Brownies Recipe

I have a HUGE sweet tooth and recently I've been baking brownies. However, as a lowly college student, I don' t have much time to make it from scratch. I've been experimenting with pre-made brownie mixes and I have concluded that Duncan Hines taste the best. (And trust me, I've tried every brand.) I like Duncan Hines best mostly because of the consistency. The brownie is denser than other brands, which I like. Brands, such as Pillsbury and Ghiradelli, have a more cake-like consistency than Duncan Hines. (Betty Crocker would come second, they don't have as much chocolate flavor than Duncan Hines.) I love these pre-made mixes because there is very little work involved.

I do things a little different from the box though. For instance, I use butter rather than vegetable oil. It just works better and adds more fat (a good thing!) to the brownie. Also, I use milk instead of water because it makes the texture a little lighter and adds more flavor to the brownie. Many times I add ingredients, such as nuts (pecans are my favorite), candy pieces (reeses pieces, butterfingers, etc.), cookie pieces (oreos, vanilla fingers, etc), sprinkles, or dried fruit (i.e cranberries) when I want to try something a little different. And afterwards, sometimes I like to frost them. When I am hand mixing the ingredients together, I try to mix as a little as possible. I just mix enough to nicely blend all the ingredients together. I find that over mixing sometimes makes the brownies taste a little tougher. I like to use cupcake pans than the normal brownie pans. I love cupcake tins because each brownie is separate, so if you are making it for a lot of people, it's easier than having to cut the brownie. At this point, it probably isn't even considered just a brownie - but a brownie cupcake! Also, this way, each piece has a little crust (I love the crust pieces!) I have made brownies in a big pot (used for the stove) and the brownies came out great -- it tasted like a big brownie pie!

Sometimes I like to make brownie ice cream sandwiches. Once the brownies are baked and cooled, I cut them all to the same size. I take ice cream (usually coffee or vanilla) and pile it up on one brownie, then top it with another. I lay them in a bowl and immediately place them in the freezer. The longer you keep them in the freezer, the more ice cream sandwich-like they will be. But, I usually can't wait and after about 10-15 minutes I take it out of the fridge and eat! They are absolutely delicious and of course you can try this with different styles of brownies and cookie. The all time favorite would be chocolate chip, but peanut butter and sugar cookies aren't too bad.

bon appetit!