Brownie secret

Do you want to know my secret to the most delicious, awesome brownies? Cardboard.

I admit it. My favorite brownies come from a boxed mix. I can also make brownies from scratch that are pretty darn good, and I'm not ashamed to serve them. But the wow brownies are the ones I get from the baking aisle at the grocery store.

Two brands I like are Ghirardelli and Hershey's. Both of them are double chocolate chunk or triple chocolate chunk or something like that. I like to go to Sam's and get the economy packs that have four mixes in each box. That way, I can make an 8 x 8 pan with one mix or a 13 x 9 pan with two, so no matter where I need to take them I'm covered.

I will say that wherever I take them they are well received. They are creamy/chewy in the center with a thin crust on the top. Just enough crust to provide additional texture and make them interesting. They don't come with nuts which I like in brownies but they could be added easily.

I'm a purist. I like English walnuts in my brownies. Period. No black walnuts, no pecans, no pistachios. No almonds. Don't tell me they are great in brownies. The only thing great in brownies are English walnuts and chocolate chunks. Not mint chocolate chunks. Chocolate.

If you want to mess with the brownies by sticking strange stuff in them, call them something else. Pistachio-Mint Choco Chews or something like that.

I do make Blonde Brownies which is just a chocolate chip cookie dough spread in a pan rather than dropped by spoonful. I make them when I don't have time to wait on individual pans of cookies to bake. But they're not really brownies and I don't pretend they are. And I would call them Chocolate Chip Bars but my husband has always called them Blonde Brownies so I let him.

I'm going to be baking tomorrow. Can't wait to lick the bowl.