Oh-So Chocolatey Fudge Brownies from Cake Mix

It's Too Yummy Tuesday!

On select Tuesdays I share delicious recipes either inspired by my books or that are just plain delicious!

Hey guys! Oh, it's great to be sharing a recipe with you again, and I'll have to say this one is an easy treat that will knock your socks clean off. Really. Straight across the room. Forget that it's still the dog days of summer and way too hot to light the oven. Whip these babies up and you won't regret it. (Especially if a scoop of ice cream on the side is involved.)

Brownie Baking Champ!

Mike took Bri camping in the mountains last weekend with the 4H club, and even though I was stuck working down in the "flatlands", I wanted them to be able to take a little bit of mama lovin' along. What better way than to send a batch of brownies to share (or not)? 

There was just one problem: I'd eliminated table sugar and regular flour from my pantry some time back, and I didn't want to buy whole bags of each just for one recipe. So I decided to start with a packaged cake mix. The prep was so simple that my daughter did it all herself. We whipped up two batches--some for fellow campers, some for me to share with my co-workers. Okay, plus a few extra that I squirreled away Just For Me. Oh, my! Mountain folk and flatlanders alike went bonkers for these. They declared Bri a master baker who can make brownies for them anytime.

Oh-So Chocolatey Fudge Brownies from Cake Mix

Ingredients

This is the mix we used...and wowee!

1 box chocolate cake mix (we used two different kinds, and I'll have to say the winner by a mile was Betty Crocker's Super Moist Triple Chocolate Fudge-WOW)
1 egg
1/4 cup strong brewed coffee (you CAN skip this, but it really brings out the chocolate flavor, so yeah)
1 stick butter, melted. I go for the gusto here and use the real thing rather than margarine
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup your favorite chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. (I confess, because it was 106 degrees on the day we baked these, I skipped the preheat and gave the brownies a closer scrutiny while baking.) Grease a brownie pan--11x9 is ideal, but 9x9 works great if you like a thicker brownie (expect your baking time to increase a bit). Pour dry cake mix into a medium bowl, then add egg, coffee, and butter and combine well. The result will not look like your usual pourable cake batter. This should end up as a thick, spreadable brownie-style mix. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts, if using. Spread into prepared pan and bake for 15-20 minutes or until it pulls away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick comes out mostly clean (a few crumbs or a bit of fudginess is fine--and watch out that you haven't stabbed a melted chocolate chip by mistake and declared the batter raw). Be sure to let these cool before cutting. Smallish squares work well here, as these babies are rich!

These most definitely need no frosting--they have plenty enough wow factor to stand on their own. That said, I can heartily support serving with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of French vanilla ice cream on the side...yum!

Enjoy!

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J. Rose Allister is the author of more than twenty-five books, primarily romance and erotic romance. A former editor and submissions director, she now works as a mild-mannered hospital secretary by day, naughty writer by night. Connect with her on Twitter or Goodreads. She loves talking to people!