I wasn’t going to give out my recipe for brownies just yet, but I don’t have anything started for a new doll, I didn’t buy anything at the antique shop today to show you, I’ve told all my yard sale stories and my bed is calling my name…LOUDLY! So here goes… this is the recipe I have tweaked over the years and my go-to dessert in a pinch. These are nice gooey, fudge like brownies and my family loves them…
This is the recipe I use for my Brownies in a Jar gifts too. I’ll give you the directions if you want to put them in a jar…actually I already did a post on that one time… If you want to send someone the brownies, but don’t want to send them in a jar, I have put all the dry ingredients in a zip lock bag and mailed them that way. Just make sure you give them the “wet ingredients” to finish them.
I just gave one away on my blog post…this is what it looked like…
BROWNIES IN A JAR
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup Hershey’s cocoa
1 and 1/2 cup white all purpose flour
Pinch of salt
Pinch of baking powder
Mix all the dry ingredients together then add:
2 eggs
10 TBSP melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla
Stir until all the ingredients are mixed well and spoon into a buttered 8″ x 8″ pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or so… I’m not exactly sure on the time. I can tell by how they smell when they are done. You don’t want them over cooked… but you don’t want them gooey in the middle… Well, unless you’re my hubby… the gooey-ier the better! Stick a toothpick in the middle of them and if it comes out clean they are done… you want them soft… not hard and crusty.
Here is the post I did back in October 2014, of the tutorial for making them in the jar…
On this last day of October, I thought I would share with you a treat I made for a few friends of mine. I’ve been making these “Deep Dish Brownies in a Jar” gifts for years and they are SO SO good! I didn’t have any pictures in progress so I went to town and bought the stuff to “show” you first hand how these are made….and my hubby will be SO pleased I did. Do you smell D-E-S-S-E-R-T tonight? They are very easy to make for any celebration you have in mind… Christmas, Birthdays, Valentines Day, Easter, etc. All you need are the ingredients placed in layers in the mason jars and then a pretty topper decorated with some flowers or leaves. Tie on a printed card with the directions and you are set!
If you’d like to try my recipe, here it is with a few instructions on the way I do it.
Take a quart jar, (not a wide mouth jar) and start at the bottom with these ingredients and work your way to the top:
Add to the bottom of the jar:
1/2 cup chopped pecans, tap the jar so they level out evenly in the bottom of the jar.
On top of that add:
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips, and tap the jar again to level the chips out.
Next add:
2/3 cup of brown sugar, and use something to push it down and make it even across the top. I use an empty spice bottle to smash it all down evenly. Just reach down into the jar and push it down, going around the glass jar edges until you have it flat across the top.
Next pour in:
3/4 cup sugar and tap the jar again to level it out. (I like my jars to have perfectly level rows of the ingredients. It just looks prettier to me.)
Next you are going to mix together a few things to make a sort of cocoa colored mixture:
1/3 cup cocoa, 1 & 1/2 cups flour, a dash of salt and 1/4 tsp of baking powder.
After using a whisk to get most of the mixture stirred up, I use a spoon to smash out any lumps of cocoa. I like the mixture to be evenly colored, with no dark cocoa lumps showing through.
Spoon this cocoa like mixture into the jar last and use a spoon and the spice bottle to push it down as you add it. It’s a tight fit but if you use the bottom of the spice bottom to push it all down in there, it will fit. You want it to be tight so it doesn’t shift around.
Trust me, it fits if you measure correctly as you go.
Screw on the lid and now you’re ready to decorate. I cut a circle about the size of a luncheon plate from my fabric using pinking shears to give it a finished zig-zaggy edge. Put it on top of jar and use a rubber band to hold it in place. Fluff it out a bit and then tie a ribbon or a piece of jute around it.
You’ll need to add the directions to the jar for your recipient to know how to make them. I use card stock and print out 6 of these at a time.
Here are the directions:
Add to Mix:
2 eggs
10 Tbsp Melted butter
1 tsp vanilla
Stir until ingredients are well mixed. It will
be thick and gooey.
Bake @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes in
an 8 x 8 buttered pan.
Tie this tag onto your jar and you’re almost done. Add whatever kind of decoration you like using a hot glue gun: flowers, leaves, acorns, Christmas sprigs, costume jewelry etc. Make it your own and give it with a smile on your face. The person who gets it will be thrilled! I guarantee it!
Okay, do you want to see what happened with mine? Here is how they look before going into the oven…nice and gooey!
Here they are fresh out of the oven…the smell is outstanding!
Served on a plate for my hubby…
See…I TOLD YOU THEY WERE GOOD!
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Yum, Jeanne! I can almost smell them from here! You did a wonderful step-by-step process that is easy to follow and you do a good job of giving us a visual too! This would be a wonderful idea for those bake sales and craft fairs coming up in the fall! Of course, I wouldn’t be decorating the jar for myself, but that is a good way to use those odd little pieces of left-over material scraps. All in all, a cute and yummy blog today!!
HI Linda,
I wish I had more chips…don’t you know I’d be making some for us too! I did sell them before at a craft sale and they disappeared fast. Then one year for Father’s Day, I baked some chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and used my tiniest cookie scoop and placed the baked cookies in a jar and decorated the tops. They went over big time too!
Thanks so much Linda,
I’m going to be coming your way next Thursday…well sort of your way… Kristoffer and I are going to Alton to pick up a new dresser and hutch for my sewing room!!! YAY! I finally found one! Too bad it had to be 2 hours away…but anyway… it will be worth the drive I hope!
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh, so happy to hear that you have finally found a hutch! Can’t wait to see pictures of it soon!
Oh, Alton, well Michael used to work at Alton Box Board, which has since closed, every day. It took about an hour to get there, and it is north of us, but of course, he had to go during rush hour, which made it take longer. Wish you could stop by!
Thanks for sharing your wonderful brownie recipe! Yumm!!! I have a little hint for you regarding the lumps in cocoa powder. Use a small handled sieve and measure in your cocoa and then press with the back of a spoon to get out those lumps. I make a chocolate chip zucchini bread that calls for cocoa powder and I use this technique to avoid those lumps of cocoa.
HI Karen,
I almost got out my sifter and sifted the cocoa but was too lazy I guess… I like your idea of the sieve better. It’s less to clean up and you can see when all the lumps are gone! Thanks!
I’ll do that next time I make them… Yum… chocolate chip zucchini bread sounds yummy… I haven’t made that since last summer… I might have to give it a try…
Blessings, Jeanne
Great idea! I think I may have my mom put some of these together to give for christmas gifts this year! she just turned 92 – and she would really *enjoy* making some of these up to give! thanks for sharing!
HI Mary,
I’ve done the jars “assembly line” before and it goes pretty fast. You can see what you’ve done easily and move on to the next one… I think your mom would love doing them…
Thanks for sharing…
Blessings, Jeanne
Those brownies look delicious. Maybe after I do the apple pie. I finally bought some shortening, and the Gravenstein Apples are ready for peeling. We might make it today using “the recipe.” But, only if the peeler wants to work. 🙂
HI Joy,
Oh I hope the “peeler” (you?) wants to work today… or maybe you meant an apple peeler machine (?) Either way, I hope an apple pie is sitting on the table for dessert tonight!
I have 4 apples here, I might have to make one myself… :o) Yum!
Thanks Joy,
Blessings, Jeanne
Just what I’ve been wanting. I think I’ve hinted twice in a very short time. As Mary C said, they’d make great Christmas gifts that you’d know were appreciated by the recipient, especially since they’d keep a little while. When the holidays were over, maybe after the tree was down and the ornaments were returned to their storage place, just when something special and a little different is needed, brownies to the rescue.
Maybe it’s time to establish a “food” category — you’ve given us some good recipes, that would make them easier to find.
Today you are taking your mother to an appointment. Whenever my brother goes someplace he’d just as soon not go, he makes it a point to stop someplace he enjoys, a restaurant, a specialty grocery or spice shop — this custom has allowed him to become and stay familiar with all the interesting places anywhere close. It’s not only pleasant, it’s useful, and it makes the day something to look forward to.
HI Marilyn,
I knew you’d be happy to see the recipe for the brownies…I did it for you! :o)
I might put a tab at the top for recipes…you can always go to the right side bar and where you see the green SEARCH button, type in whatever you’re looking for… brownies, cookie bark, bean dip, Addy, doll shoes, etc, and it will pull up all the posts with those things in it.
Actually I called about my mom’s appointment and she didn’t have to go today. George asked me if I was going to the Food Pantry and I told him “no” I needed a day to myself. So everyone is gone, I’m doing dishes and cleaning up my house. It needs it after a week of neglect… I’m going to figure out who’s next and maybe lay something out for ideas…
Thanks Marilyn,
I hope you have a wonderful day,
blessings, Jeanne
What a scrumptious looking post you sent us today, Jeanne! Marilyn wasn’t the only one anxious to try making them. 😉 Your step-by-step instructions with pictures are very helpful. I also agree that perhaps you could add a “recipe file” of sorts to your blog where all the ladies can contribute. Joy’s apple pie sounds delicious, too. BTW, we have the same blue and white dishes you show as your hubby’s brownie plate! Our’s are “Finlandia” by Churchill of England, but I know several companies made a similar pattern. We also have some “extras” in “Blue Denmark” with a fluted edge made by Johnson Bros of England.
I can see how your jars would make wonderful gifts, especially decorated so nicely. Although you have done so much already to help get Jean’s family settled, maybe you can bake some brownies for his family as a welcome gift, and then present them with a decorated jar of their own to make. I’m sure they would be thrilled, and the little ones could easily help because everything is pre-measured. Do you know if Jean’s wife and children speak English?
I hope you’ve been able to catch up on your sleep a little bit, Jeanne. Maybe take a few more catnaps this week! Thank you so much for sharing your brownie recipe with us. Like everything else you present to us on your blog, “it’s a good thing!” (Words courtesy of Martha Stewart; blog by Jeanne Marie). I’m off to make brownies now, ta-ta!
HI Anne,
I didn’t make brownies, but I just finished some chocolate no-bakes for a meeting my hubby has this evening. They are his favorites and I bet I’ve made them at least 200 times… I would have made some brownies but I’m out of chocolate chips. If you make them today, I hope you enjoy them… :o)
I got the little blue and white dish from my sister one time. It makes the perfect “show-off” plate for my blog!
Jean’s wife speaks English, but he told me she needs to take a refresher course. Maybe just conversations with her will be enough.
Well, I’m trying to get a few things done today…
Blessings, Jeanne
The recipe looks delicious. I will have to bookmark it and try it another time. I’m by myself this week and wouldn’t trust myself not to eat the whole pan! I do love brownies, but don’t need the extra weight a pan of brownies would result in. Hope you had some time to rest and get caught up on projects today.
HI Carolyn,
I wouldn’t trust myself either with a pan full of brownies and all alone… That could be disastrous!
I did find some time to myself today and actually ventured into my sewing room… and good things are happening in there… :o)
Thanks so much Carolyn,
Blessings, Jeanne
A great post and photos. Thanks for sharing. Hope you can get rested up. You wear me out thinking about all you do!
HI Susette,
I have pushed myself too much lately and today when George asked me if I was going to work at the Food Pantry, I told him no. I made some cookies for his men’s meeting tonight and I’ve actually started on a dress for Kit… Both things I enjoy doing!
Thanks for thinking of me, Susette,
Blessings, Jeanne