Mom’s (Texas) Brownies
It has come up a time or two that I like brownies. It is possible that “like” is a slight understatement considering that nearly 20% of all of the recipes I’ve posted to date are brownies in one form or another. This recipe is probably the first from-scratch brownie recipe that I remember making. The “Mom” referenced in the recipe title is actually my grandmother, so this particular heirloom recipe actually spans at least three generations. I truly wish I knew where my grandmother got the original recipe from, but maybe it is enough to know that all three of us have loved these brownies and continued to share them with family and friends and pass the recipe down to our children.
Thinking back, most of my memories about this recipe center around my high school years. That is the first time I remember my mother asking me to make them for her (she was also a brownie lover). I remember the copy of the recipe I used at the time was actually titled “Texas Brownies”, rather than “Mom’s Brownies”, as depicted above, but it was the same recipe. I also remember that neither grandma nor mom ever made a single batch of this recipe, always a quadruple batch in a 15″ x 11″ inch pan, so when mom asked me to make brownies, that is what she expected me to do too, and who am I to argue with more brownies?
My high school years were also when my parents owned a restaurant and my grandmother would make these brownies as a special for the restaurant’s dessert menu. Because the brownies are baked until just barely done, they are very, very fudgy in the middle. We billed them as “Molten Brownies” and they were a huge hit with the customers any time they were available.
The recipe originally called for chopped nuts and I know that my grandmother would make them both with and without nuts. My mother, on the other hand, generally did not include the nuts. As I mentioned in the Chocolate Chipper Champs post, several members of our family tend to be anti-nut, and she would not want them to be unable to enjoy the brownies. If she was going to add any mix-ins it would usually be chocolate chips.
While the recipe was not written to include specific frosting ingredients and instructions, it does call for frosting the brownies once they are cool and I do not ever remember my grandmother or my mother serving these brownies naked (that would just be scandalous 😉). Which makes sense, my mother absolutely loved frosting, I’m pretty sure that she considered cakes and brownies to essentially be vehicles for frosting 🙂.
When I was making the brownies for her in high school, I remember using an American buttercream style chocolate frosting, and that was good, but at some point my mother switched to the cooked fudge frosting recipe in the image above. I think that change elevates these brownies to the next level. When she made the brownies, her preferred ratio of frosting to brownies was very nearly 1:1, which makes these already fairly thick brownies into an exceptionally tall treat – you might have to stretch just a little to get good bite of these.
One thing I remember from more recent years is that mom would always dress up these brownies. She would put colorful (and theme appropriate) sprinkles or other decorative candies on top of the frosting. If she was making the brownies with her grandchildren (and the brownie part of the recipe is certainly simple enough to make with kids) she would let them go to town decorating the top with whatever they liked from her somewhat extensive collection of sprinkles and candies. I have a few pictures of her making a batch of these with my daughter and two more of her granddaughters. All of their faces are wreathed in smiles and the brownies are coated with a blanket of pink frosting and a pile of varicolored sprinkles, mini M&Ms and chocolate chips. My dad shared that most recently mom would almost exclusively use mini M&Ms to decorate the brownies because her youngest granddaughter loved to pick the little M&Ms off the brownies to eat.
However you want to dress these up, or down, with or without frosting, sprinkles or other extras, I’m sure that you, and whomever you choose to share them with, will thoroughly enjoy them.
Equipment
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat your oven to 350° F. Line your baking pan with non-stick foil or parchment paper, ensure there is an over hang on at least 2 sides. (Alternatively, grease the pan with shortening or butter)
- Place the butter in a medium microwave safe bowl, use the microwave to melt the butter, set aside (alternatively, place the butter in a small sauce pan over low heat until fully melted).2 cup (448 g) butter
- Whisk together all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl until the color is homogenous.3 cup (396 g) flour, 4 cup (800 g) sugar, 1 cup (96 g) cocoa, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp espresso powder
- Add the eggs, stir to combine, there should not be any visible dry ingredients.8 eggs
- Add the melted butter and the vanilla, mix well. The mixture should be thick and glossy at this point.2 cup (448 g) butter, 4 tsp (20 ml) vanilla
- Stir in the chopped nuts (or other mix-ins) just until evenly distributed.2 cup (295 g) chopped nuts
- Spread the brownie batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until just set (the surface will be dry and glossy, the edges may be slightly puffed, the center will appear under baked and will move slightly if the pan is gently shaken). Do NOT overbake.
- Remove the brownies from the oven and set aside to cool for at least an hour before frosting.
- Mix sugar, milk, shortening, chocolate and salt in a medium (4qt) saucepan, stirring occasionally, heat to a rolling boil.4 cup (800 g) sugar, 1 1/3 cup (320 ml) milk, 1 cup (208 g) shortening, 6 oz (170 g) unsweetened chocolate, 1 tsp salt
- Without stirring, continue to boil for one minute.
- Immediately move the sauce pan to an ice bath (a large bowl with enough water and ice to reach about half way up the side of the saucepan). Beat the mixture with a wooden spoon until it is smooth, creamy and a spreadable consistency.
- Add the vanilla, stir to combine. Scrape the frosting onto the top of the brownies and smooth into an even layer. For a festive touch, evenly distribute a decorative element such as sprinkles or mini M&M over the top of the frosting.4 tsp (20 ml) vanilla, sprinkles or small decorative candies such as mini M&Ms
- Put the brownies in the refrigerator to set before cutting into individual portions, 56 small or 34 large brownies.
Notes
- A 15″ x 11″ pan is a really large batch of brownies, here are some options for smaller batches:
- 9″ x 13″ pan: 3/4 of the recipe
- 7″ x 11″ pan: 1/2 of the recipe
- 8″ x 8″ pan: 1/4 of the recipe Â
- Mom always made these (and all her other brownies) in glass baking dishes, so I know that option will work if that is what you have available, but I do prefer to use an aluminum cake pan, at least 2″ deep, for these.Â
- Mom’s (grandma’s) recipe never called for espresso powder, but I find that the addition of the espresso powder enhances the chocolate flavor, feel free to use or omit according to your own preference.
- The fudge frosting listed here was a separate recipe in mom’s recipe binder, but it is the one she most commonly used for these brownies and this is the ratio (~1:1 with the brownie layer) she preferred. If you prefer less frosting you can cut the frosting recipe to 3/4 or 1/2, you could also use your own favorite chocolate or fudge frosting, or even enjoy the brownies unfrosted if you’d like.
- I prefer a little less frosting but a more rich and intense chocolate flavor, so I do the following:
- Reduce the frosting to 1/2 of the recipe
- Increase the chocolate by about 66% (for the half recipe, that is 5 ounces of chocolate)
- Swap butter in place of the shortening (just so you are aware, this will result in a softer set frosting)
- Add 1/2 tsp espresso powder with the rest of the ingredients in the saucepan
- I prefer a little less frosting but a more rich and intense chocolate flavor, so I do the following:
Private Notes
Nutrition
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