This recipe is based on an old one called Jenny's Brownies, but since posting I've changed it up quite a bit. So this is the new and improved version of what are pretty basic cocoa powder brownies. And they are definitely all about the cocoa, with ¾ cup of it. That's a lot for an 8-inch square pan of brownies. Sometimes a lot of cocoa powder can produce dry brownies, but not here. These have a texture that's fudge-y or fudgy (I can never spell that right), but not overly so.
Cocoa Powder in Not Jenny's Brownies
Cocoa powder is one of those ingredients that's best to weigh. Some brands such as Hershey's natural weigh only 5 grams per tablespoon while Dutch process is more like 6 grams per tablespoon. It doesn't sound like much of a difference, but if 4 tablespoons of cocoa powder weighs 20 grams vs. 24 grams, that's a difference of 4 grams which is almost a tablespoon so just ¼ cup could be almost a tablespoon off. So if you are using ¾ cup of cocoa, you could be off by almost 3 tablespoons. And cocoa powder is a pretty powerful ingredient in terms of flavor and its ability to draw moisture. If I don't have a weight, which is most of the time, I err on the lighter side. So for this recipe the ¾ cup would be about 60 grams.
Recipe
Not Jenny's Brownies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour (65 grams)
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (60 grams)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar (225 grams)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
- 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup bittersweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease an 8 inch square metal pan or line with foil and grease bottom.
- Mix together flour, cocoa and salt; set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, melted butter and oil, then whisk in the eggs, one by one. Whisk in the vanilla.
- With a spoon or scraper, stir in the flour mixture and beat about 50 strokes.
- Stir in the chocolate chips
- Spread batter in pan and bake for 30 minutes at 325 degrees F.
shoyski says
Anna, I put in 3/8 tsp of salt and they definitely didn't taste as flat. Thanks for the heads up on adding salt.
Shelley
shoyski says
Thanks for the salt info. I'll try these again after I go to the store for more butter. How could I be out?! DOH!
Anna says
The rule of thumb I follow is for every recipe that calls for "butter or margarine" use an extra 1/4 to 3/8 teaspoon of salt. If an ingredient list doesn't call for any other salt, I go with 3/8 teaspoon. If the recipe calls for butter or margarine and has a little salt (such as this one), then I add an extra 1/4 teaspoon.
In this case the recipe just called for "butter" so I wasn't entirely sure whether the used salted or unsalted. I had a hunch it was salted, but I was still fairly conservative and just used an extra 1/8 teaspoon to make a total of 1/4 teaspoon. However, the brownies would probably have been fine with up to 3/8 teaspoon total. Since you noticed the flatness of the salt-free brownies, you probably appreciate salt and should use a full 3/8.
I might make my next batch with 3/8 just for kicks. I don't think they'd be too salty.
shoyski says
You are a good detective! 😀 That's exactly what happened. So, I want to try this again with unsalted butter (since that's what I have). How much extra salt do you supposed I should try?
Thanks,
Shelley
Anna says
Hi Shelly,
Did you use unsalted butter and keep the salt amount the same? I noticed the original recipe said butter and I think people in other countries might use salted by default -- not sure, just a hunch. So I used unsalted and increased the salt. If you used unsalted butter and didn't adjust the salt, the brownies would taste flat.
You were right about the unsweetened cocoa.
I think the addition of the vanilla helped, but the brownies shouldn't have tasted flat without it. I'm thinking it was a salt issue.
shoyski says
Hmmmm, wish I would have seen your changes before making these this afternoon. They sure were easy to whip up, which was nice. I ran out of white sugar so used 1/2 white and 1/2 light brown. I don't think that affected the end result all that much.
I felt like mine tasted a bit flat. I think adding some vanilla could have helped. I do like the consistency of them. Did you use sweetened or unsweetened cocoa? I wasn't sure what to use so used unsweetened since there was a whole cup of sugar in the recipe.
Rosie says
It sounds like a MUST try brownie recipe!
Jennifer says
Those sound really good! My problem is that I would eat the whole thing!
Maybe I could freeze individual pieces??
Jennifer says
Hmm.. it's sunny out here, in IL, but frightfully cold. The perfect morning for a brownie and a glass of milk!
Elyse says
With a description like that, how could you not try these brownies?! Thanks for sharing!
deeba says
It's getting dark in the evening here. These brownies must be yum, & are quite similar to what I make. Only difference is that I use 1 tsp of baking powder, 1/2 a cup of cocoa & 2/3 cups of sugar. I also add walnuts, & sometimes give mine a mocha or cinnamon twist.Also just bake mine for 18 minutes...but they are so good!!
VeggieGirl says
Mmm, brownies!!
Anna says
Me too, Carol. I have a lot of chores to do and need something quick and easy.
Carole Resnick says
It is also dark and dreary in Cleveland. Since I am stuck in the house I am looking for something to bake. This may be it.