My Mom’s Been Making This BHG Brownie Recipe For 55 Years

I come by my passion for all things red plaid honestly. My grandma’s copy of the New Cookbook is so tattered, splattered, and well-loved that there’s no question it’s been a mainstay in her kitchen for decades. That’s where my Mom first made BHG’s Brownies when she was a preteen (circa 1970). Until this year, I just knew these as Mom’s brownies—with its foolproof formula jotted in her handwriting on a faded, water-stained notecard.

The card’s “recipe from the kitchen of” section is conspicuously left empty. I had no idea of the actual origins of this chocolate dessert until Mom mentioned this as an aside during a phone call while we were discussing another brownie recipe I was testing out for this very site: Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies. Mom said, “did you know that my brownie recipe is from the red plaid cookbook?” No, Mom, I had no idea that the staple of countless bake sales, potlucks, and family holidays was a Test Kitchen creation. But as a former BHG digital editor and contributor for 8 years, this makes our family heirloom brownie recipe even sweeter.

I begged my Mom to send me photos of this vintage dessert so I could recreate it and share it with you so we could continue the tradition.

 How to Make My Mom’s Signature Brownies

Dating back to my early grade school years, I recall standing at my Mom’s hip, acting as her sous chef to sift the flour and stir the ingredients. In fact, this might just be the recipe that helped me finally master how to crack an egg. Here’s how we make the classic BHG Brownie recipe from the 1953 New Cookbook:

1. Melt the chocolate. Place water in a saucepan over low heat, then add a bowl that sits ½-inch above the top of the water. (If you’re familiar with a double boiler, this is the method we’re using.) Add the shortening and chocolate and stir constantly until the chocolate is melted.
2. Prepare the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine the sifted flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. Mix the wet ingredients and bring the batter together. In a large bowl, beat 2 eggs until they lighten in color, then mix in the sugar and chocolate mixture. Beat in the flour mixture, vanilla extract, and nuts (if using). Mix well.
4. Bake, cool, and slice. Grease an 8- x 8- x 2-inch pan, then pour in the batter, smoothing out the top. Bake at 350° F for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the brownies pass the toothpick test. Allow them to cool completely, then cut into squares.

Tips For Making Mom’s Brownies

Mom and I trust our Test Kitchen recipe developers, then and now. Still, she’s not shy to admit that she’s made this recipe her own over the years. Feel free to stick to the formula above, or follow any or all of the Mom-approved adjustments below.

• Butter me up. Sometime early in the 21st century, Mom switched from vegetable shortening to butter. Feel free to use whichever you prefer or have handy. 
• Break up with the bar. To make the first step even easier—and so she doesn’t have a lot of extra unsweetened chocolate hanging around—Mom relies on one popular chocolate substitute. “It’s so easy if you use cocoa instead! In place of the 2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate, I mix 2 tablespoons of melted butter with ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder,” Mom says. “Simply melt another stick of butter with the 2 tablespoons of butter while you’re at it and stir in the cocoa powder, and you can skip ahead to step 2.”
• Go big. As written, BHG’s Best Brownies fill a square baking dish, but I only recall Mom making these as a 9- x 13-inch dessert. Double the recipe and it fits beautifully in a rectangular baking pan.
• Take them over the top. Mom’s brownies always, always come crowned with frosting. “There is no recipe,” Mom giggles, as she shares her measure-with-your-heart “recipe.” “I pour some powdered sugar—maybe 3 cups or so?—into a bowl and add a couple tablespoons of softened butter. Make sure the butter is soft, otherwise it’s going to be lumpy,” Mom warns. “Then stir in a teaspoon of vanilla extract, a few tablespoons of cocoa powder, and enough milk to make it spreadable, and you’re all set.” She and I agree that Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, Chocolate-Sour Cream Frosting, or No-Cook Fudge Frosting would also be top tier as a crown for this irresistible chocolate dessert.

The Verdict on Mom’s Brownie Recipe

I couldn’t resist asking Mom why this dessert has been a staple in her baking repertoire for more than five decades. Her response echoes my opinion about what makes these brownies worthy of their “best” billing: “I love these so much because they are so full of butter! They don’t taste greasy, but the generous amount of butter means these brownies are very moist and very flavorful,” Mom says. 

And they’re generous, too: “When you double this and put it in a 9- x 13-inch pan, it makes a pretty thick brownie,” Mom continues. “These aren’t like the boxed brownie mixes that tend to come out a half-inch thick and dry. These are about ¾-inch, plus frosting. And to be honest, this isn’t much more difficult than the boxed mix anyway.”

Neighbors, fellow parents, and family members—and now my friends, too—beg for the recipe when we make them. This might be because these are like the “Goldilocks” brownies; toeing the line between cakey and fudgy. Mom defines this using the British adjective “squidgy.” I’d simply describe a bite as bliss.