Quick and Tasty From-Scratch Brownies
These brownies have become a must-have at all social functions in our house. I came up with the recipe because I was utterly dissatisfied with everyone else’s from-scratch brownies and tired of buying the boxed kinds, which are so full of filler that it’s hard to find the flavor. I probably make these once a week, especially in a pinch of time; they only take about half an hour to crank out ready-to-eat. The recipe is versatile on purpose as I don’t often look at one when I make them anymore (ingrained in my memory). If you figure out cool things to do to them, share with us all so we can try, too!
*Had some ripe bananas in house the other day and got to wondering how they would do in my brownies; turns out one ripe banana added to the mix makes for a deliciously moist and fluffy chocolate banana cake! Try it sometime!
Ingredients:
1 c. sugar
1 c. flour (all-purpose is all I’ve done so far, though I want to try other flours…)
4 T. unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2 eggs
1/2 c. oil
1-2 t. vanilla (I don’t measure vanilla… I just pour until I’m satisfied)
add-in(s) of choice (chocolate chips, toffee bits, peanut butter chips or candies, m&m’s, ande’s mint baking bits, whatever else suits your fancy)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Mix all dry ingredients together. If using add-ins, add now.
3. In a small measuring cup, crack the two eggs and scramble with a fork until blended. Pour into dry ingredients, but do not mix yet. Use same measuring cup for oil and add to dry ingredients, along with vanilla.
4. Mix dry and wet together by mashing and folding with a spatula. Batter will be one big mass and not goopy/runny like store-bought junk (this is a good thing!). Make sure to get everything mixed in (watch out for the lingering powder underneath the blob).
5. Lightly spray the bottom only of an 8×8″ (for thicker brownies), 2qt. casserole (for gloriously perfect brownies), or 9×13″ pyrex dish (for thin and mildly depressing brownies) with cooking spray. I’ve never made these in anything other than pyrex, so I don’t know what advice to give you if you’re going for a metal pan (maybe someone can do it and comment?).
6. Mash brownie batter into the greased dish of your choice, smooshing it into all the corners and flattening out the top best you can. Jam it in the oven for about twelve minutes, then check with a toothpick to see if it’s done (insert about two inches from edge, pull out and see if it comes out clean or not… if so, brownies are done, if not, keep baking). Be mindful of your mix-ins when checking with the toothpick; if you stab a chocolate chip, your toothpick will come out goopy regardless of the doneness of your brownies…
7. When done, remove from oven and let cool a bit (if you can help it) before cutting.
Some other tips/ideas:
1. I often ice my brownies with random leftover cake icings or ganache in my fridge or freezer; chocolate and fresh fudge icings are best. You can make your own icing super-simply with a few often-on-hand items (powdered sugar, butter or shortening, water or milk, vanilla & cocoa or melted chocolate squares). A recipe is easy to dig up through betty crocker or on the back of your powdered sugar bag/box. It is easiest to add icing to brownies when the icing has been warmed to nearly-runny in the microwave and while the brownies are just slightly cooled on top. If you wait too long, they’ll crumble up into your icing, but the flavor won’t change, so it’s not a travesty.
2. If you enjoy fudgey brownies, I’ve found that adding a bit of water to my batter does wonders. A tablespoon or two is plenty. You can also simply decrease your baking time if you’d like, so long as the the top looks done enough.
3. Our house favorite for mix-ins is chocolate chips and Heath milk chocolate toffee bits, about a handful of each. Toffee gets annoying if you add too much, unless you like that sort of thing, then by all means, do as you wish.
4. Things I’ve yet to try as a mix-in but want to: caramel, cookie dough, raspberries, and cheesecake bits. We don’t much care for nuts in this house, but if you do, I can’t see as how adding them could hurt anything, either.
