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.
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Brownies make the world go round!
These look absolutely incredible! I can’t wait to try them!
Oh, those look so totally delicious and a complete throwback to the good ol’ days of simple desserts – brownies (and usually ice cream!). Yum!
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.
Sometimes the recipe on the box really is the best–particularly with toll house stuff.
YUM YUM
That’s it, I’m off to the kitchen to make brownies!
With walnuts, just like my mom’s. And could they be any fudgier?:)
aww shoot…those look so good. walnuts in brownies are a definite must!
These brownies look irresistable, as all your recipes do!
These look amazing! Gooey and yummy and cakey. My stomach is now growling!
You are giving me a serious craving for chocolate now!
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.
I have never made brownies in a round pan. These look delectable!
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! :D x
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!
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! :)
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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. ;)
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.
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!
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
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.
I have been looking for a good recipe that someone has personally tried and tested.
Just bought all the things I need :-) am going to make these now.
This is just what I was looking for .. something that uses cocoa and coffee instead of cooking chocolate.
that seems like a lot of sugar no :-?
Hey mine turned out a bit too hard and not gooey.. pch
I guess different ovens will react differently.
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 :)
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!
I made these on Sunday and they were SUCH a hit! Thank you for the recipe.
Mmm…my hubby is making those as I type! The house smells great!
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!
I made these tonight and also used a smaller pan. They were perfect in my pan, so I think they would have been very sad and thin in the larger pan. Anyway, they were delicious!
Old School brownies are in the oven….everybody calm down! 18 minutes only seeeems like a long time.
Just made these.. They are perfection!
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.
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?
i’ve made these a couple of times now and they are AMAZING!
Have made these 3 times now. My boyfriend (and his roommate) request them!
OK, Joy, so you don’t know this but you are like my best friend!
We are definitely kindred spirits. ;)
I happened on your site about 10 months ago and LOVED your photography!
Your recipes looked amazing and I so enjoyed reading your blogs. I never really had time to try any of them because of my busy schedule but in the past month I have made three! I first tried your Chocolate Peppermint Sandwich Cookies, BIG hit. Then I made the Brown Sugar Bacon Waffles, my daughter’s favorite. (I made the waffles again yesterday but without the bacon and they were still amazingly delicious.) Today I tried the Old School Fudge Brownies with Walnuts… OMG! You ROCK, Joy! I tell all my friends about you and I always say, “Haven’t met a recipe of Joy’s that I don’t love!”
Thank you, Joy, from the bottom of my tummy!
I JUST made these, and they are FANTASTIC. The first brownies I’ve ever attempted to make, and they will definitely not be the last. I’ve read every single one of your entries and I adore your blog <3
AB-SO-LUTELY amazing brownies!!! Just the recipe I was looking for. If you are looking at this recipe…make these brownies!!
Just wanted to let you know that I made these brownies this afternoon and they turned out simply fantastic. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever baked I think.
Thanks so very much.
Joy- I’ve been following your site for quite some time now and love, love, love it!! I made these brownies this weekend and topped with an espresso frosting for something different. This is the best brownie recipe I’ve tried. Kudos to you and can’t wait to get a copy of your cookbook. Very happy for you. Please come down to San Diego for a book signing. :)
These came out really good! I loved the addition of walnuts.
& I sprinkled semi-sweet mini chocolate chips on top :)
Thanks Joy!
Hi…I just made these. I had baked it in a 9*13 inch pan for 21 mins and they tasted yum when they were hot. But after they turned cold they were very hard and chewy. Can you tell me where i went wrong?
Just found this blog looking at the Saveur Food Blog Awards 2011. After reading this and seeing the pics, I’m not surprised you won! Great looking brownies :)
Yurp just made this recipe for about the gazillionth time, as amazing as always! Thank you so much. This time I’ve mentioned it (and you!) on my blog so thought I’d let you know
xxx
Joy, these brownies are AMAZING! Thanks so much for sharing! And ps – the cake pan… why did I never think of that? Brilliant!!
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