Basic Brownie

This simple brownie recipe is far from ordinary. The beauty of it lies in its versatility; it serves as a perfect foundation for any mix-in you can imagine. Whether you’re in the mood for nuts, chocolate chips, frosting, or anything else your mind can muster up, this recipe has got you covered. The possibilities are endless. Not only is this brownie incredibly soft and gooey, but it also has a melt-in-your-mouth quality that is absolutely irresistible. What more could you ask for?

What can you add to a basic brownie?

The possibilities for customizing this basic brownie are boundless! Consider incorporating any variety of nuts, swirling in some creamy peanut butter, Nutella, or Biscoff spread, or adding a mix of chocolate, butterscotch, caramel, or cinnamon chips for an amazing twist. Don’t overlook the potential of dried fruit, or the crunchy surprise of pretzel bits for a sweet and salty flavor profile. It seems the genuine challenge lies in finding a sweet or salty addition that doesn’t enhance a brownie’s irresistible charm!

Should brownies be wet in the middle?

No! This means they are not fully cooked. To get the perfect brownie you should bake it until it no longer looks wet or glossy in the middle. You can stick a fork or toothpick in the middle to double check that its cooked all the way through, if it comes out with a few wet crumbs, its done! If the toothpick comes out with gooey batter, it needs more time & if it comes out clean, its overcooked.

What is better to bake brownies in, glass or metal?

When baking it’s almost always better to bake in a light metal pan, never dark! Glass is the second best. Light metal will conduct the heat properly so the bottom of your baked treat is cooked to perfection. Dark metal will conduct way too much heat and burn the bottom of your treats. Glass retains more of the heat within the bakeware, so if you are using glass it may take a few more minutes to fully bake your baked good. For me though, I always feel like it’s better to take the guess work out of it as much as I can. That being said, I always use a light metal pan for my brownies.

What is in a basic brownie?

Unsalted butter

When baking it is very important to use unsalted butter unless specifically noted to use salted. The reason behind this is, there is no way to know how much salt is in your butter cube, every brand using a different amount. If you use salted butter when baking you are at high risk of making an over salted treat.

Granulated sugar

The ingredient that makes all your treats sweet! The O.G. sugar. I like to stay away from organic sugar because the granules are often a lot bigger and take too long to melt down in the oven, this results in a crunchy treat… but not the good kind, its more like a sand texture.

Eggs

Provide both a fat and protein to the mixture. Eggs will help with structure, moisture & can help with leavening (rising), if ever you leave out an egg you will regret it, your baked good is likely to come out in crumbles.

Vanilla extract

Never use imitation vanilla, use the real stuff, the flavor is unmatched.

All-purpose flour

Every flour type has its place in the baking world, and all-purpose is the most universal. You will want to use all-purpose flour when making brownies. Bread flour would make your brownies too dense and cake flour would make your brownies too light and fluffy. You want fudgey, gooey brownies and all-purpose flour is the way to achieve that.

Cocoa powder

There are two ways to get the chocolate flavor into your brownie, either cocoa powder or melted chocolate, the easier of the two is cocoa powder.

Fine sea salt

When baking you want to use pure sea salt or kosher salt, anything else will have a more bland flavor because of the added minerals. You always want to make sure your salt is fine, that way it will melt down while your treat bakes.

How to store basic brownies

You will want to store your brownies in an airtight container or in the pan tightly wrapped with tinfoil. Brownies can stay at room temperature for 3-5 days.

Can you freeze basic brownies?

Absolutely! You will want to wrap the brownies up tight before freezing so that they don’t end up with freezer burn. Chocolate is very absorbent of flavors, so if your brownies aren’t sealed up they can end up tasting like whatever else is in the freezer. Brownies will stay good in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Recommended Equipment

You will need a light metal 9×13 pan. Light metal cooks the most evenly, if you use dark metal it is more likely to overcook your brownie or at least darken the bottoms more than you desire. A glass pan retains heat and it doesn’t transfer to your brownies as well. Another helpful tool is a standing mixer to cream your butter and sugar sufficiently.

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