This recipe combines two of my favorite things in life–one basic recipe that can be varied endless ways….and chocolate. I’ve been making this basic brownie for years, but I love all those variations you can get in brownie mixes at the store and one day it occurred to me–duh!–that I could make those same chocolaty delights with my own homemade brownies. There’s nothing they can do with mixes at the store that you can’t do better–at home! And this recipe is easy.

Basic Fudge Brownies:

1/2 cup butter
2 squares (2 ounces) unsweetened chocolate
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Melt butter and chocolate in a small pan. Place sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a medium-size bowl. Add melted butter and chocolate. Stir well; add flour. Spoon batter into a greased 8 x 8 square pan. Bake at 350-degrees for 20-25 minutes–or, for brownie bites, spoon into cups in a mini-muffin pan. (Makes approximately two dozen mini-muffins. Bake mini-muffins approximately 15 minutes. Brownie bites are fun! Kids love brownie bites.)

But the basic recipe is just the beginning!

More Brownie Ideas

Add into the batter along with the flour:
*Chocolate Chip Brownies–Add 1/2 cup chocolate chips.
*Nutty Brownies–Add 1/2 cup chopped nuts.
*Candy Brownies–Add 1/2 cup M&Ms or your favorite candy bar (chopped).

Try these ideas as toppings before putting brownies in the oven:
*S’mores Brownies–Crumble 1/2 cup crushed graham crackers over batter in pan then sprinkle 1/2 cup mini-marshmallows and 1/2 cup chocolate chips on top.
*Turtle Brownies–Sprinkle 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup chopped nuts over batter. Spread 1/2 cup caramel sundae syrup on top of nuts and chocolate chips. (About this one–can I just say TO DIE FOR?!)
*Triple Chocolate Brownies–Add 1/4 cup chocolate chunks and 1/4 cup chocolate chips to batter then spread 1/2 cup chocolate sundae syrup and 1/4 cup chocolate chips on top.
*Chocolate-Covered Cherry Brownies–Add 1/2 cup halved cherries to batter then spread 1/2 cup chocolate sundae syrup on top. (Easiest thing to do here is use 1/2 cup drained cherries from a can of pie filling, saving remainder of the can for another use.)

Recipe can be doubled to fit a regular sheet brownie pan or a 9 x 13 cake pan (bake approximately 30 minutes with doubled recipe) if you’re fixing for a crowd. Or yourself. You can’t have too many brownies….. In fact, I gotta make some more right now. Because these are already gone. And I bet you have some more brownie ideas I haven’t thought of yet. Share? I’ll go get the whipped cream…..

See this recipe at Farm Bell Recipes and save it to your recipe box.


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