Brownies are tricky. Amidst all my baking escapades during the past few years, I haven’t been able to perfect a homemade brownie. It’s certainly possible that I’m doing something wrong: mixing things too much, not enough or not in the right order. But for the most part, I blame the box. Boxed brownies that is. Yes, boxed brownies have ruined me.
Jared and I have discussed this brownie business at length (pretty common conversation, right?), and sometime during the summer we decided to attack the trouble head on. We sifted through dozens of brownie recipes online before settling on the one we wanted to try: chewy fudge brownies from the New York Times (click here for recipe), minus the walnuts, y’all.
This was a quite a process. We made a special trip to Hy-Vee to gather all the ingredients, melted chocolate in a saucepan, sifted our flour to bits and did all the detailed steps deemed necessary to produce top-notch brownies. And after 30ish minutes of constructing, 30-plus minutes of baking and another hour of required resting (the brownies, not us. Bahaha!), we cut two generous pieces from the pan (a middle for Jared, a corner for me) and sat down with a cup of coffee to enjoy our homemade snack.
Whoo doggie. I have never had something so crazy sweet or so crazy rich in my entire life. Lesson No. 1 when eating homemade, non-box brownies: portion control. Don’t get me wrong, they were very, very good (Jared has made quite a few requests for the Richest Brownies on Earth since then), but a little goes a long way. And to be completely honest, I still prefer the stuff from the box. See, I told you; boxed brownies have ruined me. I don’t know the good stuff when it’s staring me right in the plate. Ho hum. Here’s hoping my taste buds will someday mature.
While we’re on the subject of brownies, I thought I’d share my recent brownie-baking experience. This year for Christmas, my little brother, who can put away chocolate like nobody’s business, received the Perfect Brownie Pan (as in the As Seen on TV product that promises to deliver 12 perfect brownies every time — all perfect squares, equally sized, with four crunchy edges and a soft center). So we gave it a whirl. And by we, I mean me. (After asking if I wanted to help whip up a batch of brownies, my brother mysteriously disappeared until the process was near completion. Hmm…)
Despite an excessive use of cooking spray, the brownies stuck to the pan like crazy and had to be sawed out with a knife. But besides that, it was a pretty nifty little gizmo. And we did get 12 perfect brownies (perfect as defined by corner-lovers, not the middle-lovin’ sorts). I’m not rushing to the store to get one of my own anytime soon, but it was a mighty fun experiment.
So where do you stand on the brownie front? Do you have a made-from-scratch recipe you can’t get enough of? Or are boxed brownies more your style? Have any As Seen on TV products found a home in your kitchen? Do tell!
XO,
Katrina
Hi Katrina! Ghiardelli brownie mix is the best box-mix
brownie I’ve found. For homemade ones, my favorite recipe is one
with cocoa powder, melted butter and lots of brown sugar. I’m
convinced that it is the brown sugar that gives these brownies
their chewy, almost caramely texture. Mmm brownies…this is a
dangerous post just after holiday feasting. I have no business
baking but you may have persuaded me otherwise. 🙂
Ooo! The Ghirardelli brownie mix is our favorite, too! My grandma mixed three boxes of it in a gigantic cake pan a few months ago, and we had the biggest, thickest brownies on the history of the planet! Sooo good!
Your brown sugar trick sounds mighty smart. That chewy texture is definitely what a lot of the homemade brownies seem to be missing, so I’ll definitely try that next time. Thanks for the tip!
Happy baking to you!
Brownies were the first thing I learned to bake, boxed and then when I started delving into homemade goodies. They hold a special little place in my kitchen and heart. The first homemade brownie recipe I tried and best so far is from “Baked: New Frontiers in Baking.” I wrote about the recipe on my blog way back when: http://teaatelevensies.com/2009/04/24/11-ounces-of-chocolate-2-sticks-of-butter-and-5-eggs-later/
Another good trick that I love is using the box brownie mix, but putting a layer of Symphony chocolate bars in the center. It’s fast and easy, but takes the box brownie up a notch.
Your brownies look delicious, Charlotte! Great photos, too! It sounds like a super yummy recipe. A definite must-try!!!
I also love your idea of snazzying up the boxed brownies. Chocolate + chocolate = mmm.