Girl Meets Brownie, Part 4

I’m sure some of my readers will think less of me after they read this post, but at this point in my brownie journey, I turned to brownie mix. I figured if I could isolate the egg as the only variable ingredient, I might have better luck determining the best egg substitute. From there, I could apply that information to from-scratch brownie recipes. However, the institution of a brownie mix did more harm than good.

On a side note, my friend Jessica has described this brownie journey as “depressing,” so for those of you who are becoming dispirited by my seemingly unending brownie tragedy, I offer you this spoiler: just wait for week 6. But now, back to the utter failure of week 4.

I chose my go to pre-vegan brownie mix, Ghiradelli Double Chocolate Brownies. In high school, my girlfriends and I would whip up a pan of these and eat the whole thing. I used to make them for people’s birthdays with M&M’s spelling out “Happy Birthday.” Clearly, I have a long-standing history with Ghiradelli brownie mix. It was possibly the first thing I could make that consistently tasted delicious. But, for the first time, I made inedible Ghiradelli brownies. Even though I reduced the amount of oil, these were the wettest, oiliest brownies yet. They were so heavy and greasy that I couldn’t even finish one after eating my required “test bite.” But, I knew when I signed on for this challenge, there would be more low points than high.

Very Bad Ghiradelli Brownies

1 box Ghiradelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix
1/4 cup canola oil
water
1 1/2 teaspoon Ener-G egg replacer
2 tablespoons water

Heat oven to 350º. Blend the egg replacer and 2 tablespoons water until frothy. Measure 1/4 cup canola oil in a glass measuring cup; add water until the total level reaches 2/3 cup. Combine oil, water, and egg in a large bowl. Add the brownie mix to the wet ingredients and stir until blended completely. Pour into a greased 8” x 8” pan and bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

For more of my brownie adventure:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3