Who doesn't love a challenge?

I am not a brownie lover, it's crazy I admit it.  I love chocolate in almost any other form... but for some reason ultra-chocolaty baked goods have never called my name.  I guess it was divine intervention, I adore sweets so much that if I also adored brownies and chocolate cake I would have burst due to sugar overload before reaching 30.  Despite my indifference to brownies I was inspired to find the best brownie...

By day I am a counselor in a middle school, my job is hectic and full of drama, but there are 2 fabulous ladies that keep me sane, Sarah & Crystal.  They are the secretaries at my school, and on more than one occasion this year these ladies have talked me off the ledge... During a rare quiet moment we were discussing favorite desserts and both Sarah & Crystal were discussing their love of brownies, and more specifically the merits of box brownies.  Being a from scratch girl I was horrified, how could anyone honestly prefer the flavor box brownies to homemade ones?!?  Then I realized my own mistake, I had never tasted a real brownie and a homemade one at the same time, how could I say which was better?

And so the idea of Brownie Beatdown was born... I'll be honest it was the gentleman caller's idea to name it that... but since he's my tech support I let him contribute ideas every once and a while :)  I decided to bake 3 homemade batches of brownies and 2 box varieties and host a blind tasting to see which people actually preferred....

I had to choose my brownies wisely, not just any brownie recipe or box mix would do...  I remembered seeing an episode of America's Test Kitchen where they made a recipe that could compete against boxed brownie mixes, so I already had one recipe.  How would I find the next two recipes I wondered...  I looked on the web and found a million brownie recipes, each claiming to be more fudgy, moist, and delicious than the next.... how to pick just 2? Finally I happened upon a story about the Baked Brownie, it happens that the Baked brownie is one of Oprah's favorite things, and has been voted best brownie by the Today show - sounds like a winner!  Two down, one to go!  I decided to visit allrecipes.com  for the last recipe.  Allrecipes is one of my go to places for recipes.  I appreciate the variety of recipes and all of the feedback from home cooks like me.  I chose the best rated brownie recipe...  Now for the box brownies... I ventured to the baking aisle of my favorite supermarket... Holy Buckets! There are a lot of box brownie mixes.  I decided in the idea of fairness, I should choose some top notch mixes not just your run of the mill 99¢ Pillsbury... sorry Pillsbury. I'm sure I stood in front of the mixes for 10 minutes causing a traffic jam in the baking aisle....

The Brownie Breakdown (that was me)...

Brownie A

America's Test Kitchen better-than-the-box Chewy Brownie Recipe

 A chewy homemade brownie, made with Dutch process cocoa, unsweetened chocolate, and bittersweet chocolate chunks.  This brownie also has shiny, crisp top.  Recipe makes one 13x9 pan.

Brownie B

Betty Crocker® Original Supreme Premium Brownie Mix with Hershey's Syrup

Made with premium ingredients like Dutch cocoa and real Hershey's chocolate syrup, Betty Crocker Original Supreme Brownies contain more than a bars' worth of chocolate in every batch.  Mix makes one 9x9 pan.

Brownie C

The Baked Brownie Recipe

 A dense, rich and chocolaty brownie.  When baked this brownie almost has a fudge center.  It is made with Dutch process cocoa and a whopping 11oz of bittersweet chocolate.  Recipe makes one 13x9 pan.

Brownie D

Allrecipes.com Best Brownie Recipe

 A hybrid homemade brownie that is a little chewy, a little fudgy, and a little cakey.  This brownie is perfect for those who do not love an ultra-chocolaty brownie, as it is only made with cocoa powered.  Recipe makes one 9x9 pan, or one 9x13 pan when doubled.

Brownie E

Duncan Hines Premium Chewy Fudge Mix 

Duncan Hines Brownie Mix Chewy Fudge makes moist and delicious brownies with the rich taste of chewy fudge.  Recipe makes one 13x9 pan.

I spent an entire day baking these beautiful brownies and then hosted a blind tasting for a small group of family and friends.  The next day I took the remaining brownies to my school and invited the entire staff to test and rate the brownies.  I received a total of 27 valid rankings...  Any guesses on the winner based on photographs and descriptions???

And the winner is... 

I'd be lying if I said the Baked brownie wasn't also my favorite.  It has divine chocolate flavor and the moist fudgy center was delectable even for someone who is admittedly ambivalent when it comes to brownies.  If there was a brownie that could turn me into a brownie fiend, this would be the one.  It is superbly chocolaty without knocking you straight into a chocolate coma, desperate for a glass of milk.   And for this reason the Bake brownie is definitely deliciousness.


You can locate this recipe in the Baked cookbook, which I have owned for about 2 years now.  It contains some great traditional recipes tweaked in an unconventional way.  I love the sweet and salty cake, but that's another blog post...  They are also now marketing a mix sold only at Williams Sonoma, and they have a storefront in New York City.  

The Official Results...

A special thanks to...
-the gentleman caller for his patience and tech support on this post

-Sarah and Crystal for inspiring this post and being just plain fantastic

-all my blind tasters for their honest feedback 

-and finally my dashing carpool companion who tallied the final results