There are countless reason why I love making brownies. All they require is a bowl and wooden spoon. They’re moist and satisfy that deep chocolate craving. But more sentimentally, brownies are one of the first things I remember making with my sister growing up. We’d take out one bowl, one pan, follow the directions on the back of the unsweetened chocolate box, and about 45 minutes later- warm brownies! We’d burn our fingers trying to get the hot brownies out of the pan. But it was worth it to sit down with a plate of warm brownies and cold milk to watch episode after episode of I Love Lucy. Those were the days. These old school Fudge Brownies with walnuts and chocolate chunks were made in an effort to reach back to those days eating brownies on the living room floor with my sister. The amazing thing is that one bite into the warm chocolate took me right back to being 10 years old, baking with my sister. It’s pretty remarkable what a brownie can do!
I took the recipe for these brownies right off the chocolate box, just the way my sister and I used to rock it. The result was a dark, fudgey and nutty chocolate brownie. Just perfect! And you must eat at least one piece hot out of the pan with a glass of milk. It makes life worth living. You think I’m exaggerating… well I’m not.
Old School Fudge Brownies with walnuts and chocolate chunks
adapted from Toll House
1 2/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup butter
2 Tablespoons strong coffee or water
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate bar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9×13-inch baking pan. (I used a 10-inch round cake pan.)
Combine butter and cocoa powder in a small bowl, and place over a pot of simmering water. Make sure that the simmering water down not touch the bottom of the bowl. Add the coffee or water and stir to melt the ingredients.
In a medium sized bowl whisk together the eggs and the sugar. Add the vanilla extract. When the butter and chocolate have melted and come together, slowly stir the chocolate mixture into the sugar mixture.
Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir to combine. Fold in the nuts, saving a small handful for the top of the brownies if you like.
Pour the batter in the pan, sprinkle with chocolate chips or chocolate chunks and remaining nuts. Bake for 18-25 minutes.
Remove from the oven and cut into bars.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:47 am
Brownies make the world go round!
April 21st, 2008 at 5:46 am
These look absolutely incredible! I can’t wait to try them!
April 21st, 2008 at 6:37 am
Oh, those look so totally delicious and a complete throwback to the good ol’ days of simple desserts - brownies (and usually ice cream!). Yum!
April 21st, 2008 at 8:27 am
Eating homemade brownies fresh out of the oven is one of life’s simple pleasures. Especially when those brownies have a nice cold glass of milk or ice cream accompanied with them.My kind of brownies involve massive amounts of bittersweet chocolate melted into the already chocolatey batter because I normally need more oomph then the cocoa powder offers.
April 21st, 2008 at 10:44 am
Sometimes the recipe on the box really is the best–particularly with toll house stuff.
YUM YUM
April 21st, 2008 at 1:45 pm
That’s it, I’m off to the kitchen to make brownies!
April 21st, 2008 at 3:51 pm
With walnuts, just like my mom’s. And could they be any fudgier?:)
April 21st, 2008 at 4:46 pm
aww shoot…those look so good. walnuts in brownies are a definite must!
April 22nd, 2008 at 7:07 am
These brownies look irresistable, as all your recipes do!
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:03 am
These look amazing! Gooey and yummy and cakey. My stomach is now growling!
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:29 am
You are giving me a serious craving for chocolate now!
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:32 am
I suspect that brownies conjure up a few memories in nearly everyone, particularly in those of us who have managed to mature (i.e. managed to reach the ripe old age of 50 years plus).
My favorite memory is that in my younger days as a Professor of Education (attempting to educate people how to be “teachers” when classrooms were for learning . . . not for jungle warfare training) . . . some of my female students (most school teachers then were female, fortunately) would occasionally bring me brownies.
Although their motives might have been questionable, their brownies ranged from great to terrible. I graciously accepted them all (but I did not necessarily eat them all).
However, when a certain student (I will call her “E”) brought me a box of brownies using a recipe VERY similar to yours, I was impressed.
“E” went on to become a Master-degreed teacher, then a Registered Nurse, and finally a medical corporation executive, supervising the nursing staff of an entire state.
And I am now her husband (happily retired).
Your post is wonderful, for its content, for its outstanding photos, and for reminding me how lucky I am that “E” made me a box of brownies just like yours.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:38 am
I have never made brownies in a round pan. These look delectable!
April 22nd, 2008 at 3:01 pm
i’ve got this bookmarked. i remember the I Love Lucy days..and add Bewitched to that, Oreos & a glass of cold milk. was awesome. with this recipe, I’m sure I can recreate some of the old days. thanks joy!
x
April 22nd, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Your brownies looks so yummy! I agree, there is nothing better than a warm brownie fresh from the oven with a glass of cold milk!
April 22nd, 2008 at 7:42 pm
My friend Jose always requests two things from me every year …a german chocolate cake for his birthday and a box of fudgy walnut brownies for Christmas. I have bookmarked this recipe for next year. Thanks Joy!
April 22nd, 2008 at 8:38 pm
Brownies have always been an old time favorite of mine too. I remember licking the spoon after my mom would make brownies. I loved the batter, so good!
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:26 am
Ohhhh…nummy! You just got me totally in the mood for some rich brownie baking! Those look so good I could almost tatse them and I think my mouth is watering now!
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:15 pm
You inspired me to make brownies tonight while watching Top Chef…I used Nigella’s recipe from Domestic Goddess but I still tipped my hat to you, Joy!
April 28th, 2008 at 6:20 am
Hi, I found your blog last week and made two of your recipes just this weekend: these delicious brownies (coworkers swooning all over the lab) and the chocolate orange bundt cake which I halved since I only have a 6 cup bundt pan and replaced sour cream (difficult to find in Portugal) with natural yogurt. Two hits in two days! Awesome score
BTW, lovely pictures!
April 28th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
Looking back, I also have fond recollections of brownies being one of the few things I could (er, “would”) make. These got my stomach rumbling–they look excellent!
May 5th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
I came across your blog on Stumble, bookmarked it and then realized that just looking at these photos is going to make me fat! I´m totally drooling and dying to get baking (and I´m more of a cook than a baker) . . . so, if I balloon up to 300 lbs, I´m totally blaming you and your delicious blog.
May 11th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
I totally just made these with almonds instead of walnuts and they were awesome. I will confess that I have always just made brownies from a box but these were 10 better.
Thanks for your wonderful blog.
May 12th, 2008 at 9:46 am
I do not remember it the same way, sorry. The brownies YOU gave MA were from a box, Chuck!!
Had I paid more attention in school, I might not have had to practice my nursing in prisons, which is where I actually met you.
Now that we both have more time to cook, I do love it when you bake from scratch. I hope you copied down this recipe, since it looks fantastic!
May 15th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Wow.
I saw your brownies a few days ago and couldn’t stop thinking about them so I just finished making them. They are absolutely wonderful. I’ve made batches of brownies before but never as perfect as these. I think they are going to be a “Have a good weekend” gift for my son’s teacher.
Also just watched your podcast.
Have you ever thought of having your own TV show. I’d watch it.(and tape it and watch it over and over).
Thank you for the inspiration
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:26 am
Made these and they taste as good as they look. Perfect! What more can I say. After cooling I cut and wrapped individually in plastic wrap and put them in the fridge for later. I microwaved an individual slice for 15 seconds and it brought it back to a just baked out of the oven taste and texture.
May 28th, 2008 at 4:08 am
I have been looking for a good recipe that someone has personally tried and tested.
am going to make these now.
Just bought all the things I need
This is just what I was looking for .. something that uses cocoa and coffee instead of cooking chocolate.
May 28th, 2008 at 4:19 am
that seems like a lot of sugar no
May 28th, 2008 at 6:47 am
Hey mine turned out a bit too hard and not gooey.. pch
I guess different ovens will react differently.
July 22nd, 2008 at 7:34 pm
I just tried making them - YUMMY is an understatement!! I have to make a second batch now because most of the first batch is already gone! Thanks for this amazing recipe
September 10th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
I had a serious craving for chocolate today and your photos made me run up to the kitchen and get baking. These hit the spot!
November 10th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
I made these on Sunday and they were SUCH a hit! Thank you for the recipe.
January 7th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
[...] adore (the orange on the right… don’t get it twisted) . Incidentally, task number two? Eat more brownies… [...]
January 22nd, 2009 at 5:49 pm
Mmm…my hubby is making those as I type! The house smells great!
February 21st, 2009 at 2:06 pm
[...] to make a plate full of brownies. When I first started getting into scratch baking, this was my trusty recipe, and it is a winner but I felt like trying something new. I open up my Baking recipe book and Dorie [...]
February 25th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
These are in my oven right now!
I used a 8×8 inch glass pan - I greased + floured the 9×13 but when I looked at the amount of batter I made a last minute switch. You may want to revise that note.
Thanks for the great recipe… + beauty pictures!
March 12th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Old School brownies are in the oven….everybody calm down! 18 minutes only seeeems like a long time.
June 5th, 2009 at 8:24 am
Just made these.. They are perfection!
June 15th, 2009 at 10:10 am
I just finished eating a piece warm from the pan. I think I might go into a chocolate coma
I used Brazil nuts and they turned out delicious. Now the cat is stalking me, trying to get a piece of them. Can’t really blame him, either.
June 16th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
These look amazing! Would they hold up well if they were baked in mini muffin pans as bite sized brownies? I’m sure the time would need to be adjusted but once they cooled do you think they’d slip right out of the tins?