Perfect Chocolate Brownies

By

"This is the best brownie recipe I've ever used and I've used several!"

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Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 3/4 cup shortening
  • 2 1/4 cups sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts or 1 cup chopped pecans

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13" pan.

Melt shortening in a large saucepan over low heat, then stir in cocoa. Remove from heat. Mix in sugar and vanilla then mix in eggs one at a time. Stir in remaining ingredients then stir in nuts.

Bake for 30 minutes. Cool completely, before cutting into 2x2" squares.

I have read all the great reviews and learned from them, thank you all. Now I line my pan with buttered alumunin foil or parchment paper. This works very well.
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REVIEWS: (275)

YUMMMMM!!! So easy to make and SO yummy!!! I made them without nuts because my kids dont like nuts and it was scrumptious!!! I'll definately be making these again.

Best brownies I've ever made!!!! I baked them last night for a valentine's treat for my boyfriend - as a little romantic touch, cut them out with a heart-shaped cookie cutter. They are sooooo good!!!! And way easy!

This look's like a great recipe, easy ingredients. and straight forward instructions. UPDATE: Hi it's me again, I tried these brownies, and they are fantastic. I will be making these quiet often. Thank you.

I love this recipe! I chopped up a dark chocolate candy bar and threw it in. It was even better.

Nothing to change, great just the way it is.

Outstanding! Easy and almost "shout" homemade with love, according to my husband. Thanks for sharing.

We've made these twice now and the clan unanimously agrees that this is our new "family brownie recipe". Wonderful, fudgy flavor and texture. Even the 17 year old son was able to achieve excellent results following the recipe.

These brownies are what brownies should be, fudgy and gooey! They really were perfect! The batter is very thick and you get a good workout stirring it up. I lined my 9x13 pan with parchment paper so I didn't have to grease the pan. When the brownies are ready to be cut I just lift it all out of the pan and there's no clean-up. I cut the brownies into tiny little portions, that way I didn't feel so bad when I indulges. They were like little bites of chocolate heaven!

Ooey, gooey, rich, and chewy! Just like a brownie should be! Wonderful and a definite, "make again" recipe...A real keeper! Thanks so much for this delicious recipe! YUMMERS!

I will add my kudos to the rest. Delicious...moist and very chocolately. Thanks

When I tried this recipie the first time round, I thought who would ever rate this more then a one? I had made half the recipie, and unfortunately baked it in a "too small" pan. I ended up w/brownies spilling out over the pan, and then burnt brownie bits all over my oven. Ah! I did try them again today, w/the only alteration using a bigger pan, and the results were wonderful. Nice and chocolaty brownies, and there is no way u can eat just one. The instructions were also easy to follow, which of course always helps. Thanks for sharing!

My husband, who considers himself a brownie connoisseur, loves these and thinks they are truly perfect. I agree. Easy to make and oh so wonderful. A definite crowd-pleaser.

First thing first...i am NEVER going to buy another brownie! After trying these ones. They were fantastic!! They were moist chewy and so chocolatey. After they cooled, i too cut them up with a cookie cutter into bite size hearts and stars. Love them!! I did add a couple of white chocolate chips to it, but I think they would be rich enough as it is. Don't change the recipe at all! They were wonderful!!

I think these are the Award Winning Brownies. They were simple to make and turned out wonderful. Thanks for a great recipe!!

UNBELIEVABLE!!! I swear, cross my heart, I will NEVER buy a boxed mix again! I didn't even have the vanilla to add and these came out perfect. They filled up the pan nice and deep like no boxed mix can. I COULD NOT wait for them to cool, so I cut them warm and they popped out easily. Everyone is raving about them. Thank you!

I used to have a recipe similar to this one & lost it. This is a wonderful, moist chewy brownie. My husband & I both loved it!!!

OMG these are good. My dish was 8" X 11", so I had to bake mine for about 45 minutes. Delicious is ALL I can say!

Yummy!! Loved these, very addicitive, I will have to stay far(trying to and have to knock off a few pounds) :) My house smelt WONDERFUL while these were baking, and, when these were done, and I opened the door of my oven, mmmmmmmmmmmm, I was in CHOCOLATE PARADISE! Thank You so much for posting an incredibly tasty brownie recipe. I made a whole batch of these on 18th, and took it to my friends' place where their kid sister freaked on these;) THANKS A BUNCH for making her day and mine:)

These brownies are simply outstanding. They are chewy & so simple to make with an deep chocolate flavor; they are indeed perfect & the way brownies are supposed to taste.

We all LOVED them! That says it all simply and precisely! Thanks a bunch!!

Excellent! I did change the recipe a bit, though. I used ghee insead of shortening. Shortening is an evil non-food in my book. Anyhow, these were fantastic. Thanks!

I found this recipe on here this morning, decided to try them for desssert tonight. They were very easy to make, didn't chang anything in the recipe, except left out the nuts. I cut them up onto a plate for later but I snuck one and it was sooo good. Thanks for posting it.. will now be a family favourite I think.

Excellent brownies. Very easy to make and my family really enjoyed them.

Easy to make and absolutely delicious!! I made mine with 1/2 cup of white choc. chips and 1/2 cup of chopped almonds instead of the walnuts. Will definitely be making these again

These Really are great brownies. they came out perfect. Very chewey and Yummy.. Thanks

These are the best chocolate brownies ever!! I didn't add the nuts as my husband is allergic to them .. next time I will add chocolate chips! Thanks!!

Kind of a funny way of mixing - but it works! These are really good.........

Very good, indeed! Very easy to make and wonderful results. Will be making them often...thanks for posting the recipe.

These were excellent-- I followed this to the letter and they came out perfectly! Perfectly chewy... unbeleivable!

After reading the astounding 240 reviews of this recipe I just had to try it out as I am trying to move toward more homebaked goodies and foods on a consistent basis. I am a true chocoholic and this recipe will not disappoint even the most finicky of chocolatiers and will delight the taste buds of all who use it. To all you novice bakers, you can substitute butter or margarine for the required shortening. If you choose to use salted butter or other substitute that includes salt, you can cut the amount of salt required in the recipe to half. I used unsalted butter and then used the full amount suggested in the recipe. I also used a cup or 2 sticks of unsalted butter. Whether you use shortening, butter; salted or unsalted, or margarine each will have it's own unique flavor. Depending on your sensitivity to taste this will make a difference. It is best to use what you regularly cook with and use as table spreads for your toast and waffles. Using shortening as your cream base if you are used to butter or margarine on a daily basis will have a funny flavor not that it is a wrong flavor just different. Too much salt can sometimes have a bitter taste and if you reduce the amount of sugar or other ingredients you may have to reduce the amount of cocoa too. When making modifications to any recipe just be careful you have enough time to make corrections or start all over again if it is needed and don't need to be greeting guests or walking out the door with a first class presentation just hours away. You know what the old expression says, "If it ain't broke don't fix it!" Sometimes recipes will not allow for substitutions and I am still trying to figure out why that is or if it is chefs choice. I also added a quarter cup of semi-sweet Toll House morsels to my batter. I consider my cooking to be at the intermediate level bordering to advanced on rare occasions and am in no way an expert on the subject. Mom was a great teacher and I have improved over the years too. Like so many others who commented on this wonderful recipe, I could not wait til they cooled either....OUCH! Great going!

VERY, VERY GOOD! I followed the recipe exactly. I did put the shortening in my mixing bowl and melted it in the microwave, it worked great. I greased and floured the pan and no problems what-so-ever. These will definitely be made many, many more times! Thank you!

I came across my previous review for this recipe recently, which just said "Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..." Now I don't know what I was thinking just leaving a review like that or if I even tried these, so I figured I owed it to both you and myself to give these a go, if I didnt' before. These are wonderful- I halved the recipe and cooked in an 8x8 pan, which still worked perfectly. I actually forgot the nuts, which I wish I hadn't done- but next time (and there will be a next time!) I'll remember! These are moist, chocolately, perfect chocolate brownies. I liked how these just used the one pot and came together very quickly and easily. I wanted to line the pan with aluminum foil or parchement, but I'm unfortunately out of both, so I just oiled the pan well, but man these guys still stuck. Oh well- you can bet I will be picking every little stuck-on bit out of the pan and savoring it. These are delicous! Thank you for posting- I will definitely make again.

Followed the recipe exactly and they are not chocolatey or chewy enough. Don't care for them at all.

Oh please forgive me for my disbelief because if I had not read the reviews I would never have considered this recipe. My brownies are always loaded with sugar and shortening an absolute NO NO. Anyway, having said all this I thank you. They are easy and gobbled up by all.

I was looking for a recipe to use up some ingredients in my pantry and came across this one. After combining the melted shortening and chocolate I was a little concerned that the mixture would be too thick after adding the flour as the eggs were the only "liquid." I needn't have worried. The batter turned out perfectly. I used an 8" x 8" pan so the brownies would be a little thicker and adjusted the cooking time accordingly. These turned out fantastic -- not dry or cake-like, but chewy and fudgy -- just the way we like them. Thanks for sharing this recipe -- I already have requests to make it again!

These tasted too much like the shortening to me, and not chocolately enough. Definitely recommend throwing in some chocolate chips or something!

It was ok, but got pretty hard the next day.

We tried them twice and both times they tasted over cooked even though we baked them half the time it said. They also werent chocolatey enough and tasted a little like shortening.

These didn't turn out well for me. I followed the directions exactly and ended up with very dry, hard brownies. The top was very crunchy. Never had something turn out so weird before. They sure sounded good. Thanks.

I made your brownies today, after reading all the great reviews, I just had to see what all this fuss was about, and now I know. Well, what more can I add that has not already been said...these are actually the best brownies that I have ever made...this is what a brownie should taste like...moist, soft, and with a rich chocolate flavor...made them exactly as stated... I added 1 cup chocolate chips, and 2 Tbsp Kahlua (that I had left over from Christmas, with the vanilla)... baked it on the middle rack, so they would not get too over done on the bottom...they turned out wonderful, so good that they really don't even need any frosting, but we my DH and my son love frosting so I will add it on the brownies. Thank you so much for posting such a wonderful recipe, I will be making these again very soon.

These brownies were alright. I never made brownies in this kinds of method, so I was excited to try it. I followed the directions exactly and when the brownies were cool enough to cut, well lets just say it was struggle to get my knife through it. The taste was average, not moist, on the dry side. I was planning to put the leftovers in the kids lunches the next day and they were hard as bricks and had to dump them. I will keep looking....

I was really excited to try this recipe after so many great reviews, however the brownies didn't meet my expectations. I followed the recipe exactly, so I don't know what went wrong. My roommate and I both said that they weren't "chocolatey" enough for our taste. My roommate even made the comment that they seemed to have a bad aftertaste. I'm glad that others have found their perfect brownie recipe. As for me, I am still looking!

I have made a lot of brownie recipes, and this one stands head and shoulders above the rest! So very simple to prepare, using Virginia's excellent instructions. Even mixing the batter by wooden spoon is simple because you are adding in only portions at a time. I omitted the nuts as I will be offering these to my son who doesn't like nuts in his brownies (I love them and would have added walnuts - next batch, I will!). Brownies were ready and baked in exactly 30 minutes. I will keep this recipe in my Make Again Collection!

These are soooo good! I used margerine instead of shortening & they still turned out great. Thanks.

I am absolutely SPEECHLESS! These are by far the BEST brownies I have ever tasted!! Thank you so much Virginia - I think I shall be making these until I'm a little old lady. If you haven't made these yet, DO IT - TODAY!!!!

I had high hopes for this recipe, given the long list of positive reviews, but this recipe just did not turn out for me. The brownies were quite flat and dry in the middle, and they lacked much chocolatey-cocoa taste (and I used Girardelli premium cocoa that I've used for all my other brownie recipes with great success, so I don't think it was that). I thought maybe it was something I had done wrong, so I made it a second time with the same result. So I don't think I'll be making these brownies again.

Very good recipe! I didn't have shortening on hand, so I used oil instead, otherwise made as written. My whole family loved it. Thanks for posting! :)

Wonderful tasting and very easy-to-make and chewy brownies. It's now my official brownie recipe. I omitted the walnuts because I didn't have any but still turned out great. Thanks :)

Great brownie recipe. I made it exactly as posted and they were perfect!

Wonderful tasting brownie. Loved that it was mixed all in one pan and no separate bowls needed. Moist and full of chocolate-y goodness.

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