How to Make Brownies from Scratch
Do you ever crave chocolaty delicious brownies but don’t have brownie mix on hand? This is no longer an issue once you know how to make brownies from scratch: No more boxed mix, no more running to the store when you’re out. Just pull a few simple ingredients from the pantry… you’ll wonder why you ever used a box.
You already have everything you need (except maybe cocoa).
As someone who has just recently become infatuated with cooking and baking from scratch, it blows me away when I have everything I need to make something and don’t need to run to the store. Even better is when the recipe turns out AMAZING… as did these brownies. I even added my own spin by adding melted peanut butter, which gave them a new height of flavor and made a really pretty marble appearance on the top.
What’s fun about baking from scratch is making a recipe your own. Instead of chocolate chips, you could add white chocolate or butterscotch chips. You can add caramel instead of peanut butter, or chopped peanuts. The possibilities are endless.
These brownies take just minutes to mix together.
You can make these brownies from scratch with just 6 dry ingredients and 4 wet ingredients, the longest part is pulling the ingredients from your pantry and adding them in.
step 1:
Mix together the dry ingredients:
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Simply add them all together in a medium mixing bowl.
step 2:
Mix together the wet ingredients:
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons lukewarm water
- 2 tsp. vanilla
The wet and dry ingredients ready to be combined will look like this:
step 3:
Combine wet and dry ingredients.
step 4:
Pour batter into an 8 x 8 baking dish.
If you would like to add peanut butter:
I added in 1/4 cup of peanut butter after melting it in the microwave for 30 seconds or on the stovetop until runny and thin. Take half of it and fold it into the batter. The other half can be drizzled on top once the batter is in the baking dish. Use a spoon to swirl the peanut butter into the top of the batter in a swirled pattern. Now it’s time to bake.
step 5:
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
Allowing these brownies to bake at a lower temperature for longer ensures the edges don’t get too burnt and the inside stays gooey and not hard. Remember that the toothpick test is the best way to make sure they are done enough in the center.
Tip: The brownies will still be slightly gooey in the middle, but that’s okay. They will continue to bake in the pan as they cool and, even when they are completely cool, the middle will still be chewy.
These would be great for dessert. Looking for another from scratch dessert recipe? Check this out.
Cheesecake can seem difficult to make… but making these mini versions is so much easier, and can be individually topped according to what you like.
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Homemade Chocolate-Peanut Butter Brownies
Equipment
- 8 x 8 baking dish
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1-1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp lukewarm water
- 2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
Dry Mix
- Mix cocoa powder, sugar, powdered sugar, salt, flour and chocolate chips in a medium mixing bowl.
Wet Mix
- Add eggs, oil, water and vanilla to the dry mix and combine.
- Spoon brownie batter into an 8 x 8 baking dish.
Peanut Butter Mix
- Heat 1/4 cup peanut butter in a microwave or on the stove top until thin and pourable. (About 30 seconds in the microwave).
- Fold half of the peanut butter into the chocolate mixture with a rubber spatula.
- Drizzle the other half of the peanut butter onto the top of the mixture in the 8 x 8 pan using a spoon.
Baking
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
From my home to yours,
