Ali in OR Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 So dh signed up the family for some kind of brownie baking contest at work--due tomorrow of course! I've never made homemade brownies--always use a box (Ghirardelli are awfully good). But of course we can't use a box for a contest. Can anyone post a recipe or a link to a recipe for a great brownie? Thanks. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 The Sears roebuck 1897 recipe is my go-to: 1 1/2 c (3 sticks) unsalted butter 7 sq. (7 oz.) unsweetened chocolate 2 1/4 c sifted all-purpose flour 1 1/2 ts salt 6 large eggs 3 c sugar 1 1/2 Tbs vanilla extract 4 c chopped walnuts, which I never put in. Preheat oven to 325 f; butter a 15 x 10" pan. In a small saucepan (i use a dbl boiler), melt butter and chocolate; cool. Sift flour and salt, add nuts if you are using them. In a large bowl, with electric mixer on high, beat eggs until foamy. Add sugar, then add COOLED chocolate mixture, beat just until blended. Stir in the flour mixture just until it disappears, spoon into the pan. Bake for 35 minutes (swear it always takes 45) or until a toothpick comes out almost clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes. These are rich and cake-like. They are not nutritionally sound! But they are delicious. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 My absolute favorite recipe is this one. http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/deep-dark-fudgy-brownies-recipe I don't use nuts, but always use chocolate chips. And I use water instead of coffee, but I do use the instant espresso powder. Seriously, they rock. They are even good made with my gluten-free flour blend. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Alice Medrich gets my vote, here's one: http://food52.com/blog/5926-alice-medrich-s-best-cocoa-brownies Bonus points if you can find one that uses "The Steve Ritual" 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 Alice Medrich gets my vote, here's one: http://food52.com/blog/5926-alice-medrich-s-best-cocoa-brownies Bonus points if you can find one that uses "The Steve Ritual" I read this on the linked page: But the best version happens to be the one you can make when you've eaten all the 70% bars you bought for baking, and only a forgotten tin of cocoa powder remains on the shelf. And I think that's the situation here. Not that I've eaten the baking chocolate--just that we probably don't have any since I only buy when I know I need it for a recipe. So something I can make with just cocoa is probably the way I need to go! Thanks. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostSurprise Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Alice Medrich has many brownie recipes (seriously, I don't know how she does it, most brownie recipes look the same). Her stuff is always good. The Steve Ritual can be used for any recipe. A lot depends on whether you are a fudge brownie person or a cake brownie person (or which side you lean toward). Supernatural brownies by Nick Malgieri are widely liked. They are crazy intense and are the fudgey sort. I hear the most love for this one. Ina Garten's Outrageous brownies are definitely outrageous. It's too much for me. I can only barely handle Supernatural brownies. Again, very fudgey. I use a modified version of David Lebovitz's brownie recipe. I use less chocolate (or is it butter?) than him, but I like the way he mixes unsweetened and sweetened chocolate. I always add chocolate chips to standard brownie recipes (not crazy rich ones like Supernatural brownies or Outrageous brownies). Lebovitz and Medrich can be slightly more cakey than the others if you go the full time. I personally like that. I'm not a fudge lover. The Steve Ritual mentioned above is a special way to time brownies so they aren't overcooked (more soft or fudgey). The standard recipes from Mark Bittman and the Hershey box are pretty good. More cakey. It's easy to modify them (chopped chocolate, a tsp of cardamom, some almond extract, nuts, some kind of peanut butter or cream cheese mix-in, marshmallows, peppermints, chopped cookies, caramels, dried cherries or raspberries, jam, toffee, etc.) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubie Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Easy Brownies 2 cups sugar 1 cup oil 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour 6 Tablespoons cocoa 4 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring Mix well Grease 9 / 13 pan and bake for 30 min or until toothpick comes out clean. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 So dh signed up the family for some kind of brownie baking contest at work--due tomorrow of course! I've never made homemade brownies--always use a box (Ghirardelli are awfully good). But of course we can't use a box for a contest. Can anyone post a recipe or a link to a recipe for a great brownie? Thanks. Let us know how it goes. And congratulations on making your first brownies! I think everyone should make brownies, a couple cakes, a few pies, and some cookies and muffins if only to know how easy it is to bake your own stuff. I really think those boxes are a rip off. After only eating home baked stuff for about 20 years, now box mix stuff tastes like the box it lived in for a year. :zombiechase: This is the foundation of my own brownie recipe: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/fudge-brownies-recipe One change I made is to use the special dark cocoa. It makes your homemade brownies showstoppingly dark and seriously tasty. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 My family considers these to be the best brownies ever. Dd makes them often and the kids take them to every event they need to bring something to share. They never bring any home, even if there are 5 pans of brownies there. You can add a cup of chopped nuts if you like nuts in your brownies. My kids don't, so we use the recipe exactly as is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 Well we made the Alice Medrich ones linked above. Definitely on the gooey side, but that could be because dh was in charge of getting them out of the oven at the right time while I picked up dd from soccer. We've trimmed the edges to do a little taste-testing (would never dream of submitting them without a little quality control!) and while we all eagerly snarfed down our sample and will gratefully eat any leftovers, we're guessing these won't win anything. Like I said, a little gooey. But very easy to make--I'm sure we'll be trying more of these recipes. It will take extensive testing to find the best for us, but I think we're all up for the challenge! Thanks for all of the great info! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
summerreading Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 We love: Whatever floats your boat brownies - http://www.food.com/recipe/quot-whatever-floats-your-boat-quot-brownies-32204 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Well my suggestion was going to be Grandma Ghiradelli but you already know her ::p: . Honestly, I've never had a brownie, homemade or mix, I like better. Good luck! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Cooks illustrated chewy brownies are the best ever in my world! Especially if you like a rich, moist, fudgey brownie. Edited to fix link! Sorry about that!http://www.thelittlekitchen.net/chewy-brownies-from-cooks-illustrated-cookbook-giveaway/ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Well, it's too late...but my secret ingredient that works for (nearly) every recipe is replace some liquid with a 1/4 cup or more of Kahlua. Yum, yum...and I always get compliments for brownies with Kahlua! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 I found this recipe off allrecipes.com a few years ago. it's wonderfully goey. http://allrecipes.com/search/default.aspx?qt=k&wt=bombshell%20brownies&rt=r&origin=Home%20Page I do have one a friend makes that has goey brownie, layer of raspberry jam, and then a layer of thick chocolate mousse. I'm too lazy to write it up right now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clear Creek Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Well, I once accidentally won a dessert contest with box brownies, so don't toss out that option completely. I say accidentally because the event also (separately) included a potluck, and I brought the box brownies for the potluck and they were (without my knowledge) included in the dessert contest. My secret ingredient when I make brownies (box or from scratch) is a handful of chocolate chips. The chocolate chips make it gooey and gives it a more intense chocolate flavor. I also second the recommendation for using the special dark cocoa powder. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 I found this recipe off allrecipes.com a few years ago. it's wonderfully goey. http://allrecipes.com/search/default.aspx?qt=k&wt=bombshell%20brownies&rt=r&origin=Home%20Page I do have one a friend makes that has goey brownie, layer of raspberry jam, and then a layer of thick chocolate mousse. I'm too lazy to write it up right now. Please, Gardenmom5, could you take time to write this up at some point and message me that you've done so? I'm not able to be here as often anymore, so I might miss it.) This sounds divine! TIA! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Well, I once accidentally won a dessert contest with box brownies, so don't toss out that option completely. I say accidentally because the event also (separately) included a potluck, and I brought the box brownies for the potluck and they were (without my knowledge) included in the dessert contest. My secret ingredient when I make brownies (box or from scratch) is a handful of chocolate chips. The chocolate chips make it gooey and gives it a more intense chocolate flavor. I also second the recommendation for using the special dark cocoa powder. Yep, that's what dd always did with the Ghirardelli boxed ones, and we've never brought one home. (Sadly...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Yep, that's what dd always did with the Ghirardelli boxed ones, and we've never brought one home. (Sadly...) You need to do a quality control test before you take them to your event. (IOW, cut them up and eat one!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IfIOnly Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Sometimes something different will win a contest especially if it fits a growing public need, so I'd do a gluten, dairy, egg free or low carb brownie. :) The only food contest I entered, I won 3rd place. I made bear meat chili! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted April 10, 2015 Author Share Posted April 10, 2015 Update: we actually won! Now this is just a little contest with his work group--11 entries. It probably helped that the best baker in the section was the head judge, so not an entrant. I thought they were a little too gooey, but we did use high quality cocoa (Ghirardelli), so the flavor was definitely good. But I think I'll keep trying a few other recipes that have a little more flour (this was only 1/2 cup). I have the Cooks Illustrated cookbook so maybe I'll try the chewy brownies mentioned above. The now award-winning Alice Medrich recipe does have the advantage of being incredibly simple, pretty easy, and pretty cheap. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 :party: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 I'm so impressed! Brownies are the one baked good that I don't make from scratch. I make my own pie crust, pizza crust, biscuits, cakes, you name it; but I draw the line at brownies because it just doesn't seem like homemade are any better than Ghirardelli. Perhaps I will revisit that position. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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