OK, so two things about this post should blow your mind: (1) this is the only brownie recipe on my blog so far (how is this possible when I love chocolate as much as I do?!) and (2) Dan is back in the kitchen…baking…from scratch. Actually, if you know Dan at all, that second thing probably blows your mind three times over.
It’s not that Dan doesn’t bake — he has, on occasion, been known to bake things. For example, there was the chocolate chip cookie cake he made me for my birthday when we started dating. (It was heart shaped and frosted, and super delicious.) And he sometimes made brownies for himself when he was living alone. But this is his first time baking without the help of his friend Betty Crocker and her oh-so-convenient box mixes.
I’ve been bullying Dan for weeks to do another “Dan in the Kitchen” post for me, and when I told him it had to be a dessert made from scratch he was less than pleased. See him eyeing the ingredients very skeptically in the second picture? That’s him thinking “Man, what a pain! Why are you doing this to me, Tina?”
I’ve always thought that baking would come naturally to Dan since he’s an engineer and follows strict step-by-step procedures for a living. Whereas I tend to just throw ingredients willy nilly into the bowl and hope for the best, he obsesses over measurements and temperatures and what all the ingredients do. It’s actually really embarassing when he asks me a question about ingredient substitution or something technical like that, and I don’t know how to answer. I mainly tweak things by feel, so it’s hard to explain the process sometimes. “Well…you just kinda do this…and use that…and then it just works!” probably isn’t the most satisfying response for someone who’s trying to learn, but hey, look how well everything turned out this time!
These brownies are seriously yummy, guys. Intensely chocolate-y, rich, moist, and wonderfully chewy. Dan did good…real good.
Chocolate Chip Cocoa Brownies (Barely adapted from the Comfort of Cooking)
** Original recipe makes about 12-16 brownies. We doubled the recipe.
– 1 cup chocolate chips
Steps:
(3) Gently stir in dry ingredients. Mix until smooth.
** Note from Dan: Don’t stir too hard here, or your dry ingredients will go flying everywhere. Ease the dry stuff into the wet ingredients first, stir like crazy later if you must.
(4) Stir in chocolate chips.
(5) Pour batter into prepared pan. Lightly tap the pan on the countertop to knock out some of the air bubbles.
** If you’re only making 1/2 of this recipe, use a 9×9 square pan and bake for 25-30 min.
(7) Cool for 15 minutes before cutting.
Sarah says
So proud of you, Dan! 🙂
justputzing says
Dan’s response: I’m proud of me too! *grumblegrumble*
megan says
Are there supposed to be chocolate chips in the chips in the recipe?
justputzing says
Oops! Good catch. Yes, there should be 1 cup chocolate chips.
Meki says
I wonder if white chocolate would work on this..
justputzing says
For the chips? I think they could work. I’m personally not a huge fan of white chocolate, but I could definitely see myself adding butterscotch or peanut butter chips to these brownies.
Hannah says
These look sumptuous! I love a proper batch of fudgey brownies! Xx
justputzing says
Me too! That’s probably why I never make them…I always just want to eat the whole pan… 😉
Kim in MD says
I just stumbled upon your blog through Foodgawder, and it’s awesome! I’m excited to explore it and read your older posts!
These brownies look amazing, and so easy! Can I ask what brand of cocoa powder you used? They are the darkest, fudgiest brownies I have ever seen and I can’t wait to make a batch!
justputzing says
Thank you! I used Hershey Special Dark Dutch & Natural Cocoa, but I’m sure Ghiradelli or any other kind of cocoa powder would be fine too. Hope your batch turns out well!
Kim in MD says
Thank you so much for the info! I suspected you used a dark cocoa in order to get that deep, gorgeous color! I will let you know how they turn out! 🙂
vinee says
Those look absolutely heavenly! I’m just beginning to bake,and I really wanna try to make some brownies,but thought I’d start out with a smaller batch first. I guess I could try this with half of everything. 🙂
justputzing says
Good luck!
Leigh says
Wow, I’m making these ASAP. I actually almost drooled.
justputzing says
That’s what I like to hear! Let me know how they turn out for you.
katie says
These are awesome!!!!! I love boxed brownies and never found a homemade recipe that tasted like them…until now…yowza I ate way to many when they were done. Thank you thank you for sharing this, it will be my new go to recipe for brownies. 🙂
justputzing says
I’m so glad you liked the recipe! I actually secretly love boxed mix brownies too. What do they put in those mixes???
Pn Cuisine says
I am so making this today. Thanks for sharing.My son sure iz gonna freak out :).
justputzing says
I hope he likes them!
jennifer says
I have this exact recipe…..minus the oil use butter. Been making them for years.
justputzing says
It’s a fabulous recipe!
Zaynab says
Hey how much exactly is a cup? Like a glass or what? 🙂
justputzing says
If you are using measuring cups, there should be one that is marked “1 cup.” 1 cup is 8 fl oz, so that’s maybe about enough to fill one regular-sized coffee cup? Hope that helps!
Aryanna says
These brownies are amazing! They are so delicious 🙂
justputzing says
Thank you!
Cecilia says
Hi, I tried this recipe yesterday…. great! thank you for sharing 🙂
Cecilia
http://crearescout.wordpress.com
justputzing says
Glad you liked the brownies! Thanks for reading.
aria says
can i use 3 extra large eggs?
justputzing says
You can, but I think extra large eggs have a little more liquid than large eggs, so you’ll have to account for the difference.
Lisa O says
These brownies are AMAZING!!! I only made one substitution…I used coconut oil (melted) instead of vegetable oil and oh my goodness were they delicious! If you like “Mounds” candy bars mmm mmm mmmm on flavor with the Coconut oil. YUM!
justputzing says
Yum, great idea! I love that hint of flavor coconut oil gives to baked goods.
Frances says
Please add a button for sending receipe as an email. I really want this receipe. Please email it to me. thx
Frances says
I meant to say to add button for yahoo mail.
justputzing says
Emailed!
Georgina says
Hi,i am now in the middle of making one of these for my fiancee as he has been away 5 days and comes home tomoro,i used sunflower oil instead and havent any baking powder,it smells divine as its cooking in the oven and looks lovely,i just hope it taste as good :))