AuthorSarah RacineYield- 24 total brownies, 2 inch squares
Love boxed brownies, but hate the additives? These will make you forget all about the box!!! Made without any equipment, this is the easiest baking project that can really be completed and served in under an hour. The fudgy texture, simple ingredient list, and addictive crackly tops will keep you and others hooked. With endless customizability, you'll love your specially curated creation featuring extra chocolate, cookie pieces, marshmallows, and more!
350F, or 325F convection, middle rack
Grease and line the bottom of a large sheet pan or 9 x 13 pan with parchment that sticks out of each edge for easy removal.
In a 5-6 quart bowl, mix in this order.
-white sugar, brown sugar, and melted butter- whisk until smooth, for 5 minutes . This might seem like a long time to mix, but this long mixing time helps ensure that the tops of your brownies will be shiny and crackly.
-Egg and extract, whisk until very smooth, for 3 minutes .
-Take all dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, salt) and whisk in a separate bowl for 30 seconds to combine. This might seem superfluous, but this process helps to properly suspend ingredients of different densities.
-Switch to silicone spatula or wooden spoon before mixing dry ingredients!
-Gently stir in dry ingredients until batter just comes together, 45 seconds , DO NOT OVERMIX! You want to develop as little gluten as possible to prevent a tough and dry texture.
Once all dry pockets are gone, feel free to add mix-ins if you desire.
-Pour batter into prepared pan and spread batter evenly to each corner of the pan to ensure an even top.
-Bake in the oven until edges are set, and the middle of the brownies spring back slightly when lightly poked. A skewer test should yield a clean prick as well. This should take about 18 minutes.
Let cool to room temperature.
-To ensure clean cuts, make sure your brownies are completely cool.
-For pristine cuts: Remove the brownies from pan completely and place the slab on a cutting board. Use a large chef's knife and dip your knife completely in hot water, dry, and make one long straight cut, dipping and drying between each cut. This cutting hack will work almost as well if brownies remain in the pan, if desired.
Do you want to build your own variation?
You can use up to 3 tsp of any extract you desire. You can mix and match, using 1 tsp of multiple complementary flavors, such as vanilla & almond, coffee & hazelnut, etc.). Another fun variation is to do 1 cup white chocolate and 1 cup dark chocolate, either chips or chopped chunks. For serving, feel free to top your brownie slab with different icings. To ensure clean cuts, freeze your iced slab before cutting.
Need inspiration? These are a great place to start!
Smores
Mix brownies as directed and add 1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers as a mix-in. Bake for 15 minutes, then pull out the parbaked brownies and top with mini marshmallows evenly but completely covering the top of the pan and bake once more until evenly toasted, about 3-5 minutes.
Cookies & Cream
Make brownie recipe as directed, and once batter is in the pan, place whole oreos into the batter 6 x 4, leaving the top part of the cookie just barely exposed. Bake as directed, and when cutting ensure to cut in a way where each brownie gets a whole oreo inside. Top with crumbled oreoes and a simple vanilla glaze.
Ingredients
Directions
350F, or 325F convection, middle rack
Grease and line the bottom of a large sheet pan or 9 x 13 pan with parchment that sticks out of each edge for easy removal.
In a 5-6 quart bowl, mix in this order.
-white sugar, brown sugar, and melted butter- whisk until smooth, for 5 minutes . This might seem like a long time to mix, but this long mixing time helps ensure that the tops of your brownies will be shiny and crackly.
-Egg and extract, whisk until very smooth, for 3 minutes .
-Take all dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, salt) and whisk in a separate bowl for 30 seconds to combine. This might seem superfluous, but this process helps to properly suspend ingredients of different densities.
-Switch to silicone spatula or wooden spoon before mixing dry ingredients!
-Gently stir in dry ingredients until batter just comes together, 45 seconds , DO NOT OVERMIX! You want to develop as little gluten as possible to prevent a tough and dry texture.
Once all dry pockets are gone, feel free to add mix-ins if you desire.
-Pour batter into prepared pan and spread batter evenly to each corner of the pan to ensure an even top.
-Bake in the oven until edges are set, and the middle of the brownies spring back slightly when lightly poked. A skewer test should yield a clean prick as well. This should take about 18 minutes.
Let cool to room temperature.
-To ensure clean cuts, make sure your brownies are completely cool.
-For pristine cuts: Remove the brownies from pan completely and place the slab on a cutting board. Use a large chef's knife and dip your knife completely in hot water, dry, and make one long straight cut, dipping and drying between each cut. This cutting hack will work almost as well if brownies remain in the pan, if desired.
Do you want to build your own variation?
You can use up to 3 tsp of any extract you desire. You can mix and match, using 1 tsp of multiple complementary flavors, such as vanilla & almond, coffee & hazelnut, etc.). Another fun variation is to do 1 cup white chocolate and 1 cup dark chocolate, either chips or chopped chunks. For serving, feel free to top your brownie slab with different icings. To ensure clean cuts, freeze your iced slab before cutting.
Need inspiration? These are a great place to start!
Smores
Mix brownies as directed and add 1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers as a mix-in. Bake for 15 minutes, then pull out the parbaked brownies and top with mini marshmallows evenly but completely covering the top of the pan and bake once more until evenly toasted, about 3-5 minutes.
Cookies & Cream
Make brownie recipe as directed, and once batter is in the pan, place whole oreos into the batter 6 x 4, leaving the top part of the cookie just barely exposed. Bake as directed, and when cutting ensure to cut in a way where each brownie gets a whole oreo inside. Top with crumbled oreoes and a simple vanilla glaze.
