Community Pick
Perfect Chocolate Brownies
photo by Ashley Cuoco
- Ready In:
- 40mins
- Ingredients:
- 9
- Yields:
-
28 brownies
- Serves:
- 28
ingredients
- 3⁄4 cup cocoa powder
- 3⁄4 cup shortening
- 2 1⁄4 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1⁄4 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or 1 cup chopped pecans
directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease a 9x13" pan.
- Melt shortening in a large saucepan over low heat, then stir in cocoa.
- Remove from heat.
- Mix in sugar and vanilla then mix in eggs one at a time.
- Stir in remaining ingredients then stir in nuts.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Cool completely, before cutting into 2x2" squares.
- I have read all the great reviews and learned from them, thank you all. Now I line my pan with buttered alumunin foil or parchment paper. This works very well.
Questions & Replies
Reviews
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Tweaks
-
After reading the astounding 240 reviews of this recipe I just had to try it out as I am trying to move toward more homebaked goodies and foods on a consistent basis. I am a true chocoholic and this recipe will not disappoint even the most finicky of chocolatiers and will delight the taste buds of all who use it. To all you novice bakers, you can substitute butter or margarine for the required shortening. If you choose to use salted butter or other substitute that includes salt, you can cut the amount of salt required in the recipe to half. I used unsalted butter and then used the full amount suggested in the recipe. I also used a cup or 2 sticks of unsalted butter. Whether you use shortening, butter; salted or unsalted, or margarine each will have it's own unique flavor. Depending on your sensitivity to taste this will make a difference. It is best to use what you regularly cook with and use as table spreads for your toast and waffles. Using shortening as your cream base if you are used to butter or margarine on a daily basis will have a funny flavor not that it is a wrong flavor just different. Too much salt can sometimes have a bitter taste and if you reduce the amount of sugar or other ingredients you may have to reduce the amount of cocoa too. When making modifications to any recipe just be careful you have enough time to make corrections or start all over again if it is needed and don't need to be greeting guests or walking out the door with a first class presentation just hours away. You know what the old expression says, "If it ain't broke don't fix it!" Sometimes recipes will not allow for substitutions and I am still trying to figure out why that is or if it is chefs choice. I also added a quarter cup of semi-sweet Toll House morsels to my batter. I consider my cooking to be at the intermediate level bordering to advanced on rare occasions and am in no way an expert on the subject. Mom was a great teacher and I have improved over the years too. Like so many others who commented on this wonderful recipe, I could not wait til they cooled either....OUCH! Great going Virginia!
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Virginia
Pekin, IN
I love to bake, cakes, cookies yeast breads and biscuits . I also like to make up new recipes, I combine recipes I love to try anything new, my family and my dog (sometimes) loves eating my creations!