For years, I couldn’t find a recipe for brownies that met my standards. Anytime I made homemade brownies, I wanted them to be just like the ones I ate as a kid – super fudgy, moist, and chocolaty, with crispy edges and crackly tops. But the thing is, these brownies didn’t come from a recipe. We always made them from a box. Nowadays, I prefer to bake them from scratch, but no brownie recipe I tried could live up to the chocolate brownies of my childhood.
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MY ARMY LIFE:
I remember after I got married to an army officer, we got posted to a beautiful place called Leh. It had mesmerising beauty. I had never seen a place like Leh before. That time my daughters were toddlers and we usually took them out to explore the hill station. Leh is also known as the ‘cold desert’ of India and has famous trade routes. Because of the Indus River, that place has beautiful river banks and picnic spots. We would usually go out for picnics with friends and my picnic basket was very famous among all the kids as I often carried my famous brownies and sandwiches along.
Because we used to make these plans spontaneously with hardly any time to cook anything proper, and the fact that I wasn’t as good a cook back then, sandwiches and brownies were my perfect go-to quick fix-ups. They were perfect for picnic baskets, everyone would love them, they were to carry and super easy to make, and eat. What else can a picnic-goer want?
I bet you will like this brownie recipe as much as my kids and I do. These are super fudgy, gooey with a crunchy crust and just the perfect amount of sweetness! Each brownie has yummy melted chocolate lava chunks.
They remain fresh and equally fudgy for easily 4-5 days after baking them. You can keep them in the refrigerator for longer too! Take them out, warm them in the microwave for 20 seconds and enjoy the delicious brownie with chocolate syrup of vanilla ice cream!
Brownie Ingredients
I bet you have most of what you need to make these brownies already sitting in your kitchen. Here’s what you’ll need:
Butter adds so much more flavour than oil ever could. We use 100% butter in the recipe and added very less oil.
Sugar balances the bitterness of unsweetened cocoa powder and adds to the texture of the brownie. It makes the centres soft and the tops crinkly.
Cocoa powder adds our chocolate element and makes these taste rich. I’ve used a variety of cocoa powders. You can use natural cocoa powder, Dutch-processed cocoa powder, or raw cacao powder to make these.
Eggs add richness and provide structure to the brownies.
Salt and vanilla help to round out the flavour of the brownies. Salt in baking might seem odd, but just like in savoury cooking, it awakens the flavours of the recipe.
All-purpose flour is the last ingredient you need, but you don’t need much. Remember, we’re on the hunt for extra fudgy brownies and keeping the flour to a minimum helps with that.
PREPARATION:
PREP. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×11 inch pan with parchment paper. Lightly grease with baking spray.
BATTER. In a medium bowl, combine the melted butter, oil and sugars. Whisk everything together well. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix for another 2 minutes.
In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder. Fold the dry ingredients in with the wet ingredients until just combined. Gently fold in 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips (reserving the rest for the top).
BAKE. Pour the brownie batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth until even. Top the batter with the remaining chocolate chips. Put the brownies into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes (the middle should no longer jiggle).
COOL. Let the brownies sit in the pan for an additional 10-15 minutes before removing them from the pan. Let cool slightly before cutting. These are definitely best served warm.
However, If you are passionate about baking like me then, visit my blog category Let’s Bake there you will find recipes like…
CHOCOLATE BROWNIE
Course: SnacksCuisine: FrenchDifficulty: Medium16
servings5
minutes45
minutes466
kcalThese are super fudgy, gooey with a crunchy crust and just the perfect amount of sweet! Each brownie has yummy melted chocolate lava chunks.
Ingredients
4 Eggs
Baking & spices
1/2 tsp Baking powder
1 cup Brown sugar, light packed
1 cup Chocolate chips
1 cup Cocoa powder, unsweetened
1 cup Flour
3/4 tsp Salt
1 1/4 cup Sugar
1 tbsp Vanilla extract
2 tbsp Vegetable oil
1 cup Butter
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease a 9×11 pan. Line with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine melted butter, oil and sugars and whisk well.
- Add eggs and vanilla and mix another 2 minutes.
- In another bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder.
- Fold dry ingredients in with wet ingredients until just combined. Fold in 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips (reserving the rest for the top).
- Pour batter into prepared baking dish and smooth until even. Top with remaining chocolate chips and bake for 25-30 minutes (middle should no longer jiggle).
- Let sit in pan for an additional 10-15 minutes then remove from pan and let cool before cutting. TIP: Use a plastic knife to cut with minimal messes.
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Notes
- TIPS AND TRICKS:
- Whisk your butter and sugar really well.
- Beat in your eggs for a good minute. This step is crucial for that crackly top
- Do NOT over beat your batter once the flour and cocoa powder are added. THAT creates air pockets in the batter which will give you cake-like textured brownies.
- Try NOT over bake them. Check them at around the 15 minute mark and keep your eye on them. As some ovens run hotter than others, timing is a guide only. Our oven bakes them at exactly 21:30 minutes. Another oven we tested them in baked them at 18:40 minutes. You can go a little bit over if you like them set a bit more, but I don’t recommend it if you’re looking for the fudgiest brownies in this lifetime.
