Okay, so I am basically a brownie snob. I only like super chewy, rich, fudgy brownies. And these….well, these are DEFINITELY worth the fat and calories! There is a reason they are the very first dessert I am posting on this blog! 🙂  My favorite thing about these brownies….other than the fact that they are delicious…is the brownie batter is made in one pan. Soooo easy! If you can make a brownie mix from the store….you can make these brownies!
Place 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter or margarine in your medium saucepan and DO NOT THINK ABOUT THE FAT OR CALORIES. Once you taste these, you won’t care anyway! Melt over low to medium heat. Watch closely so it doesn’t start to brown. Once it’s melted, add 3/4 c. powdered baking cocoa and stir with a whisk. If you have a non-stick coated finish on your pan as I do…please be gentle with your whisk. These taste a lot better without the non-stick coating shavings in your recipe. (Don’t ask how I know this…)
Remove pan from the hot burner, and 2 c. sugar, stirring to incorporate. The batter will look kind of…well…sugary. Not to worry…it will get creamier soon! Add 4 eggs, one at a time, stirring well between each. (If you get easily distracted as I do, set your eggshells aside in one place so you don’t lose track of how many you’ve added.) Add 1 tsp. vanilla and stir to incorporate. Dump in 1 1/2 c flour and 1/2 tsp. salt and 1 c. chopped nuts if you are adding those (most of our kids prefer no nuts, so I don’t add these very often.) Mix well.
This batter is very yummy and the perfect mix of fudgy, sweet and salty…so if you take a taste, you do so at the risk of a lot less brownie batter making it into the pan! 😉
Use a spatula to pour into a greased 9×13 pan. Bake for 20- 22 min. DON’T OVERBAKE!
While they are baking, make the fudge frosting. I put the dry ingredients in first, then add the melted butter and vanilla and mix-away! Add the milk slowly to the desired texture you like in your frosting. You don’t want it runny, but you don’t want it so thick that it won’t spread, either.
Then make the cream cheese frosting…or go get a container of the pre-made stuff from your pantry. (I won’t tell anyone! I do it sometimes too!)
Once they are cool, frost with the fudge frosting. Â Soften the cream cheese frosting by warming in the microwave for 5 seconds at a time, until it is at the consistency where it can drizzle easily. Use a spoon or a frosting bag to make 10 or so thin lines across your brownies over the top of the fudge frosting. Then marble the cream cheese frosting by running a butter knife back and forth through the cream cheese frosting lines and then do the same motion going the other way across the lines, as shown below.
I dare you to wait very long to eat these brownies. But if you do have some left, they stay fudgy the next day too!
| Cook Time | 22 minutes |
| Servings |
brownies
|
- 1 c butter or margarine
- 3/4 c baking cocoa
- 2 c sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp. Vanilla
- 1-1/2 c flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 c nuts optional
- 2 c powdered sugar
- 1/3 c butter or margarine melted or almost melted
- 1/3 cocoa
- 2 Tbsp. milk
- 1 tsp. Vanilla
- 2 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 T. butter or margarine
- 1/2 tsp. Vanilla
- 1 c powdered sugar
Ingredients
Brownies:
Fudge Frosting:
Cream Cheese Frosting:
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- Preheat oven to 375*.
- Melt butter in large saucepan over low heat. Add cocoa and remove from heat. Stir in sugar and one egg at a time, mixing well after each. Add vanilla; then flour, salt and nuts.
- Pour into greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 22 min. Do not overbake. Cool completely before frosting.
- While brownies are baking, make fudge and cream cheese frostings. (I often use pre-made cream cheese frosting, but ALWAYS use this fudge frosting.)
- Mix ingredients in order given in electric mixer, or stir with wire wisk until smooth.
- Frost Brownies with Fudge Frosting. Using a small spoon, spoon cream cheese frosting on top of fudge frosting, making several "lines" across brownies. Using a butter knife, run knife through the first line of cream cheese frosting (in the same direction as the frosting), then in the opposite direction through the next line of cream cheese frosting, and continue alternating directions through all of the lines of frosting. Repeat this pattern going across the lines of cream cheese frosting. (Check out the video on my blog post to see how to do this.)
- Let frosting set. Cut and serve brownies. Cover unused brownies to keep fresh.
These get almost more chewy and fudgy the day or two after making them....if they last that long!
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