How to Make Brownies

Are you a big brownie fan? If yes, then you are someone who loves adventure and gets excited with new ideas. You're an oddball who possesses a unique sense of humor and creative direction. Most of all, you are loyal to your friends and family. Now you may be thinking, why in the world am I talking about all this instead of giving you recipes and directions on making delicious brownies from scratch. The reason is, I took an online "Dessert Personality Test" and found out that brownies are my favorite dessert and all these elements are true (according to the test) for a brownie lover.

Eating brownies is one of the indulging parts of my life, well sinful indulging. And why should we all wait for some special holiday like Christmas or 4th of July to eat them? I believe in "eating what your heart desires, when it desires". So for all you brownie lovers, here are a few dessert recipes. And for those who don't know, "how long does it take to make brownies", just go through each of these recipes to find out.

Triple Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 100 g milk chocolate, cut into large chunks
• 100 g white chocolate, cut into large chunks
• 200 g plain chocolate
• 3 oz pecans or walnuts, broken into pieces
• 6 oz self-raising flour
• 10 oz unsalted butter
• 12 oz golden caster sugar
• ½ tsp baking powder

Directions

Before we start the easy to make brownies recipe, preheat the oven at 325ºF. In order to make perfect brownies every time, you should always cook with fresh ingredients (that tip applies to basically anything you cook) as it makes a world of difference. Take an 8 inch square baking pan, grease it with cooking spray or butter and then spread some flour as well. In a large bowl, mix plain chocolate and butter in it. Place the bowl over simmering water (like a double boiler) to melt the chocolate and butter. Take the bowl off the boiler once the ingredients have melted properly and stir caster sugar in properly. Add the beaten eggs and vanilla essence next. Sift the flour and baking soda in a different bowl and keep it aside. Fold the flour into the melted chocolate liquid along with nuts and chocolate chunks. Now pour the mixture into the baking pan and place in the oven for 45 to 60 minutes. Once the top seems firm, do a toothpick test and then remove accordingly. Let the brownies cool for a while. Then remove them from the pan and cut in squares. Serve warm with a glass of cold milk.

Holiday Brownies

Ingredients

• ¾ cup melted margarine
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup cocoa
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 6 red M&Ms

Frosting

• 3 tablespoons margarine
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Before we get to the steps to make brownies, preheat the oven at 350ºF. Take a 12 inch baking pan and line it with aluminum foil. In a medium bowl, mix margarine, sugar and vanilla together. Now beat the eggs in and mix all the ingredients properly with a spoon. In another bowl, sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Now take the dry ingredients and slowly (as you keep stirring continuously) mix in the first bowl. Make sure the mixture is smooth and well blended. Now take the batter and spread it over the lined baking pan. Place it in the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes. To make the frosting, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Once the top is firm enough and the toothpick test is clean, remove the pan from the oven. Let it cool for a while. Trim the edges, remove the brownie from the pan and spread the frosting on top. Place the red M&Ms on each cut squares and serve them immediately.

Fudge Stout Brownies

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons Irish whiskey
• 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 4 oz chopped bittersweet chocolate
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup unsalted butter
• ⅓ cup coffee stout
• ¾ cup sifted flour
• 1 cup chopped nuts (macadamia, pecans and walnuts)

Directions

Preheat the oven at 325ºF. Take a 9 inch baking pan and grease with butter or cooking spray. Spread a tablespoon of cocoa powder over it. In a medium pan, melt ½ cup butter on low heat. Once the butter melts, add chopped chocolate and stir till it melts and turns smooth. Take the pan off heat and set it aside to become lukewarm (not cold or the chocolate will turn solid again). Mix the sugar properly in the chocolate. Take another bowl, beat 2 eggs yolks, vanilla, coffee stout, and whiskey, till it turns smooth. In a third bowl, sift flour and salt together. Take the coffee stout and flour mix and mix in the pan (alternate). In the end, mix in the chopped nuts. Pour the batter into the baking pan and place in the oven for an hour. Once the top seems firm and the toothpick test is clean, remove the pan, let it cool down for a while and then cut into squares. Serve warm brownies immediately.

You can also take a look at dark chocolate brownies from scratch. There's nothing quite satisfying and delicious as biting into fresh baked brownies. Why waste your time on the store-bought package mix, when you can learn how to make brownies with few simple ingredients!