I apologize if my brownie blog post conjures up feelings of oppression or triggers anxiety. I’m happy for you if you’ve already mastered the astute skill of boxed brownie making and I’m not sure I can offer anything in this post.
This post is actually for ME! Because I’m incompetent when it comes to brownie-making. I’m posting it here so that I can refer to it for my future brownie-baking endeavors.
I’m 37 years old. I’ve never, ever made decent brownies to save a squirrel. I’ve tried baking them from scratch. I’ve tried making every possible boxed brownie mix I could find but never any success. NEVER.
Like many, my problem isn’t with flavor (who can’t add a few marshmallows, chocolate chips, nuts or whatever–as if that’s brilliant?). My failure has always been with texture…consistency…how they swim and melt on my palate. In the end, the brilliance is in the baking.
I always make brownies either A. Undercooked or B. So hard and tough that you feel like you’re eating beef jerky.
THE TWO THINGS I LEARNED ABOUT MAKING BOXED BROWNIES?
Over the past few months I’ve been doing some brownie research. Why does this ALWAYS happen to me? I’ve discovered that there are a couple reasons.
The first thing that I kept coming across was that in order to achieve a chewy, gooey texture with adequate density and thickness (but still baked properly) you need to make a double batch (2 boxes of brownie mix) and bake in a 9×13 aluminum pan!
The second thing is to mix the wet ingredients separately, add them to the dry ingredients, and let your mixer swirl the ingredients for just a few seconds–just until they are imperfectly wet and mixed. If you beat the ingredients too long, your brownie batter develops air pockets and makes the texture more like a cake than a brownie.
Today I finally made brownies that tasted delicious, but even better–had the correct “brownie-texture” once I followed these simple rules:
- Use 2 boxes of brownie mix. I used this one:
2. Double all your ingredients as per your box (obviously, you’re using 2 boxes).
3. Mix the wet ingredients separately and completely.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and beat with mixer just until mixed.
5. Smear a decent layer of vegetable oil all over a 9×13 aluminum pan.
6. Pour brownie batter into super greasy pan.
7. Heat oven to 325 degrees.
8. Bake the brownies for 50-53 minutes. I baked mine for 51 minutes and they turned out perfectly gooey inside with a crackly top.
8. Let your brownies cool (and continue to cook in pan) for over 1 hour after you pull them out of the oven. I cut mine after about 2.5 hours.
They are still gooey inside but sufficiently baked! This has been my struggle!! Finally I have a decent brownie plan for future brownie creations.
A Slice of My Trash, Travels and Tots 