Yum!: October 2009

Years ago, before Betty Crocker made to-die-for brownies, I used to make my brownies from scratch. While they were really really good, I switched over because of simplicity. One of these days I may find my original recipe and see if they are as good as I remember them or if they were just a tall tale on my part. Having tried many different brands and cooking methods I found this recipe to be the best. You can make it with or without the cream cheese filling. The filling just adds more calories and makes them a little more decadent. With that in mind, if you are having a bad day, throw in the filling!

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Mom's Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients:
1 Box Betty Crocker's Hershey Walnut Supreme Brownie Mix
1 Box Betty Crocker's Hershey Triple Chunk Brownie Mix
4 Eggs (2 per package)
1 Cup Crisco Canola Oil (1/2 cup per package)
6 Tbsp Water (3 Tbsp per package)
1 Container Betty Crocker Milk Chocolate Frosting

Cream Cheese Filling:
1 8 oz Package Cream Cheese, softened
1 Egg
1/4 cup sugar, regular granulated
1/2 tsp vanilla

I use a 13 x 9 glass baking dish. Lightly spray with Pam cooking spray and set aside. Preheat oven to 350*.

In a small bowl cream together cream cheese, one egg, 1/4 cup sugar, and half teaspoon vanilla. Set aside.

Prepare Triple Chunk Brownie Mix according to the package. (The package labeling might have changed, which they sometimes do when they change ingredients, so follow their directions.) Pour this mixture into the 13 x 9 pan.

Prepare Walnut Brownie Mix according to the package as well and set aside.

Take the cream cheese mixture and drop by large tablespoons all over the triple chunk mixture. Once you have completely put all cream cheese all top of the brownie mix you can drag a knife threw the clumps of cream cheese so it all sort of connects. This will not be a smooth finished cover of mixture. Now you will pour the Walnut Brownie mix on top of this layer. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes.

The trick to really good brownies is to not let them overcook. You will not get a cake-like consistency with them. It will be more gooey with a little bit of a cake consistency around the edge.

Allow to cool for about 15 minutes. This allows the brownies to continue cooking without burning. Frost the brownies at this time. A lot of the frosting will melt into the brownies making them even more moist and chewy. You can eat them warm or cold, they are great either way!