Project HUHO: Cheap Easy Brownies from Scratch
You don’t need brownie mix to make brownies. All you need is some basic ingredients, a mixing bowl, a spoon, and a pan.
I used to make these brownies all the time when I lived in the city. It was a pain to go to the grocery store — and I was on a tight budget anyway — so I got in the habit of making quick desserts from scratch to satisfy my sweet tooth. These brownies are easy and fast.
Brownies
1 cup sugar
1 stick of butter or margarine, softened (see below)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup cocoa (baking cocoa, not hot chocolate mix)
2/3 cup all-purpose flour (if you have self-rising flour, omit the baking powder and salt)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Soften the stick of butter like this: If you have a microwave, unwrap the stick of butter, break it in two, and heat it in a bowl in the microwave for 15-30 seconds, depending on your microwave. Ideally the butter should be soft, not liquid (but if it melts completely, don’t worry — your brownies will still taste great). If you don’t have a microwave, unwrap the stick of butter and slice the butter into about 10 pieces. Lay the pieces on the wrapping paper (or on wax paper or a little saucer) and set the whole thing on top of the oven that is heating up. While you gather the rest of your ingredients, the butter will be softening on the warm oven. But don’t leave it too long or it will melt and run all over the place!
Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. You can throw them all in together any which way, but the ideal is to mix them in this order:
1. Stir the sugar and softened butter together until well-mixed.
2. Add in the eggs and vanilla.
3. Add in the dry ingredients (cocoa, flour, etc.)
Stir with a spoon until all the ingredients are well-combined. The batter will be grainy. Grease a square 8×8 pan (get a glob of Crisco on a napkin and spread it in the bottom, sides, and corners of the pan). Spread the batter in the pan.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
15 Responses to “Project HUHO: Cheap Easy Brownies from Scratch”
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richard cherry says:
blimey, vi - there’s no comment i can make about that post - it’s nice that in america you have to tell people you can make a basic biscuit without resorting to a box!
but i’m just feeling cocky because i put a photo on my blog. just the one tho. no sliding down that particular slippery slope.November 28th, 2006 at 6:28 pm EST -
Paul Tergeist says:
Is it that blog you were on about earlier in the week? Which bloke are you?
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Ann Bartow says:
Wow, have to try this. I’m still reeling from the fact that when a 13 year old extended family member and I set out to craft a salad, she was amazed to learn that lettuce came in “heads” rather than only in bags, and carrots actually had “skins” at one point in their existence. She later proudly exclaimed to everyone present, “Aunt Ann and I made a salad from scratch!” Oy.
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gordo says:
Didn’t you forget an ingredient?
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Pony says:
Oy indeed Ann:
Today, it’s 23 degrees below zero F, with a wind chill factor of 40 below zero.
I made this, sort of from 28 Cooks:
Black Bean Chili
One stalk celery, one-half med yellow onion, one-third green bell pepper (because that’s all I had), four cloves garlic; all this chopped rather small. Saute vegs in one tablespoon olive oil. When softened add six canned Italian plum tomatoes (no juice), one 14 ounce tin drained rinsed black beans, one rounded tablespoon *smoked* hot paprika (some Hungarian brand), one rounded teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika, one rounded teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, one cup chicken broth. Simmer for 25-30 minutes. Mash a bit. You should still have a soupy chili. Adjust spicing. I added a couple glugs of Tabasco. Serve in bowls with a tablespoon of yoghurt and a dusting of ground cumin. Laugh at the weather.
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Paul Tergeist says:
Today, it’s 23 degrees below zero F, with a wind chill factor of 40 below zero.
-PonyI don’t even want to know where it’s that cold. Here it is 7:36 pm and 73F. It might get down to 68 tonight.
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Pony says:
That’s really not cold Paul. Seriously. It will be a couple weeks of 30-40 degree below F by winter’s end.
Anyhoo. I forgot something. You knew I would.
Add a good big handful of chopped cilantro just as you finish cooking the chili. Stir in and the heat will wilt it just enough.
I always try to use up my cilantro immediately when I buy it, so tomorrow the other half bunch will go in my red lentil/carrot soup, which is alo going to have a whack of cayenne, and some cumin among other things, depending on how I feel at the moment.
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richard cherry says:
vi - off-thread (so what’s new) i’m afraid, but you are invited to my party over at ‘there’s a place for us’ (the blog paul doesn’t know about) hope you can come
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Paul Tergeist says:
vi - off-thread (so what’s new) i’m afraid, but you are invited to my party over at ‘there’s a place for us’ (the blog paul doesn’t know about) hope you can come
xxx
-RCPlease don’t slobber at V. It’s disgusting. If you must find a woman to play lickey-face with, try Burrow, if you can pry her off whatever she is locked in unholy fornication with today.
Next: Vi has important business to attend during the day so she won’t be visiting your sick blog and neither will I, after having been put in a high dander by your
insouiscanceinsuoisaninsewoisinsulting behavior!! -
richard cherry says:
that would be a good excuse for not coming in to work ‘visiting a sick blog’ or even ‘i could not come in on friday as i was suffering from insouciance’
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Violet says:
Richard, thank you for the party invitation. I’ll be over as soon as I can.
The next time you comment, you might want to change the URL associated with your name so that people will go to your new blog when they click on “richard cherry.”
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richard cherry says:
ahhhhhh! that explains a lot…hope that has done the trick
don’t rush vi - it is a party taking place in a flexible no-time as well as no-space
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Paul Tergeist says:
Well……as long as Violet is attending….I might drop in, although I am uncomfortable around strange foreigners.
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richard cherry says:
it did and it didn’t do the trick - the ‘didn’t’ being that PT has turned up to make strange foreigners uncomfortable. my fault for inviting him i suppose - how the hell did he get out of camp america?
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Paul Tergeist says:
Don’t worry too much about it. I posted so that AD could piss and moan and diss me, and that’s what she is doing…..as Mandos so duly noted. As you see, I have not bothered to go back. I liked the Schrodinger’s cat post you made, even with the implied threat, because it was clever. You may feel free to allow the humorless drones over there to enforce the ban.
I refer you to this site, to which I am an occasional contributor:
