The Best Brownies
Have y’all ever been to a bake sale and seen some relatively tasty brownies perched on a pretty cake stand right in the middle of the table? Have you ever bought said brownies and grimaced, knowing that the recipe came from a box and had already gone stale from sitting out for way too long? Well, nothing is more embarrassing than being the parent who brought them. It sucks and brings the profits of your fundraiser down.
And the worst part is, if you made them at home, using my recipe, you’d probably spend the same amount of time baking them. But my recipe will give you results that’ll have your brownies flying off the cake stand in no time. So follow along and step your brownie game all the way up, alright?!!
I have spent too much time pretending to enjoy those boxed brownie recipes and leaving every function upset. Brownies take real precision to craft. It’s not a hard process at all but does require attention to detail. I know that brownies are a bake sale staple, and so you need them to impress.
My recipe is the absolute best because it emphasizes all of the best parts of a brownie. I make sure to place that decadent, chocolatey goodness all on display. I shoot for a brownie that is moist, rich and deeply flavorful. I promise you, absolutely nothing but crumbs will be leftover.
The Difference Between This Recipe And Store-bought:
When people ask me what’s the difference between at-home recipe baking and using a box, I say three things: taste, appearance and texture.
When it comes to taste, a boxed recipe will probably give you a decent flavor profile, but you won’t get the freshness and depth of taste that comes with a brownie recipe made from scratch. Just think about it – perishable items like butter, sugar, chocolate, nuts and eggs have such a forward, distinct flavor when they are fresh. That can’t be replicated in a boxed mix.
Then, there’s the question of appearance. Boxed brownie recipes don’t always look… appetizing once they’ve been baked. No shade at all, but they all have a stiffer and tougher look to them once they cool down. My recipe will look a lot more decadent and moist.
And then, the texture of store bought brownie mixes just do not end up being as moist or rich as brownies should be. They’re usually pretty tough. And that texture can be so off putting. The best part of brownies are their decadent, delicious and moist texture. And to get them to be perfect, they have to be made at home.
What About Time?
Lissssten. Time is a big factor when baking, I won’t deny that. But when you factor in the amount of time it takes to go to the store, pick a boxed mix, get back home, make it, and then play around with the recipe to get it to taste decent, you spend roughly the same amount of time making a box mix as you would making it from scratch with this recipe.
The real difference is, when you make it at home with my recipe, you’ll have a stunningly delicious brownie batch that’ll wow everyone in your life.
Pro Tips:
Use high-quality chocolate for the best results.
My favorite Cocoa powder is Hershey’s; trust me, buy it in bulk! Save money and bake a bunch!
The chocolate chips I love to use are always going to be Nestle Toll House!
If you use nuts, toast them for more depth of flavor
Using a mixture of the sugars allows the brownies to retain moisture
Always use room temp ingredients.
Sea salt at the end brings out the chocolate flavor
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The Best Brownies
What you will need:
Brownie:
½ cup salted butter
½ cup granulated white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
⅓ cup cocoa powder
½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking powder
½ cup chopped semi-sweet chocolate bar (Ghiradelli is recommended)
½ cup chopped nuts (OPTIONAL)
Sea salt for garnish
Ganache:
1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup of heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
Making the Brownies:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper
Melt the butter in a bowl, combine with your sugars, and mix them together.
Add in the eggs to that mix, one at a time until fully combined
Add in the vanilla extract to that mix.
In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients: Cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking powder, to make a dry mixture.
Add the dry mixture to your butter and sugar mix. Then, add in the chocolate and add nuts (if you want nuts!)
Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for about 25 minutes or until you can stick a toothpick into the center of the brownie and it comes out almost clean. Do not overbake or the brownies will be drier.
Making the Ganache:
Bring your heavy cream to a boil in a saucepan for the ganache.
Pour the hot cream over your chocolate chips. Add in the vanilla.
Using an immersion blender combine the ingredients until a smooth, glossy ganache is made.
Pour the ganache over the baked and cooled brownies. Top with sea salt, Slice, and enjoy!
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