Brownies
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown
Soft butter, for greasing the pan
Flour, for dusting the buttered pan
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar, sifted
1 cup brown sugar, sifted
8 ounces melted butter
11/4 cups cocoa, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon kosher saltPreheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Butter and flour an 8-inch square pan.
In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs at medium speed until fluffy and light yellow. Add both sugars. Add remaining ingredients, and mix to combine.
Pour the batter into a greased and floured 8-inch square pan and bake for 45 minutes. Check for doneness with the tried-and-true toothpick method: a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan should come out clean. When it’s done, remove to a rack to cool. Resist the temptation to cut into it until it’s mostly cool.
Here’s a recipe that I used to make all the time. They are tasty! I mostly used this particular recipe, because it used ingredients that I always have on hand. And I don’t like having to do too many steps. Now I use box mixes, because it’s easier.
(See the “lite” part makes it better for you, so you can eat these yummy brownies guilt-free. *The whole pan.*)
CHOCO-LITE BROWNIES
2/3 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup margarine or butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs, slightly beaten
Powered sugar
Heat oven to 350. Grease and flour bottom only of 8-inch square pan. In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt; blend well. Add margarine, vanilla, and eggs; stir just to combine. Pour into greased and floured pan.
Bake at 350 for 18 to 23 minutes or until set. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cool completely. Cut into bars.
i love all these good recipes. i may never use them however b/c brownies from the box are just too good and easy. i like duncan hines personally! :)
delurking to tell you about the best brownies ever (not that I have the recipe on me or anything). Look up the “supernatural brownies” from a recent NY Times Food section article (maybe a week or two old? could probably also google it). They have 2 sticks of butter and 8 oz of bittersweet chocolate, and are the BEST I HAVE EVER MADE.