Friday, May 28, 2010

Homemade Chocolate Brownies

Our favorite family recipe for years, this homemade brownie recipe produces a chewy, fudgy brownie with a crusty top - just as a brownie should be. Just be sure to do everything in order & make no substitutions!
Our favorite family recipe for years, this homemade brownie recipe produces a chewy, fudgy brownie with a crusty top - just as a brownie should be. Just be sure to do everything in order & make no substitutions!

Homemade Chocolate Brownies

It happened a couple of days ago when brownies came up on a Twitter conversation. And then a day or two later, they came up again. Before you know it, I was having a serious desire for brownies. Ah, the power of suggestion and it happens to me all of the time with brownies. These brownies.

This has been our family go-to brownie recipe for well, as long as I can remember, back when recipes were passed about on hand penned paper or photo copies of typed notes. In fact, I lost it a couple of times over the years, and tried loads of other brownie recipes in between, but this is the one I always came back to.

In the moving about between Mississippi and Louisiana and back again in my younger years, and upgrading to new computers, I know I had to retrieve it several times from my sister and I'm grateful that she, unlike her wayward sister, managed to hold on to a copy of the recipe!

I've considered trying to make changes to the recipe - such as using chocolate in place of cocoa, or butter in place of the oil - and even trying to replace the fat with a lower fat option, but every time I consider altering something, I end up going right back to the real deal. Frankly I figure, I don't make brownies every day, and well... why mess with what works?

While I make them straight up like this most times, I have, however, tried them with that old fashioned boiled peanut butter icing a few times. Peanut butter and chocolate are so perfect together, why not ice some chocolate brownies with peanut butter, right? My word is that a treat or what? Try it sometime!


I must give you fair warning - even with the lack of butter, there ain't a thing even close to resembling low fat here. Go ahead and try it if you like, but I'm not messin' with it myself. Nope, not gonna do it.

To me, this is the best brownie I could ever come up with - just the right amount of chocolate, just the right sweetness, just the right kind of tender and moist, and nearly gooey insides, with a so slightly crunchy top crust. Nothing high falutin' here - just the true perfection and deliciousness that belongs in a brownie. Just be sure to do everything in order.


Here's the hardest part. Let them rest before cutting. I've never managed to quite do this without sneaking off a few. What can I say?



For more of my favorite chocolate recipes, visit my page on Pinterest!



Homemade Chocolate Brownies

Homemade Chocolate Brownies

Yield: About 12 servings
Author: Deep South Dish
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 35 MinTotal time: 45 Min
Our favorite family recipe for years, this homemade brownie recipe produces a chewy, fudgy brownie with a crusty top - just as a brownie should be. Just be sure to do everything in order & make no substitutions!

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup Hershey's cocoa
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2/3 cup canola oil, divided
  • 1/2 cup boiling water
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1-1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup of walnuts or pecans, chopped

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter or lightly spray a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with non-stick spray and place a sheet of parchment paper or aluminum foil across the pan so that there is overhang on both sides of the pan. This is so that you can lift the brownies out of the pan in one piece and make it easier for cutting.
  2. In a medium sized bowl, stir together the cocoa and baking soda. Blend 1/3 cup of the canola oil into the cocoa until well mixed and shiny. Add the boiling water and stir until the mixture thickens.
  3. Add the sugar and stir in the remaining 1/3 cup of oil and the eggs, mixing until smooth. Add the flour, vanilla and salt, blending completely. Add nuts; toss. 
  4. Pour into the prepared baking pan and bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center returns with just a bit of sticky crumb clinging on it. Do not overcook, or your brownies will be dry!
  5. Cool in the pan for about 2 hours, then use the parchment to lift from the pan and cut into squares. Store in a covered container.

Notes:

Scatter about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of chocolate chips over the top before placing in the oven. For a thicker more cake-like brownie, transfer to an 8 or 9-inch square pan and bake approximately 40 to 45 minutes. I sometimes add 1/2 cup peanut butter mixed with a tablespoon of powdered sugar and a little half and half or melted butter to loosen. Dollop on top and use a butter knife to swirl through before baking.

Recommended Products:

Brownies, Chocolate, Desserts, Heirloom, Heritage
Dessert
American
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @DeepSouthDish on instagram and hashtag it #deepsouthdish

Posted by on May 28, 2010
Material Disclosure: Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.
18/0120/141026/170917BHP
.

As an Amazon Associate, Deep South Dish earns from qualifying purchases. See full disclosure for details.




Hey Y’all! Welcome to some good ole, down home southern cooking. Pull up a chair, grab some iced tea, and 'sit a bit' as we say down south. If this is your first time visiting Deep South Dish, you can sign up for FREE updates via EMAIL or you can catch up with us on Facebook and Twitter too!

Articles on this website are protected by copyright. You are free to print and sharing via Facebook share links and pinning with Pinterest are appreciated, welcomed and encouraged, but do not upload and repost photographs, or copy and paste post text or recipe text for republishing on Facebook, other websites, blogs, forums or other internet sites without explicit prior written approval.
Click for additional information.


© Copyright 2008-2024 – Mary Foreman – Deep South Dish LLC - All Rights Reserved

Material Disclosure: This site is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from the provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.

DISCLAIMER: This is a recipe site intended for entertainment. By using this site and these recipes you agree that you do so at your own risk, that you are completely responsible for any liability associated with the use of any recipes obtained from this site, and that you fully and completely release Mary Foreman and Deep South Dish LLC and all parties associated with either entity, from any liability whatsoever from your use of this site and these recipes.

ALL CONTENT PROTECTED UNDER THE DIGITAL MILLENNIUM COPYRIGHT ACT. CONTENT THEFT, EITHER PRINT OR ELECTRONIC, IS A FEDERAL OFFENSE. Recipes may be printed ONLY for personal use and may not be transmitted, distributed, reposted, or published elsewhere, in print or by any electronic means. Seek explicit permission before using any content on this site, including partial excerpts, all of which require attribution linking back to specific posts on this site. I have, and will continue to act, on all violations.





Email Subscription DSD Feed