These brownies "seduced" me! The BEST brownie I have ever had. Perfect brownie texture, not dry at all and just gooey enough. Packs an awesome chocolate punch (I used dutch processed cocoa)! After reading other reviews I subbed 1 c of brown sugar (with 1 1/2 c white sugar) and I added 1 t baking powder and 1/2 t baking soda to the flour mixture. These come together fairly fast and easy. I will NEVER make a box mix again!

Reviewed On: Nov. 17, 2009

Long review alert! Yes, even after 1000+ reviews, I am going to leave one! Deep chocolate flavor, pleasantly (but not overly) sweet, soft texture but not too gooey, perfect height(not flat) and just downright irresistible! I read through 100's of reviews and made the following tweaks to this recipe: 1/2 cup butter & 1/2 cup solid shortening instead of 1 c butter, 3/4 c white sugar & 3/4 c dark brown sugar instead of 1 1/2 c white sugar, 1 T vanilla instead of 2 t vanilla, used dutch processed cocoa, 1 t baking soda instead of 3/4 t, and added 1 t baking powder and 1 t instant coffee. In addition I used aluminum foil to line the pans and that eliminated any sticking. The dough was not sticky at all and it held together well without spreading (I didn't even refrigerate the batter between batches!). Several tips for cookie novices (I learned from previous reviewers): Mix the butter & shortening until fluffy, then add the eggs and vanilla and beat with a mixer until blended to death! When you think it's ready, do an extra minute. Mix(by hand, not mixer) the dry ingredients before adding to the wet ingredients. Mix the wet and dry ingredients with a wooden spoon until the dry ingredients are just mixed in. THEN, using a hand mixer, continue to blend the ingredients until you don't see a speck of dry material! At this point add the chips and nuts by hand. I made 40 cookies at about 2 1/2 inches across. Death by Chocolate! Whoo-hoo!

Reviewed On: Aug. 31, 2009

Great recipe as is. However if you prefer a bit more "zip", use a whole onion, 7-8 cloves of garlic, 1 t. cumin and 1/4 t. crushed red pepper. With the addition of extra onion and garlic, I used 2 T. EVOO. I like this served room temperature with some crusty bread...tapas style!

Reviewed On: Aug. 6, 2009