easy chocolate brownies perfect for making with gran kids

Although I bake from scratch, (using butter) I mostly use mixes with GD aged just 5, because it is easy for her and the results are relatively instant gratification.

I feel she is learning the basics at a very early age, that will set her on the road to home cooking. She always takes the results home to her dear parents!

I do make biscuit dough the day before and put it in the fridge overnight, so she can use the cutters and do the decoration. Otherwise the process is too long. x

I've made chocolate brownies from scratch for years, until I bought the Ghirardelli brownie mix from Costco. About £6 for four big packets. If you get the chance, try them - they're fabulous.

Hi gillybob. I don't think it matters. I use unsalted butter on bread because that's what I like but I tend to use salted butter in recipes. I think a little salt helps bring out other flavours. If I use salted butter for this recipe I think I'll just miss out the added pinch of salt that the recipe includes.

I'm going to buy some dark chocolate later this morning, after taking Minibags to an appointment and dropping her off at school, and then I shall make those lush choco brownies [yum emoticon]

Do you think it matter if the butter is salted or unsalted thatbags? I accidentally bought 2 huge tubs of unsalted Lurpak a couple of weeks back. I think I was dazzled by the offer price and didn't realize until I spread it on some bread to make a jam buttie. I was so disappointed as it has virtually no taste, it just feels like butter. DGD said it tastes like water, which kind of sums it up. I must try and use it up somehow though. Can't afford to waste it.

Or should I say perceived to be or supposedly associated with eating butter!

... and I prefer butter too it's the business.

I was raised on butter - despite there not being much money around when I was growing up, my mother insisted that we have butter. So far I don't have any of the problems usually associated with eating butter and I've enjoyed it for over 60 years

Crossed posts, gknot . Seems we had similar thoughts.

So Gransnet!

Someone posts on GN that she does Thing A.

Other posters come along and say Why don't you do Thing B or C instead?

By the way, Lidl has a fab recipe for choclate brownies. It uses butter which is at least 300% better than margarine imo.

Nor is there anything wrong with taking short cuts at any time... !

I'm always happy to have recommendations for a store cupboard shortcut. Thanks, ruby6918.

I agree with you totally Ana.

I can hardly believe some of the posts on GN sometimes.

I don't think there's anything wrong with using the occasional packet mix - if you don't bake regularly you're unlikely to have that list of ingredients in the back of your cupboard!

At least it would get the CG interested in cooking generally.

Brownies Serves 12

100 g (4 oz) margarine
50 g (2 oz) plain chocolate
175 g (6 oz) dark soft brown sugar
2 medium eggs, beaten
1 x 2.5 ml spoon (½ tsp) vanilla essence
100 g (4 oz) Be-Ro Self Raising Flour
pinch salt
50 g (2 oz) chopped walnuts


1 Heat oven to 180ºC, 350ºF, Gas Mark 4. Grease a tin 28 x 18 cm (11 x 7 inch).
2 Melt the margarine and chocolate over hot water. Remove from heat and cool.
3 Stir in sugar and add eggs, mixed with vanilla essence.
4 Mix in flour, salt and nuts.
5 Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for about 25-30 minutes until top is crispy and the inside soft.
6 Leave in the tin until cold before cutting into squares.

Almost as quick as the packet- and at least you know exactly what is in them, and grandson learns that it is easy to make things from scratch- no need for packets.

Grandson highly allergic to egg- so no thanks. If you find an egg-free one, would love to know. But- if I may, brownies are so easy to make, why not just make your own from scratch, and not a packet?