Plain Old Brownies Recipes

QUICK AND EASY BROWNIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch pan.
• Combine the melted butter, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, eggs, flour, baking powder, and salt. Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Decorate with walnut halves, if desired.
• Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with crumbs, not wet. Cool on wire rack.

PLAIN-OLD BROWNIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F (175C).
• Line a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with foil (allowing two edges to protrude and be used as ‘handles’ when removing the brownies) and butter foil and any part of pan that has exposed sides.
• Melt chocolate with butter and allow to cool slightly (I melt mine, carefully, in the microwave – it doesn’t take much more than a minute).
• Beat eggs slightly with vanilla.
• Gradually beat in sugar and continue to beat for 2-3 minutes.
• Blend in warm chocolate mixture.
• Stir in flour.
• Spread in prepared pan.
• Sprinkle nuts over top.
• Bake about 45-50 minutes.
• Cool in pan for 15 minutes then gently pry out of pan, using foil handles.
• Cool completely.
• Melt chocolate with butter for topping; drizzle over brownies using tines of fork.
• Let stand until chocolate is firm before cutting.

GRANDMA'S OLD FASHIONED BROWNIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F
• Melt butter in microwave.
• Add the cocoa and stir.
• In medium bowl beat eggs until frothy.
• Add sugar, flour, and salt (also nuts if you are using them).
• Pour cocoa mixture over egg mixture and stir all together.
• Put into a greased 8 x 8 pan. Bake for 30 minutes.
• For a doubled recipe use a 9 x 13 pan.
• Icing, recipe below.
• Icing for Best Ever Brownies:
• 1 1/3 cup icing sugar.
• 1/3 cup cocoa.
• 3 tbsp butter or margarine.
• 1 tbsp & 2 tsp hot water
• Beat all ingredients together, add more liquid if necessary.
• Spread over brownies.

ABSOLUTELY BEST BROWNIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8x8 or 9x9 inch baking pan.
• In a medium bowl, beat together the butter and sugar. Add eggs, and mix well. Combine the flour, cocoa and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Mix in the vanilla and stir in walnuts if desired. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are firm. Cool before cutting into squares.

COCOA BROWNIES

Steps:

• Preheat 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.

BEST EVER CHOCOLATE BROWNIES RECIPE

Steps:

• Cut 185g unsalted butter into small cubes and tip into a medium bowl. Break 185g dark chocolate into small pieces and drop into the bowl.
• Fill a small saucepan about a quarter full with hot water, then sit the bowl on top so it rests on the rim of the pan, not touching the water. Put over a low heat until the butter and chocolate have melted, stirring occasionally to mix them.
• Remove the bowl from the pan. Alternatively, cover the bowl loosely with cling film and put in the microwave for 2 minutes on High. Leave the melted mixture to cool to room temperature.
• While you wait for the chocolate to cool, position a shelf in the middle of your oven and turn the oven on to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
• Using a shallow 20cm square tin, cut out a square of non-stick baking parchment to line the base. Tip 85g plain flour and 40g cocoa powder into a sieve held over a medium bowl. Tap and shake the sieve so they run through together and you get rid of any lumps.
• Chop 50g white chocolate and 50g milk chocolate into chunks on a board.
• Break 3 large eggs into a large bowl and tip in 275g golden caster sugar. With an electric mixer on maximum speed, whisk the eggs and sugar. They will look thick and creamy, like a milk shake. This can take 3-8 minutes, depending on how powerful your mixer is. You'll know it's ready when the mixture becomes really pale and about double its original volume. Another check is to turn off the mixer, lift out the beaters and wiggle them from side to side. If the mixture that runs off the beaters leaves a trail on the surface of the mixture in the bowl for a second or two, you're there.
• Pour the cooled chocolate mixture over the eggy mousse, then gently fold together with a rubber spatula. Plunge the spatula in at one side, take it underneath and bring it up the opposite side and in again at the middle. Continue going under and over in a figure of eight, moving the bowl round after each folding so you can get at it from all sides, until the two mixtures are one and the colour is a mottled dark brown. The idea is to marry them without knocking out the air, so be as gentle and slow as you like.
• Hold the sieve over the bowl of eggy chocolate mixture and resift the cocoa and flour mixture, shaking the sieve from side to side, to cover the top evenly.
• Gently fold in this powder using the same figure of eight action as before. The mixture will look dry and dusty at first, and a bit unpromising, but if you keep going very gently and patiently, it will end up looking gungy and fudgy. Stop just before you feel you should, as you don't want to overdo this mixing.
• Finally, stir in the white and milk chocolate chunks until they're dotted throughout.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, scraping every bit out of the bowl with the spatula. Gently ease the mixture into the corners of the tin and paddle the spatula from side to side across the top to level it.
• Put in the oven and set your timer for 25 mins. When the buzzer goes, open the oven, pull the shelf out a bit and gently shake the tin. If the brownie wobbles in the middle, it's not quite done, so slide it back in and bake for another 5 minutes until the top has a shiny, papery crust and the sides are just beginning to come away from the tin. Take out of the oven.
• Leave the whole thing in the tin until completely cold, then, if you're using the brownie tin, lift up the protruding rim slightly and slide the uncut brownie out on its base. If you're using a normal tin, lift out the brownie with the foil. Cut into quarters, then cut each quarter into four squares and finally into triangles.
• They'll keep in an airtight container for a good two weeks and in the freezer for up to a month.

BLONDE BROWNIES I

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Grease a 9x9-inch baking pan.
• Measure 1 cup sifted flour. Add baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Sift again. Add 1/2 cup chopped nuts. Mix well and set aside.
• Stir the brown sugar into the melted butter and mix well. Cool slightly.
• Mix the beaten egg and vanilla into the brown sugar mixture. Add flour mixture, a little at a time, mixing just until combined.
• Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle 1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips on top. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes.