Saturday, February 8, 2014

Fudgy Homemade Brownies (The Best!)

As I was sitting here this evening, I realized why I couldn't concentrate on what I was doing- I had a craving. Which is always horrible when you live in this house, because we rarely have ready-to-go sweets just laying around! That would be my fault- I plan the meals, I do the grocery shopping by myself. Which, to be completely honest, is how I prefer to shop- no one around to keep asking for extras. It's just quite the Debbie Downer when we want to have something sweet- I NEVER buy extras that aren't on my grocery list when I shop alone!

So what did I do? What any Pinterest addict would do! Search Pinterest for a fairly easy sweet treat that I have all the ingredients for. The first sweet I saw was for brownies, and I knew I had everything for the basic brownie recipe. Sweet Anna's had the perfect recipe to appease my craving: The Best Fudgy Homemade Brownies, From Scratch!


Fresh out of the oven


My youngest had some serious curiosity going on when I announced that I had a sweet tooth and was going to bake something. He guessed cookies. Nope. He guessed a cake. Nope. Even with all the ingredients on the table, he still was clueless. 


The flour and water was missing from this picture. 
It was included in the brownies, promise!


Once I shared with him that I was making brownies from scratch, he asked if he could help. Of course he knows that mom goes a little easier on him when he participates and helps me in the kitchen. I love that he wants to help occasionally in the kitchen, but I swear it's only when it's something sweet that he knows he's going to love! 


 "Mom, it looks like mud"


 Step 2, pouring sugar nice and slow...
Until I told him the slower he pours, the longer
he has to wait to eat brownies!


 Let's get 'er done!






 Last addition- flour and chocolate chips!






 Starting to look like brownie mix


 Ready to bake! 35 minutes?!?! That's forever
in the eyes of an 11 year old!


Cool moms let their helper lick the bowl. 


So while Dakota and I were mixing up the brownies, Dad was playing a video game online with my brother, Chris, who lives next door, and a couple other friends. I learned after the brownies were in the oven that he announced to Chris what Dakota and I were up to. Naturally, Chris said he'd be over when the brownies were done. He was as serious as a heart attack. After 35 minutes, the brownies looked like perfection and came out of the oven to cool off (see the very first picture). It smelled like chocolate had died in our kitchen and we had all gone to chocolate heaven. After 15 minutes of Dakota asking if the brownies were cooled enough, I decided to cut into them.


 Chris was at the door before the knife came out of the pan!


Chris has only complained about one or two of my meals that I've prepared, which is a miracle considering he's a fairly picky eater for his age. But his pickiness on top of Dakota's has caused me to alter the meal plans a bit so that they would eat what gets fixed for dinner each night. So for him to say that these were bigger and better than the brownies that come from the boxed mix, it was quite the compliment!


 Dakota enjoying his handiwork in the kitchen alongside Dad.


Our older son who's still at home, Codey, had spent part of the evening at a friend's house, and had no clue what Dakota and I had been up to. Amazingly, it seems as if every time I bake something new or have a really yummy new dinner that I try out, someone shows up with impeccable timing! As we're all diving into some chocolaty heaven, Codey walked in the front door. First words out of his mouth: "I love coming home to brownies!". 


Codey dove right into the brownies with everyone else.


Needless to say, I think these brownies were a huge hit! There is still half a pan left, but I guarantee that tomorrow evening after dinner, I'll be surprised to see crumbs in the pan! I gotta admit, this may not be a good indulgence if you're on a diet- there's two cups of granulated sugar and two cups of chocolate chips in them. But if you're not on a diet, this makes an amazing weekend treat for the family that everyone is sure to love!

Be sure to hop on over to Sweet Anna's by clicking on the link to get the full recipe, and don't forget to let her know I sent you her way! 



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