First though, my apologies. I mentioned something cool and exciting coming out of my kitchen today… unfortunately, I didn’t realize the process I was undertaking was a multi-day process, so you’ll just have to bear with me and wait-and-see. If it all works out, it’s going to amaze me, that’s for certain!
Digression over, back to the brownies.
This week, as I was watching TV with my unwell son, I saw a commercial for brownie mix. The commercial was poetic and charming, and went on and on as a little boy and his mom mixed up these brownies and baked them and enjoyed them together. It really captured the bonding element of cooking with your kids.
Except it was a brownie mix. Now, I know I’ve been guilty of buying mixes myself, and each and every time I go to eat one of those brownies I am ultimately disappointed. Every time. And when I see these commercials, I just wonder what it is about baking brownies that intimidates people? When you make brownies from a mix, you generally have to empty the mix into the bowl, add some oil, add a measurement of water, and then you crack in a few eggs. Homemade brownies can be just as easy, but way more delicious in the end.
It makes me wonder if us bloggers are partly to blame for the brownie mix obsession. After all, we go on and on about our quest for perfect brownies and cookies, and perhaps, at the end of the day, the everyday person looks at all these different ways to make brownies, throws up their hands as if they’re giving up and they just grab the reliable mix. Well, let me just say that if you can make a brownie from a mix, you can make Mom’s Brownies.
I know I’ve talked about these brownies several times before here on the blog, but there just isn’t a better homemade brownie recipe for me, because this one is just as easy as making brownies from a box- honest. Many brownie recipes deal with melted chocolate, melting or not melting butter, mixing ingredients just so, using a special kind of cocoa, or baking in a particular way. This recipe is just simply foolproof, and as an added bonus, it uses oil, so if you know someone who has a dairy allergy, these brownies are perfect for them, because there is no butter or milk included. And since the chocolate element is from cocoa powder, I promise you’ll make your dairy free friend very happy.
And these brownies are so easy, even your five year old son who isn’t feeling the best can make them mostly by himself.
As far as the nuts and chocolate chips go, leave them out if you want, adapt if you want. This time around, Zander requested peanut butter chips, no nuts. Any flavored chip or chunk will work just fine, and any nuts work fine too. They’re also good with nothing added, so if you like your brownies plain, that works too. Frosting? Sure, why not? Raisins or Craisins? A little strange to me, but sure, go ahead. Caramel swirl? Buy a jar of caramel ice cream topping, and after you have the batter poured into your pan, add a few drops of caramel topping and swirl it in with a knife.
Mom’s Brownies
1/2 cup oil2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups flour 3/4 cup cocoa 1 cup nuts 1 cup chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350º
Combine oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix well. To this, add the flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa- mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts as desired. Pour in a greased 9×13 pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes- or until a toothpick comes out clean.
For more fudgy brownies, take the brownies out of the oven about 5 minutes early. Chill completely before cutting.
I’ve never bought a brownie mix. It’s so easy to make and, as you said, even kids car make them.
I posted a recipe like this last week yours look great and such a fun helper.
You neglected to mention the ultimate topper – fudge made from sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips… spread on the brownies warm from the oven. CHOCOLATE OVERLOAD!!! 🙂
Um, well, more chocolate on top of brownies… that kind of goes without saying… doesn’t it?