Brownie help needed

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pacanis

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I can follow directions for recipes, or so I thought.
I tried making brownies for the first time just now. Measured everything exactly. Realized that the "forty strokes" called for on the box was not near enough to mix the water/oil and egg (that I already mixed up) with the box's contents, so kept stirring by hand until it was thoroughly mixed.
Put it in the preheated and oiled pan as called for. 8" x 8" metal like suggested. Baked for exactly 38 minutes in the 325 F preheated oven. They had called for 38 - 42 minutes, but I remembered a trick (or so I thought) and at 38 minutes inserted a toothpick and had it cleanly go in and come out.
I took the pan out and let it cool.
I cut them into 16 brownies and immediately noticed they were not 2" high. They seemed about the same height as when I spooned the mixture in.
They taste OK.
Where the brownies touched the sides of the pan were hard to press my metal spachula through. Not burned, but crusty. The bottom third of the brownies seem to be a darker color and a denser texture.

Something aint right :(

Any ideas what could have happened?
 
I can follow directions for recipes, or so I thought.
I tried making brownies for the first time just now. Measured everything exactly. Realized that the "forty strokes" called for on the box was not near enough to mix the water/oil and egg (that I already mixed up) with the box's contents, so kept stirring by hand until it was thoroughly mixed.
Put it in the preheated and oiled pan as called for. 8" x 8" metal like suggested. Baked for exactly 38 minutes in the 325 F preheated oven. They had called for 38 - 42 minutes, but I remembered a trick (or so I thought) and at 38 minutes inserted a toothpick and had it cleanly go in and come out.
I took the pan out and let it cool.
I cut them into 16 brownies and immediately noticed they were not 2" high. They seemed about the same height as when I spooned the mixture in.
They taste OK.
Where the brownies touched the sides of the pan were hard to press my metal spachula through. Not burned, but crusty. The bottom third of the brownies seem to be a darker color and a denser texture.

Something aint right :(

Any ideas what could have happened?
:)brownies tend to harden on the sides no big deal I trim them off and put them on a plate to snack on.Check oven temp with a oven thermometer and see if its not running hot.Also there are all kinds of brownies some like a chewy cake like texture and some more of a fudge texture.What mix did you use Im sure someone knows something about that brand
 
Every time I make brownie's from a box they turn out differently. Sometimes perfectly soft and chewy, sometimes very cakey, sometimes a little crusty. Once after nearly 1.5 times the baking time they still were not done in the very middle.

I doubt its anything you did wrong. I have a recipe that I've never tried before but comes from a very reliable source for brownies from scratch. PM me if you'd like it.
 
Believe it or not I have never been able to make brownies from a box. They never turn out right. I've made them from scratch twice and they came out perfect both times. It was a very easy recipe so I will never make brownies from a box again.
 
They are: Ghirardelli. Something that was on sale 2 boxes for 5 bucks in the flour aisle when I was looking for breadmaking stuff. Really nice pic on the box, which of course looks nothing like how mine turned out. I figured if the girl that works for me now and then can bring me brownies that she makes.... and she says she does not cook anything and I believe her with her generation... how hard could it be? Apparently harder than I think.
I cannot believe that she makes them from scratch, but maybe she does.

The directions read:
Preheat oven to 325F (glass or metal pan).
Prepare 8 x 8 inch pan by lightly greasing or spraying with non-stick spray. (I sprayed with some mazzola stuff I had)

Maybe I shouldn't have pre-heated the pan? Because it was on the same line, I did.
 
The directions read:
Preheat oven to 325F (glass or metal pan).

Ah, ha. Now I see. The instructions are telling you to use the same temp for glass and metal pans. Glass bakes at a different temp than metal, so these instructions are telling you that, for this method, the choice of baking pan doesn't matter. You didn't have to preheat the pan, pacanis. That might have been a contributing factor to your brownie outcome.
 
Shoot :(
I was rather disappointed with the results.
I guess I can't follow directions ....

Still one box left to try again :) Thank you for clearing that up!
 
Kinda makes me wonder that preheating a glass pan results in crunchy edges... if a slightly cooler (not frozen... dear lord no. Wouldn't want to thermally stress the Pyrex too much, but cooler than room temperature) might result in chewier edges...

Just random thoughts.

And I've had Ghirardelli brownies... they're pretty good.
 
Try not to grease the sides of the pan---only the bottom. The greased sides tend to make the batter stick to them as they bake and therefore will be dried out and bake before the rest of the brownies. I read that tip somewhere and it works for me.
 
That must be why they were on sale college cook :LOL:
I will try that tip next time expatgirl. Thanks.

I tried another one last night and they had turned into bricks :(
 
I've never made brownies from a box so it might be different, but I have been told many a time my brownies are the very best people have eaten and IMO most people over cook their brownies, I don't know if its the same with boxed ones...I use a very large roasting pan and 38 minutes is probably DOUBLE what I'd cook mine for!
 
After posting in this thread I had to go out and buy a box of brownies (there goes my diet).

Since I was ruining my diet anyway I figured 'what the heck, lets do it right' and bought a bag of mini marshmallows and a bag of Ghiardelli milk choclate chips.

after mixing the batter for "cake like" brownies (three eggs vice two) I folded in about a cup of marshmallows and a quarter cup of the chips. Put this concoction in a brownie pan (dunno where it came from, found it the other day in the back of my pan cabinet).

I wound up tossing in a small handful of chips at the 30 minute point (and dumped all the heat). Wound up cooking them for an addtional 7 and 8 minutes (dumped the heat again for toothpick check).

Finally the toothpick was coming out with sticky crumbs rather than batter, so I figured time to yank them. Waited 15 minutes and turned them out (first time using parchment and non-stick spray in the bottom of the pan... OMG why don't people advertize this trick?! Goodbye stuck in the pan brownies).

For some reason, the edges are only slightly crispy (more from cooked marshmallow and chocolate than anything else) and the centers are moist and done...

It's more like a snack cake than a brownie... but desh sho fumgnin doogin nummr...

Er scuse me, typing with mouth full... they're so freaking good and yummy...
 
I'm sure preheating the pan was the reason your edges were hard and crunchy. The batter cooked much faster because of the hot pan, causing them to overcook by the time the middle was done.
 
A dark colored pan as opposed to a lighter colored metal pan makes a difference too. I've decided dark ones are useless, I won't buy them anymore, they burn everything on the bottom.
The recipe on the box of Baker's unsweetened chocolate squares is very good also, if you like a nice chewy brownie. Not difficult and you only need 1 bowl.
 
Just curious Vapor, did they rise at all for you? I don't have the box handy, but I thought I remember it saying they should rise about 2 inches. Even if I screwed up by preheating the pan, shouldn't they have still risen?
 
The ones I had did, but I used 3 eggs in them for "cake like" consistancy, as noted on the box. (not to mention the overdose of fluffiness from the marshmallows.)

However I couldn't find Ghiardelli Brownies, The chocolate chips were from them, but the brownies were Hersheys I think.

Not all brownies (especially boxed ones) are created equal.... And I've seen "fudge brownies" that stay flat as a pancake. That might have been it...

Or maybe the box you got was old and tired...
 
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