National Brownie Day in the United States is December 8. In fact, the National Brownie Committee estimates Americans consume about 1.45 billion of the chocolate treats each year.
However, most brownie recipes require at least one egg, and egg prices have risen over the past couple of years due mainly to a bird flu outbreak that devastated U.S. poultry flocks.
According to the Associated Press, egg prices hit an all-time high of $4.82 per dozen in January. Avian influenza is proving less prevalent this year, but not before farmers slaughtered 58 million birds last year and another 4.6 million so far this year.
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis reports the price of eggs dropped to about $2 per dozen in October, but the prices are rising again because Americans will be baking more during the upcoming holidays.
A Murky History
The brownies Americans know and love looked different in their first iterations. There are many stories concerning how the brownie was invented. However, the one point of agreement is the first real brownie-like dessert appeared in lunch boxes for a ladies’ group in Chicago in 1893. Those confections featured an apricot glaze and walnuts in addition to the rich chocolate batter.
The recipe changed over the years, but by 1904, brownies looked a lot like they do in the 21st century. Two brownie recipes appeared in cookbooks that year. One was from the Service Club of Chicago, and the other was in Eleanor P. Quimby’s cookbook, Home Cookery. Her brownie recipe added a dash of salt and a little vanilla. They were called “Bangor Brownies” then, since the legend had it they were developed in Bangor, Maine.
Boxed brownie mixes emerged in the early 1950s and have been best-sellers ever since. Manufacturers have improved brownie and cake mixes since their inception, and the chemical aftertastes that characterized a mix have all but disappeared.
Easy-Peasy
Basic brownies are one of the easiest baked goods to make. If a baker has flour, sugar, cocoa, eggs, and butter or oil, they’re in business. Brownies are popular because they’re not temperamental like a cake. If any ingredients in a cake batter are not quite right, the bake may be ruined. Brownies, however, are easygoing. If the baker adds a little too much oil or water or even an extra egg, the consistency will change, but the final product will usually still turn out well.
Even if the cook leaves the brownies in the oven a little too long, as long as they’re not burned, there’s no reason to throw the batch in the trash. They can be crumbled up and topped with ice cream and sauce for a brownie sundae. The ice cream takes care of the dry texture.
The brownie method is generally less labor-intensive than a cake, pie, or cookies. The ingredients usually go into a single bowl, and the cook uses a spoon or spatula to mix the batter. They don’t have to use an electric mixer. Once the ingredients are measured out, a baker can put together a brownie batter and get it in the pan in the time it takes the oven to heat.
Brownies also don’t require any specialized baking supplies or equipment. A bowl, spoon, and baking pan will do the job.
Building a Better Brownie
There are brownie recipes to suit every taste. In fact, a Google search for “brownie recipe” returns 74 million results. Bakers add chocolate chunks, extra cocoa, nuts, cherries, coconut, and even red wine to their brownie recipes.
Also in the “brownie” category is the “blondie,” which has many of the same ingredients except the chocolate in the batter. Blondies may have chocolate chips, however, or other flavorings like peanut butter or butterscotch chips.
With the price of eggs going up, and for those on egg-restricted diets, some bakers may wonder if there are any brownie recipes that don’t need eggs. The answer is yes. For vegans or those with egg allergies, egg-free brownies are an answer to a prayer.
Bakers do have many options for egg substitutes in brownie recipes. These include vegan commercial egg replacement powder, applesauce, flax seeds, mashed avocado, silken tofu, and many more. One of the more interesting vegan egg substitutes is whisked aquafaba. Aquafaba is the liquid found in canned chickpeas. When whisked, it can provide structure and moisture to many baked goods.
Fudgy, Chewy, Cakey?
Brownies are usually listed in cookbooks under “bar cookies,” although they’re not exactly cookies. Neither are they cakes. Brownie lovers often fall into one of three camps: those who prefer fudgy brownies, those who like chewy brownies, and those who prefer cakey brownies. Indeed, brownie mixes often include instructions for changing the texture of the finished product by adding an egg or changing the amount of oil or water in the mix.
Cheryl Sugg, a home cook from Decatur, Ala., says, “I love brownies that are fudgy in the middle and crunchy on top.”
Fudgy brownies tend to be dense, moist, and rich, rather like fudge candy. They have less cocoa powder and more butter. Bakers looking for a really thick, fudgy texture can also slightly under-bake the brownies, but that’s a personal preference.
Chewy brownies are probably the version most Americans know and love. These brownies have a chewy outer texture, a fudgy interior, and a crackly top. This is achieved by using some oil in addition to the butter and light brown sugar, which, according to Grace Elkus at Real Simple, “speeds gluten formation, resulting in a chewier texture.” Elkus also says chewy brownies generally call for cocoa rather than baking chocolate, so they don’t turn fudgy.
Cakey brownies are what many people remember from school cafeterias or that their grandmothers made. These brownies are more like a cake in texture, and this comes from either using an egg white in the mix, more flour, and milk, or just more flour, milk, and another whole egg. Cakey brownies may also need some extra baking powder to help them rise. These are popular served with either a fudgelike cooked frosting or an uncooked American buttercream made from cocoa, powdered sugar, butter, and milk.
Sugg is a fan of brownie mixes. She explains, “I think the person who invented the boxed brownie mix was a genius for people like me who don’t make brownies from scratch.”
Now that egg prices have cracked open from their January price peak, shoppers can feel better about buying them to celebrate National Brownie Day, or for any of their holiday baking needs.
This article was produced by Media Decision and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
