Blonde Brownie Problems

[bakerchica]

Hi everyone,
I am new on this site, but am hoping I can get some answers to a long standing problem I have with my blonde brownie recipe. My aunt gave me this recipe, her blonde brownies are devine. For the last 20 years I have tried everything to get mine to turn out like hers, but they just don't! The baking time is 20-25 minutes, and after 20 they are not done, at 25 minutes I usually pull them out, but then they are SO gooey, almost not baked liked and they fall down so they are so flat in the middle, but crispy edges. Any suggestions? Here is the recipe:

1. Melt 1/3 cup butter. Add 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar and mix well.
2. Cool slightly and add 1 slightly beaten egg and 1 tsp. vanilla. Blend
3. Add flour mixture: 1 cup flour, 1/2 teasp. baking powder, 1/8 teasp soda, 1/2 teason salt. Blend
4. Pour in 8x 8 pan, sprinkle with choc chips.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

So that is what I do! Any ideas on why they always turn out to a pile of mush?

 

[jabbur]

I would check your oven temp. You can get a thermometer just about any where and see if it is getting to the correct temp. It sounds like your oven may be cooler. Ovens vary greatly and you may have to adjust the cooking time for your oven. I have recipes for cookies that say 9-11 minutes and I always have to go 12-13 to get them cooked right. Once you know your oven temp you can then either raise the temp a bit when you turn it on or cook them longer to get the center done. You can check it by inserting a toothpick in the center. If it comes out with batter stuck to it, you know you need to give it longer time.

Another thought is what type of pan you are using. Glass and metal pans cook things different. Do you know what type your aunt uses?

 

[Alix]

Add about a 1/4 cup of flour too. Cook it til a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean. Don't worry so much about the time listed, just do what works in YOUR oven. There are so many variables (height above sea level, oven temp, different pan) that you need to just play a bit and see what works.

 

[crandle]

I have a recipe that is very similar but has less butter (1/4 cup) and less vanilla (1/2 t). Here is the one I use:

1/4 Cup butter
1 Cup flour
1 Cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla

Same mixing method as yours (the batter will be very thick) and same bake time/temp (350 for 20-25 min). I've never had any problems with this one. Remember to check with a toothpick to make sure it's done in case your oven temps are off.

 

[Randy_]

I have a Blondie recipe that has been in our family for about 50 years and liked by everyone. It is a larger yield recipe that needs a 10 x 15 jelly roll pan. I scaled it down to yours and find it has a little less butter and brown sugar and more egg than yours so that is where I would normally suggest you start looking; but, since you know the recipe works two other thoughts come to mind.

I had some trouble making the recipe work when my Mom first gave it to me. Finally I managed to be successful after I purchased a kitchen scale and started weighing the flour rather than scooping it. Apparently, my "scooping" technique was lacking and I was not getting a correct and consistent amount of flour by scooping.

Other idea has already been mentioned and that is the issue of temp. My recipe requires 28 minutes at 350° and there is not a lot of leeway. If your oven thermostat is off you may not be getting the temp that you are setting. You can simply add some time to the cooking time and experiment until you get it right or you can do as suggested and buy an inexpensive oven thermometer and use it to set your oven temp and disregard what the oven dial is set at.