This week, it was my turn to bring food for a potluck at work, and I immediately claimed the dessert slot. While my cooking has improved (I hope), it’s still baking where I feel the most comfortable in the kitchen. I decided that I couldn’t go wrong with a classic brownie recipe.

Recipe by Jeanine at Love and Lemons

Recently my best friend and I were talking about the unbeatable goodness of a box-mix brownie, and how neither of us had found much success in finding a recipe that could fill that void in terms of simplicity and taste. Thanks to the Internet, I found that many other people were also struggling with this, but I think Jeanine’s recipe comes pretty darn close to replicating box-mix brownies with very little fuss!

As a side note, I am now a firm believer in sifting while baking, as I swear it has made a world of difference in my last few baking adventures. Other than that, I think this will become my go-to recipe, as I found the dark chocolate kept it ‘not too sweet’, and my addition of walnuts added that extra touch that makes homemade baking so perfect. The only thing that I didn’t love was the recommended two hour cooling period, as I am normally pretty excited to try baking fresh from the oven, but these brownies are worth the wait, I promise.

I was terrified that I wouldn’t have enough dessert, so I did double the recipe to fit a 9×13 pan. I was surprised to have a decent amount of leftovers, but hey, I’m never going to complain about having extra baking in the house. I’m trying to think of what I could bring for a potluck next time, and I keep coming back to either lemon bars or Nanaimo bars! I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled for a good recipe, but if you know of any, feel free to send them my way as well.

Until next time, happy crafting!