These Old Fashioned Fudgy Brownies are dense, chocolatey, chewy, and rich. Even though the inside is immensely fudgy, they have this perfect crispy exterior.
These are not your average cakey, box-mix brownies. While those brownies have a certain charm, these are a chocoholic’s dream!
I just need to take a moment to rave about these brownies. They are dense, chocolatey, chewy, and rich with a perfect crispy exterior. Arguably the best thing is that they are just as easy as the box-mix variety. I actually made these twice this weekend because…because…okay, you caught me. I only made them twice because I loved them that much and who said brownies aren’t on the pre-wedding diet?
This brownie recipe is from the American Woman’s Cookbook. One of the hardest things about cooking from old cookbooks is figuring out the portioning. Rarely (read: never) do the authors give you directions about how many or how much a certain recipe makes. Does it make 6 or 16 muffins? Do I use an 8x8 or an 8x12 baking dish? This takes a certain amount of trial and error. Mostly error.
Ruth's instructions say to serve these with tea, but they would be perfect for any occasion!
Having remade these in 2022, I will say that they are delicious but they are best the day they are made. I found that the longer they sat, the more crumbly and crystallized they became.
Old Fashioned Fudgy Brownies
Ingredients
- 4 ounces chocolate (unsweetened, baking, 4 squares)
- ½ cup shortening
- 2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup nuts (optional)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
- Spray and line an 8 x 8 inch baking dish with parchment
- Melt chocolate in a double boiler over medium heat. While chocolate is melting, melt shortening. Add shortening to melted chocolate. Remove from double boiler and add sugar, egg, salt and flour. Add chopped nuts if desired.
- Pour into greased loaf pan or individual muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes in the pre-heated oven. Ruth, from the American Woman’s Cookbook, cautions, “They will look half baked…” They do look half-baked. I know it’s nerve wracking, but take them out anyways! Trust me.
- Ruth suggests marking the brownies off into squares or strips as soon as they come out of the oven. While this is certainly not necessary, it would definitely aid in the cutting process. Whatever you do, don’t try to take them out of the pan while they are still hot! They will crumble and be a big mess.
These look supper amazing! I have to try these. I love old cook books, I feel like I'm bringing the past back to life when I bake from one. They are a lot harder to follow though. Get blog, really love your work.
That is exactly how I feel! They do take some trial and error. Thanks for checking out my blog! Your photos are inspiring!
That's a posting full of ingtihs!
insight?