In search of the perfect brownies.

One friend recommended THESE brownies as the best; here's what she says:

This 1980's recipe from The Chocolatier is the best. Moist and fudgy. Yum Yum. Super yum. To die for. Boxed mixes just do not compare.

The Chocolatier Brownies
2 sticks real butter
2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp real vanilla extract
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup flour

Cream butter and sugar several minutes at high speed of electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla. Mix in flour and cocoa. Bake in greased 9" x 13" metal pan at 350 degrees for 30 minutes exactly. (**if using glass pan or dark coated pan, bake at 325 degrees) Remove from oven. Let cool completely before cutting for clean cut marks.


This recipe even converts well to whole wheat flour and Sucanat. We've been doing all that healthy stuff for quite a few years now, and my brownies still get rave reviews.

So I think I need to try them. Soon.

Another friend says hers are famous. Here's her recipe:

Lori's Famous Brownies
1 1/2 sticks of butter
3/4 cup of the darkest cocoa you can find - none of that pale Hershey's stuff
2 cups sugar
1 t vanilla
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cup flour
1 t salt
1 t baking powder
Mix ins (choc chips, nuts, toffee, andes mints, etc)
Put butter and cocoa in metal mixing bowl over low heat. Stir constantly until well blended and butter is melted. Remove from heat (carefully dip finger in mixture and taste - mmmm, a dark & bitter chocolate lover's delight!) and stir in sugar until well blended (dip finger again - for those of you who like sugar with their chocolate). Add vanilla and eggs, stirring well. (Taste again to make sure nothing has spoiled.) Add flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix well (taste it one more time to make sure it's worth baking) and add whatever mix-ins you like best. Spread in greased 9x13 pan and bake for 30 min at 350*. I don't have a test for doneness, but they should be cracked or crackly on top and the edges starting to pull away from the pan.

These should come out a bit crunchy on the very edges, but fudgy and dark and rich in the center. They aren't a tall, thick brownie - too dense for that!

For a "blondie" (not chocolaty, but still a decadent dessert), these Bakerella Blondies were recommended.

Another friend recommended making any old average brownie mix, pouring half of it into a dish, covering it with a layer of toffee Symphony chocolate bars, and then pouring the rest of the brownie mix into the pan and baking as directed. That sounds tasty.

Do you have a brownie recipe you swear by? If you share, please tell us whether yours come out fudgy or cakey, as that seems to be a classic difference in what people expect from their brownies. I definitely like brownies to be moist, but I don't want it to be so dense that it really tastes and feels like fudge. If I want fudge, I'll make fudge, know what I mean? :)


I guess I'll have to put on my scientist hat and figure out which one of these is the best. Experimentation is the only way to know for sure! :) If you do any experimentation, please share your thoughts and results here!