Aunt Elaine’s Brownies

Quintuple chocolate, more like fudge than cake, here are the secrets to create this ultimate brownie! Boxed brownie mix brings the ease and consistency, but the real magic happens with the type of pan you bake in, altered ingredients (do NOT follow the box’s directions), my quite specific chocolate delivery techniques, and an eye for an exact cooking time (they must slightly undercook).

Yes you can! Practice just a bit, get to know your own oven’s temperature/timing, and soon you will easily be whipping up the ultimate perfect brownies. We made these brownies twice a day for 33 years at our B&B and they made 100s of 1,000s of guests very, very happy.

I use a big porcelain pan. I have found that porcelain or ceramic pans bake these better than glass or steel pans. But with the right technique I suspect that even a cookie sheet will offer adequate results.

I use this Brownie Mix. If you choose another brand at least try to approximate bags of 20 oz. triple chocolate brownie mix.

This box contains 4 each of 20 oz bags of mix. I purchase on Amazon.

Depending on the size of your baking dish/pan, your recipe will be as follows: in a preheated 350° oven:

SMALL: (8X8, 9X9)

1 package mix, 1 egg, 1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup vegetable oil : approximately 20-22 minutes

MEDIUM: (13X9)

2 packages mix, 2 eggs, 2/3 cup water, 2/3 cup vegetable oil: approximately 24-25 minutes

LARGE: (16X11 or 1/2 sheet pan)

3 packages mix, 3 eggs, 1 cup water, 1 cup vegetable oil: approximately 28-29 minutes

Ovens vary. The brownies will look quite molten when taken out of the oven. They will set up as they cool. Never cut them until they are 💯 cool. After your first batch or two, if the center brownies are too undercooked (still a bit like batter, still too sticky) once 💯 cooled, make a note to add a minute or two more to your cooking time to your next batch. Experiment until you get it just right 👍 from your oven. The perfect brownies will be wonderfully fudgie, not like cake, but still hold together when cut.

Now the technique:

Use PAM or vegetable oil to fully grease your chosen baking dish.

Whisk the eggs, water and oil together. Fold the wet ingredients into the brownie mix. Do not overmix or beat. Place into baking pan.

Use a good quality liquid chocolate for the drizzle. Drizzle very thinly, not squeezing the bottle at all so that the chocolate drains very thinly. Begin on all 4 edges: this stops the brownie from making a cake-like effect at the edges. Then, moving quickly, down/across the length of the pan, then crossing the width, create a 1” lattice across the batter. If you “over liquid” at this point, with thick lines, these will over-chocolate the final result, and not in a good way. Super thin lattice is the real key to these.

Then, using semi-sweet chocolate chips, scatter the chips (don’t pour, use your hand) evenly across the batter. Be certain each brownie will have a chip or two, but don’t overcrowd the chips.

Now you are ready to bake! Experiment with baking time and be sure to cool completely before cutting into 1” bars.

Ooooo la la!!!!