Brownies Without A Box
More so than stovetop cooking, baking is central to my understanding of comfort. All I have to do is glance at the Everyday Food recipe for chocolate-chocolate chip cookies and I’m instantly thinking about babies, cozy cottages, and dowdy flannel nightgowns. I wish it were celery I found this transporting, but I have to make due with my lot in life: I love baked goods.
The guy who invented brownie mix, though, scoffed at the phrase “from scratch,” and had to have had a bleak vision of humanity. Who but an evil man could take a simple, luscious treat and figure out how to stuff it inside a box left to sit on a Piggly Wiggly shelf for years? If it’s something sweet loaded with sugar you want, at least do it right. There is not a single reason on earth why you need someone else to measure out your flour, sprinkle in some carrageenan gum, and cast partially hydrogenated soybean oil in a role real, honest-to-goodness butter should be playing. Believe me, I love a short cut, and there are some things that, if you value your sanity, you should definitely buy (puff pastry - even Mark Bittman agrees! ). But brownies? As your stockbroker would say, “These brownies require a minimal, low-risk investment with big, BIG results.”
Homemade brownies are such a cinch, a monkey could make them. These are dense and chocolatey but not overly sweet (walnuts or pecans are a great add-in). You could also go totally crazy and make a brownie sundae with ice cream, glorious Heath bar, and fudge on top, but when something so simple is this good, why mess with perfection?
k of the luke: what a hottie. i want that dress back.
p.s. who gets to lick the bowl?4 years ago
Sarah: I’ll trade you the dress for my black cashmere crewneck and green cashmere turtleneck you’ve been hoarding!
4 years ago
Corrine: Awesome, I made brownies just like this for St. Paddy’s Day (with green frosting). Love your site!4 years ago
Autumn: Yummy! They look really good. Your house is always so clean. I wish mine looked that good!4 years ago
Sarah: Our house is “clean,” in that after we decide which part of our apartment is the set, we take all the junk mail, piles of clothes, odd crap, miscellaneous shoes, and books and dump them on the other side of the room. It’s movie magic, but we’re glad it’s working! Continue to suspend your disbelief!4 years ago
Dad: Should we eat them with 2% or whole milk? Dad (stepmonster suggests skim)4 years ago
katie lazelle: sarah, dearest. this warms my heart and makes me feel like a complete twat for having been out of the loop for so long. am in complete agreement with all of your homemade propoganda–for st paddy’s day i made carrot cake with green cream cheese frosting for the people at the office and have a new brownie recipe from a favourite seattle bakery that i’ll send your way post haste. . .along with that stickybuns recipe you asked me for so very long ago. off to london this weekend. . .i guess i have a thing for rainy weather.4 years ago
Andrea: Sarah,
You’re charming and stylish and I love watching your videos. I’m going to try your brownies, but i’ll add spinach instead of walnuts.4 years ago
Conartist: It would be cool if you posted a text version of the recipe along with the video.4 years ago
Sarah: Yes, it’s a great idea to post a text version of the recipes, and I’ll try to do that from now on.
Spinach, eh? Well, it’s good to be curious! Let us know how they turn out, Andrea!4 years ago
Cat: I am going to try these with added espresso and hazlenuts. (Maybe with nutella icing!) Sarah I could gain 10 pounds just looking at these beauties.4 years ago