Fudge Brownies! | Chickens in the Road

Aug
10

This recipe combines two of my favorite things in life–an all-in-one foundational recipe that can be varied a thousand ways….and chocolate. I’ve been making this basic brownie for years. I love all those variations you can get in brownie mixes at the store and one day it occurred to me–duh!–that I could make those same chocolaty delights with my own homemade brownies. There’s nothing they can do with mixes at the store that you can’t do better–at home! And this recipe is easy.

Basic Fudge Brownies:

1/2 cup butter
2 squares (2 ounces) unsweetened chocolate
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Melt butter and chocolate in a small pan. Place sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a medium-size bowl. Add melted butter and chocolate. Stir well; add flour. Spoon batter into a greased 8×8 square pan. Bake at 350-degrees for 25-30 minutes–or, for brownie bites, spoon into cups in a mini-muffin pan. (Makes approximately two dozen mini-muffins. Bake mini-muffins approximately 15 minutes. Brownie bites are fun! Kids love brownie bites.)

But the basic recipe is just the beginning!

More Brownie Ideas!

Add these ideas into the batter along with the flour:
*Chocolate Chip Brownies–Add 1/2 cup chocolate chips.
*Nutty Brownies–Add 1/2 cup chopped nuts.
*Candy Brownies–Add 1/2 cup M&Ms or your favorite candy bar (chopped).

Add these ideas as toppings before putting brownies in the oven:
*S’mores Brownies–Crumble 1/2 cup crushed graham crackers over batter in pan then sprinkle 1/2 cup mini-marshmallows and 1/2 cup chocolate chips on top.
*Turtle Brownies–Sprinkle 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup chopped nuts over batter. Spread 1/2 cup caramel sundae syrup on top of nuts and chocolate chips. (About this one–can I just say TO DIE FOR?!)
*Triple Chocolate Brownies–Add 1/4 cup chocolate chunks and 1/4 cup chocolate chips to batter then spread 1/2 cup chocolate sundae syrup and 1/4 cup chocolate chips on top.
*Chocolate-Covered Cherry Brownies–Add 1/2 cup halved cherries to batter then spread 1/2 cup chocolate sundae syrup on top. (Easiest thing to do here is use 1/2 cup drained cherries from a can of pie filling, saving remainder of the can for another use.)

Recipe can be doubled to fit a 9×13 pan (bake approximately 35-40 minutes with doubled recipe) if you’re fixing for a crowd. Or yourself. You can’t have too many brownies….. In fact, I gotta make some more right now. Because these are already gone. And I bet you have some more brownie ideas I haven’t thought of yet. Share? I’ll go get the whipped cream…..

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27 Responses
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8-10
6:56
am

mint brownies and I make a mean double iced brownie…it is to die for. I will go mix up some right now…thanks for helping me decide what to have for breakfast!

wammy - Reply
8-10
7:27
am

Brownies are my downfall! I love them and chocolate is a must in life! And of course a little champagne….

happyathome - Reply
8-10
8:37
am

Thank goodness I’m eating breakfast as I read your blog – otherwise I would be having brownies for breakfast. (Not that brownies are a bad choice…they do have eggs, and of course the all important butter!)

Kathy R - Reply
8-10
9:09
am

I make brownies in a regular sized muffin pan and before baking, I push a mini-reece cup down in the center of the batter. They’re a hit everytime I make them with young and old alike!

Cheryl in Nebraska - Reply
8-10
9:22
am

I once had brownies that I didn’t know contained sauerkraut. An old German lady made them from a recipe that her Mom had given her. She rinsed the sauerkraut thoroughly and it made the brownies very moist. I was astonished when she told me. Had never heard of that before. xxoo

Carolyn A. - Reply
8-10
9:34
am

This is the exact same recipe given to me in the late 50’s and we’ve used it thousands of times over!! I sometimes add a lemon glaze over top while brownies are still warm in the pan. Chill and slice. Wow!!
Love all the variations from you and your readers. What fun!

Gretchen - Reply
8-10
9:38
am

Where were you last week!!! I had to search Hi and lo for
a brownie recipe!!! Yours looks easier. And Delicious!
And I just restocked on the necessary ingredients to gain 5 more pounds!! WooHOOO! FaT PanTs Here I Come!!!!!
:flying:

wkf - Reply
8-10
12:09
pm

Oh, yum! As a diabetic I can eat these because you’ve taken all the carbs out – right…?

Karen B - Reply
8-10
1:29
pm

Brownies are just about my very favorite dessert in the whole wide world!

Tori Lennox - Reply
8-10
2:34
pm

I’m already fretting about how fat I’m getting and you put these yummy looking recipes on here to try. Oh well, I luv chocolate!

Carole - Reply
8-10
3:27
pm

YUM! Bring on the coffee.

Estella - Reply
8-10
3:37
pm

YUM!!! You hit the magic button with me. As I sit here with my Lindt dark chocolate truffle, and savor this recipe. I can remember making browning homemade from my mother’s Betty Crocker cook book, because I THINK back then, there was not even a commercial box recipe yet. Or eventually, mother bought a foil pkg. of frozen ones, like a small 8×8 cake pan type thing of them. I can remember my sister’s recipe of rocky road brownies, where you put marshmallows on top after they are baked and some type chocolate. I will have to go search my recipes. Plus, “final exam” brownies which were the same.
My Mormom (excuse me LDS) friend gave me a recipe for her mom’s wonderful chocolate mint brownies – there was a layer of thin green mint on top and then a then layer of chocolate on that – but I remember she forgot to put sugar on the recipe for the chocolate on top – so they didn’t taste like her moms. I dont’ think I save that recipe even when she corrected it. But, I am sure there is one online …
I love the turtle brownies! All the brownies…we are big brownie fans…AND you can add ice cream on top and fudge sauce for a brownie sundae, like the resteraunt chains do…serve it on a hot skillet with that ice cream and fudge sauce on top. You can even make your own brownie ice cream by putting pieces of brownie into softened ice cream. YUM!!!! :mrgreen:

Donna - Reply
8-10
3:43
pm

Excuse my ebonics up there…I think faster than I type I guess.

If you read Mireille Guiliano’s book “French Women Don’t Get Fat”…its cool, about the French gastronomy, for HUNDREDS Of years…but in it, she says that chocolate does NOT go with Champayne – she was CEO of Cliquot Champayne. I forgot her reason why…something cancels out something. But, everyone seems to pair them together. She also said chocolate should be eaten at room temp. – but I like it cold. LOL I’ll eat it any ol way.

Donna - Reply
8-10
4:03
pm

Final Exam Brownies

4 sq.’s unsweetened chocolate
1 cup butter (cut in chunks to melt fast)
2 cups sugar
4 eggs (room temperature)
1 cup flour
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chocolate chips (to sprinkle on top)

Melt chocolate and butter and put in mixing bowl. Add sugar. Beat in eggs. Add flour, vanilla, marshmallows, nuts and chocolate chips.
Pour into well greased 9×13 pan, sprinkle with chocolate chips and bake 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Cool ten minutes and remove quickly, cutting into squares.

Donna - Reply
8-10
4:07
pm

This looks like the mint brownie recipe my LDS friend gave me in the late 70’s:
Glazed Mint Brownies SUBMITTED BY: Diana Conner

“‘I love taking these rich minty bars to a ladies luncheon,’ comments Diana Conner of Wichita, Kansas. ‘The women always think I’ve worked so hard to make these layered brownies when they’re so easy!’”

RECIPE RATING:

Read Reviews (13)
Review/Rate This Recipe

——————————————————————————–

PREP TIME 25 Min
COOK TIME 20 Min
READY IN 45 Min

SERVINGS (Help)
Servings
US METRIC

INGREDIENTS
2 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup butter (no substitutes)
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
FILLING:
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons milk
3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
3 drops green food coloring (optional)
GLAZE:
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
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DIRECTIONS
In a heavy saucepan or microwave, melt chocolate and butter. Cool slightly. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs, sugar and flour. Stir in the chocolate mixture. Pour into a greased 9-in. square baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
In a mixing bowl, combine the filling ingredients; beat until creamy. Spread over brownies. For glaze, melt chocolate chips and butter; stir until smooth. Spread over filling. Refrigerate until filling and glaze are set.

Donna - Reply
8-10
4:08
pm

When I looked up the above recipe online for “mint brownies” – the picture with it, looked just like the ones I made. On that brownie recipe page, they also had creme de menthe brownies..guess you could even put your “spirits” in there!

Donna - Reply
8-10
4:09
pm

mmmmmmmmmm…it’s pretty hard to find a brownie that I don’t like. Thanks for giving me the idea to do some baking today. Chocolate rules

Joanne - Reply
8-10
4:11
pm

Thanks, Donna!!

Suzanne McMinn - Reply
8-10
8:52
pm

Mmmmmm, brownies! I’ll look at the recipe later. Right now I’m droolong over the picture. *G*

Brandy - Reply
8-10
9:40
pm

They all look and sound yummy!!!

catslady - Reply
8-10
9:57
pm

My ex-husband makes killer brownies: macadamia nuts, white chocolate chips, instant coffee and Kahlua. I wish I could remember the proportions… but might be fun to experiment until you get it right.

Vonnie - Reply
8-11
12:54
am

mmmm…brownies…need some…and only have pizza cooking right now! I just don’t think it’s going to taste the same! :rotfl:

Teresa H. - Reply
8-11
10:00
am

I love brownies. Thanks for the recipe.

Crystal B. - Reply
8-11
2:05
pm

Oh now I’m hungry! I love fudge brownies!

Shimmy Mom - Reply
8-11
10:15
pm

I just want to say that every recipes I have tried from you has been perfect. These will be getting tested tomorrow. Lests just say I have high hope for these brownies as there are no goodies in my house right now.

Oh- an I have gained 10 lbs in the past 3 months due to my love for grandmother bread and cornbread, and rum cookies, and the samoas..my butt is huge and now brownies–I’ll be wearing my baggy sweatpants a lot.

gretchen - Reply
10-18
6:36
pm

These brownies are great! Thanks for the recipe. I’m getting ready to make them for the second time right now.

Christy O - Reply
12-19
12:46
pm

Our favorite thing to do with the brownie bites – top with some cream cheese after they are cooled. YUM!

Debbie in Memphis - Reply