The Easiest, Best, & Quickest Brownies NOT From A Box

Sometimes you just need brownies . . . and you don’t happen to have a brownie mix available. Then there’s the added problem: you’re fresh out of bittersweet chocolate, or (like me) you’re not in the habit of having that stuff just lying around (because, let’s face it. . . it’s kind of a tease as far as chocolate goes). What to do? NEVER FEAR, I present my mother’s very own (dare I say “fail-proof?) recipe for: So, without further ado, preheat those ovens to 350,  plan for about 15 minutes to throw these puppies together (plus another 20-ish for the baking), and get ready to make some homemade chocolate magic.

Step 1: Gather the ingredients and melt the butter in a bowl.

(By the way, you’ll notice I used egg beaters, although the recipe calls for eggs. . . I honestly saw no differences, so feel free to use whatever you might have available to you!)

Step 2: Whisk the Cocoa powder into the butter until it’s smooth.

Step 3: Add sugar and Mix it. Mix it good.

Step 4: Add in the eggs & vanilla.

(It will still look pretty much the same as above. . . gooey and a little crystally, thanks to the sugar.)

Step 5: Add the Flower, Baking Powder, and Salt.

(I sifted the flower, because my Dad always says it makes baked goods better!)

Step 6: Mix it all together until there are no powdery white substances visible in the sea of thick chocolatey goodness.

(Add a few chocolate chips if you want extra goodness in there!)

Step 7: Spread batter into a greased pan. 

Step 8: Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until it is firm to the top and begins to pull away from the edges. . . do not over-bake!

Remember, if you are baking thick brownies, like I did, it will take a little longer. In an 8 &1/2″ x 11″ pan, bake for 15-20 minutes, in a smaller size (like mine), bake for about 25 minutes.

Step 9: Enjoy that gooey, delicious, oh-so-chocolatey goodness!

I hope this comes in handy and that you enjoy making these! The whole process takes about 15 minutes to throw together (not including bake time, so it’s almost as easy as the boxed kind, but much more fulfilling to make (plus, you automatically get much better bragging rights when sharing with delighted friends)! Oh, and there’s no box. So, yay for eco-friendly brownies, right? That’s worth celebrating.

With Brownies.

That you made from scratch.

Go ahead, you deserve a little sweet something; You’re saving the earth – not to mention the tradition of good old-fashioned home cooking- one brownie at a time!