# Help me tweak this brownie recipe. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 10, 2012, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-tweak-this-brownie-recipe/615412 "2012-03-10T22:13:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-tweak-this-brownie-recipe/615412/1 "2012-03-10T22:13:18Z")
I’ve been on a quest for the perfect brownie. Apparently I’m a brownie snob. I like them chewy, not cake like. I’ve tried seven recipes in the past 3 months. [This](http://www.food.com/recipe/whatever-floats-your-boat-brownies-32204) is not only the best of the bunch, it’s the best brownie I’ve had in years. However, there is one tiny flaw. Because of the small amount of wet ingredients, the sugar doesn’t get completely dissolved and the brownies are slightly gritty. My husband and son didn’t notice,(either from lack of snobbishness, or rate of gobbling.) I decreased the sugar to 3/4 c. The cocoa goes into the melted butter first which may be the problem. The cocoa /butter mixture isn’t very wet when the sugar is added. The eggs get soaked up by the flour. If I add the sugar first, will the cocoa be properly mixed into the batter? ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-tweak-this-brownie-recipe/615412/2 "2012-03-10T22:17:33Z")
Now, just to be clear, you _do know_ exactly what everybody who sees the thread title is thinking, don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-tweak-this-brownie-recipe/615412/3 "2012-03-10T22:34:59Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > Now, just to be clear, you _do know_ exactly what everybody who sees the thread title is thinking, don’t you? " I know exactly how to help Batsinma achieve brownie perfection." ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-tweak-this-brownie-recipe/615412/4 "2012-03-10T23:01:18Z")
1. Alice B. Toklas’ recipie had no cocoa, but it did have peppercorns and coriander. Not everyone’s idea of yummy, but they might wash down well with an IPA. 2. OP: cream the butter and sugar together first. A little spoonful of oil will go a long way. 3. Vanilla extract is a poor choice in a world is so blessed with so many wonderful liqueurs. Cointreau, Pernod, Chartreuse… ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-tweak-this-brownie-recipe/615412/5 "2012-03-10T23:33:52Z")
Add some heat! Cayenne Brownies 1/2 C butter (or use canola oil if you must) 3/4 C sugar 1/2 t baking powder 1/2 t vanilla 2 eggs 3/4 C flour 1/2 C cocoa powder 1/2 t salt 1/2 C chocolate chips (optional) 1/2 t cayenne (or a whole tsp if you like them really hot!) 1. Preheat oven to 350º and grease an 8" square pan. 2. Combine the melted butter (or oil), sugar, and vanilla in large bowl. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. 3. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt and cayenne. 4. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture until blended. DO NOT OVER MIX! Stir in the chocolate morsels (or don’t, I don’t add them most of the time). 5. Dump in pan and spread evenly. 6. Bake until tooth pick comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. These always turn out great. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-tweak-this-brownie-recipe/615412/6 "2012-03-11T00:04:37Z")
Probably the melted butter is simply not ever dissolving the sugar. Use one of three methods to achieve this: 1. Blitz the sugar in a blender beforehand and turn it to powder or Put the butter, sugar, cocoa and salt into a heatproof bowl and either 1. place it in a pan of simmering water and dissolve everything while whisking every so often or 2. do the same thing for short bursts in the microwave. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-tweak-this-brownie-recipe/615412/7 "2012-03-11T00:14:32Z")
My brownie secret ingredient is two tablespoons of instant coffee crystals. Mocha brownies. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-tweak-this-brownie-recipe/615412/8 "2012-03-11T00:17:02Z")
You could replace the granulated sugar with an equal weight of powdered sugar. ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-tweak-this-brownie-recipe/615412/9 "2012-03-11T02:42:41Z")
This is pretty much the same as my go-to brownie receipe, but I think you will have better results if you combine the melted butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until the sugar has dissolved, then run your cocoa through a sieve or flour sifter and combine with the rest of the dry ingredients, then add all to the egg/butter/sugar mixture. ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-tweak-this-brownie-recipe/615412/10 "2012-03-11T05:39:34Z")
Thanks for the tips! ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-tweak-this-brownie-recipe/615412/11 "2012-03-11T05:59:14Z")
> [@Cheez\_Whia](#): > > This is pretty much the same as my go-to brownie receipe, but I think you will have better results if you combine the melted butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until the sugar has dissolved, then run your cocoa through a sieve or flour sifter and combine with the rest of the dry ingredients, then add all to the egg/butter/sugar mixture. This was to be my advice too. It doesn’t look like the order of mixing is all that important. You could also keep the original order but use powdered sugar, but you’ll need to replicate the _weight_ of the original granulated sugar content rather than the _volume_. Pour 1 cup of granulated sugar onto the scales, then replace that weight with powdered sugar. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-tweak-this-brownie-recipe/615412/12 "2012-03-11T21:06:15Z")
Have you tried increasing the amount of wet? My first instinct is more butter, but adding another egg might work, as well. You might have to adjust the baking time. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-tweak-this-brownie-recipe/615412/13 "2012-03-11T21:24:38Z")
My cooking skills are such that I once burnt water. (Really, I just boiled it dry and the pot melted into the drip pan, nearly starting a fire.) However, my first thought was: use powdered sugar. Is that ridiculous? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-tweak-this-brownie-recipe/615412/14 "2012-03-12T15:08:58Z")
[rant] What idiot did the metric conversion at [food.com](http://food.com)?! They clearly don’t know the first thing about cooking in metric regions. We use metric for dry _weights_. We don’t use volume. Why the hell would I measure 118.29 ml of butter?!?! Looks like the problem was left in the hands of a junior developer rather than an actual cook. [/rant] ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-tweak-this-brownie-recipe/615412/15 "2012-03-12T15:34:47Z")
I used to have one that used Dutch Process cocoa. I think [this](http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/fudge-brownies-recipe) is it, but I thought it took 6 eggs, so maybe not. And I always added chocolate chips. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-tweak-this-brownie-recipe/615412/16 "2012-03-12T20:18:12Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > My brownie secret ingredient is two tablespoons of instant coffee crystals. Mocha brownies. Throw in some mixed chips–an assortment of white, semi, and dark–and some chopped crystallized ginger. Sometimes I also throw in some sort of ground pepper (I like ancho and the tiniest pinch of cayenne) with some cinnamon. It sounds like total overkill, and it is, but in the most awesome possible way. Seriously, we threw a Christmas party one year, and one of **DoctorJ** ’s coworkers actually said, “You didn’t make the brownies? I came because I thought there would be brownies.” ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-tweak-this-brownie-recipe/615412/17 "2012-03-12T23:23:18Z")
3 oz unsweetened chocolate 1 cup of sugar 1/2 cup of butter 2 eggs 1/2 cup of flour a pinch of salt tsp of vanilla Melt the chocolate and butter together Stir in the sugar Beat in each egg separately Add a pinch of salt and vanilla Stir in flour Wet a piece of parchment paper and line your brownie pan with it. Pour in batter and bake at 350 for 25 min. So easy my 6 yo daughter can do it and results in the best brownie I have ever had. I think the melted chocolate adds just enough moisture to dissolve the sugar. For an added treat, after baking about 7 min, sprinkle sea salt on the top of the brownies. ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-tweak-this-brownie-recipe/615412/18 "2012-03-24T19:27:55Z")
> [@Cyros](#): > > 3 oz unsweetened chocolate > 1 cup of sugar > 1/2 cup of butter > 2 eggs > 1/2 cup of flour > a pinch of salt > tsp of vanilla > > Melt the chocolate and butter together > Stir in the sugar > Beat in each egg separately > Add a pinch of salt and vanilla > Stir in flour > > Wet a piece of parchment paper and line your brownie pan with it. Pour in batter and bake at 350 for 25 min. > > So easy my 6 yo daughter can do it and results in the best brownie I have ever had. I think the melted chocolate adds just enough moisture to dissolve the sugar. For an added treat, after baking about 7 min, sprinkle sea salt on the top of the brownies. THIS is now my favorite brownie recipe. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-tweak-this-brownie-recipe/615412/19 "2012-03-26T02:04:50Z")
I use a very similar recipe. I add the sugar and cocoa while the butter is still warm. I don’t have a problem with gritty texture at all with it. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-tweak-this-brownie-recipe/615412/20 "2012-03-26T02:22:15Z")
Reporting back. In the interests of science I made the OP’s recipe using only confectioner’s sugar. Needed [1.8 cups](http://www.traditionaloven.com/conversions_of_measures/sugar_amounts.html) cups of the stuff to make the weight (I erroneously thought it would be denser, not the other way round). Mixing it with the melted butter was a problem as it absorbed it all and went very dry immediately. However on addition of the vanilla and eggs it went to the right consistency and the flour mixed in in fine. I have a very spartan kitchen and only a small toaster oven with no temperature control, but the results were spectactularly good. Best from-scratch brownies I have ever made in my life. So there you go - you can definitely make your recipe with no crunchy crystals if you substitute the sugar. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-tweak-this-brownie-recipe/615412.md?page=2)