I used to think that nothing in the culinary world could be easier than boxed brownie mix.  Open box, add wet ingredients, stir and bake.  Foolproof, yes, but it feels like cheating.  However, I recently came across a brownie recipe that is just as easy, just as affordable and a million times better!  This is a rich, dense brownie that stays moist for days after baking.  It’s also a brownie that just screams for a glass of cold milk.   I’m willing to bet that you already have all the ingredients for these bad boys in your pantry!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup white sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup cocoa

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional, but they really DO make the brownie, in my humble opinion.)

Directions:

Preheat over to 350 degrees F.  Lightly grease an 8 x 8 inch baking pan.  Mix first 3 ingredients in a bowl.   Beat in eggs.  Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  Stir dry ingredients into wet mixture with a wooden spoon, until just blended.  Stir in walnuts.

Bake for 30 minutes, until brownie edges begin to pull away from the side of the pan, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Allison Empey is a 29-year-old medical transcriptionist from Ontario, Canada.  She is happily married  since 2006 and is having an obscene amount of fun being a mom to her 16-month-old son, Hayden.  Allison is an avid amateur photographer with a penchant for portraiture.  She loves to write, and to make people laugh, and has combined the two passions by regularly updating her blog.   Allison’s other loves?  Reading, board games, medicine, cheesecake and wine.

Check out Allison’s websites:  www.flickr.com/allygalore for photos, www.galore.tumblr.com for hilarious (and modest) blog, and www.twitter.com/AllyEmpey to follow her on Twitter!

Tags: brownies, chocolate, Dessert, nuts, recipe, simple