Brownies
This is absolutely the best chocolate brownie recipe ever! I am not kidding one bit! To make them even better it’s a one pot wonder. Everything is mixed in one saucepan on your stovetop then the batter is scooped into a 12-portion brownie pan or an 8×8″ square pan. My preference is the brownie pan for a couple of reasons, firstly they bake in half the time and secondly (well, maybe firstly, lol) my family all love the outside brownies in a pan so we can have that crusty bit on the outside edge. With a brownie pan, every brownie has 4 sides of crusty bits!!!
These brownies are what everyone thinks of when they think of brownies, crispy edges, fudgy middle and a rich chocolate flavor.
I have tried (and made) a few brownies over the years but something was always not quite right. They were either too sweet or too mild or not fudgy enough, or even dry. I am a scratch baker whenever possible. I have used boxed mixes for brownies, cakes or even muffins over the years, but nothing seems to match a GOOD made from scratch recipe. This is that recipe!
These brownies don’t take much more effort than making them from a box. If you use a box mix you still have to add oil (or butter), and eggs. You have to measure a few more ingredients but I promise you that it will be worth it.
These brownies have the typical brownie ingredients, but feel free to add your own touch if you like. If you are are real chocolate lover, you could add chocolate chips, or nuts (pecans or walnuts) would also be great here.
Ingredients for the best homemade brownies:
- Unsweetened chocolate – This is a must for the rich flavor. Do not be tempted to use semi sweet as the process of melting the chocolate and butter uses a pan over heat not a double boiler, and chocolate with sugar could seize.
- Butter – Some recipes use oil but the flavor of butter here adds to the richness.
- Granulated Sugar-just enough
- Brown sugar – adds some richness
- Eggs – thicken the batter
- Unsweetened Cocoa powder – just a little extra hit of chocolate (make sure to sift it)
- Flour – not a lot, just enough to thicken the batter
- Vanilla Extract – to bump up the flavor
- Salt (especially if not adding salted nuts or if using unsalted butter)
- Nuts – Pecans and walnuts work best *optional
Brownies
Equipment
- 1 brownie pan or 8×8" square pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup pecan halves, roasted and salted *optional
- 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
- 10 ounces butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- 3 lg eggs, added one at a time
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup all purpose flour (do not sift)
- ¼ cup cocoa powder, sifted
- ½ tsp salt (do not add if adding the salted pecans)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉
- If using, Toast the 1 cup pecan halves, roasted and saltedn a saute pan with a Tbsp of butter and ½ tsp of salt, until golden brown, set aside to cool.
- In a saucepan, add 10 ounces butter and 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped, melt over medium heat
- whisk in 1 cup granulated sugar and ¾ cup light brown sugar, using a wooden spoon
- add in 3 lg eggs, added one at a time, stirring between each one.
- add in 2 tsp vanilla and 1 cup all purpose flour (do not sift)
- stir until just blended
- add ¼ cup cocoa powder, sifted
- add in ½ tsp salt (do not add if adding the salted pecans) if making plain (nut free) brownies.
- if using pecans or other nuts, chop well, make sure to reserve 12 halves for the top of each brownie.
- Pour the batter into a prepared brownie pan or 8×8" square pan
- If you are adding pecans, top each brownie with one half pecan (shelled)
- If using an individual brownie pan, bake for 18-20 minutes to until the brownies are no longer shiny. If using 8×8 bake for 40 minutes until they are no longer shiny
- Let the brownies cool in the pan for at least an hour before attempting to remove them from the pan.
- Enjoy!
Notes
