A month ago we decided Frosting Always Belongs on Cookies and Never On Cakes.

Today we turn our public periscope ever-so-slowly on the Great American Brownies Debate: Is a fudge brownie with rivulets of chocolate and chewy veins of non-brownie-like fudge pooling under the crust best; or is a traditional, All-American, cake-like brownie the best where every bite is reliable, moist, textured, filling and healthier for you than swallowing pools of fudge that really don’t want to be in a proper brownie anyway?

53 Comments

  3. i eat all sweets even though i should not so yes i have had the non-cake and didn’t like it because brownies are mini cakes not dessert sundaes

  4. I’m with you on that count, clem! I don’t want peanut butter or marshmallow or raspberry preserves in my brownie. A brownie is brown and plain and non-frosted and non-powder sugar-coated.

  5. No, brownies need to be a little chewie. If they’re cake like, why not just call it chocolate cake?
    By the way, I put frosting on my cake. 😛 And there’s a bakery here in Greenville that makes birthday cakes that are TO DIE FOR – loaded with thick sweet vanilla icing on top and a swath of creamy orange icing between the two layers of white cake. Ohhhh… I think I need a moment. 😆

  6. Dear Carla —
    We said the proper American brownies could be “moist” but that doesn’t mean “chewie!”
    As clem so rightly pointed out, a good brownie is, actually, a “mini cake” that doesn’t crumble as easily. Brownies are cakes for traveling while cakes are prissy and meant to be eaten where they are cut.
    I had a wonderful birthday cake made for me recently and after I cut off all the thick frosting from the tops and sides and in-between the layers I was left with a “cake” that was a third of what I should have been! How can two-thirds of a cake be frosting?

  11. I see we’ll never be able to have a meal together… 😉
    I like toast done in a toaster oven; you like it in a toaster.
    I like frosting on my cake; you like it on cookies.
    I say po-tay-to; you say po-tah-to… 😆

  24. I have to support Carla on this one.
    I’m voting for the chewy brownies. The kind that are so dense with chocolate that they compact as they cool down.
    I just had a thought … what about frosting on top of a nice fudge brownie?
    Wouldn’t that be excellent?

  32. There’s just no contest at ALL. The traditional Brownie IS the best, has always BEEN the best and always WILL be the best.
    Mmmm to bite into a cake that’s so moist, and chocolatey…
    *Drewlz*
    Damn, now I want brownies!!

  34. Never tried the brownies with applesauce, have to get the wife to make up a batch. Sound great and I like applesauce.
    Mik

  35. Hey Mik!
    Yes, replacing the eggs in a brownies recipe with applesauce works pretty well. They are super-moist, healthy and you don’t have to deal with all that cholesterol.

  36. Regular brownies with no frosting and no applesauce, please. Must contain 100% full fat & cholesterol at least until I’m 40 or develop cholesterol issues. Whichever comes first…lol

  40. Yummy! Nutella is in fact chocolate and hazelnuts. If you look at any jar of Nutella it has the trademarked U inside of the O with the D next to it to indicate that it is, in fact, a kosher dairy product. 🙂

  41. Nutella is indeed said chocolate and hazelnut spread. According to the Orthodox Union (their logo is a U inside of an O) it is kosher dairy. 🙂

  43. David – who’s giving you this peculiar information?
    Any milk is kosher so long as it comes from a kosher animal. Cow’s milk and Goat’s milk come to mind.
    When it comes to cheesemaking, on the other hand, it’s a bit more complicated. See the link for more details.

  44. Let me rephrase my question this way: If Nutella didn’t have the kosher dairy symbol on it would you be allowed to eat it or not?
    Are all animals kosher or only some?

  45. Elizabeth’s brother told me recently that sometimes a product will list ‘natural flavors’ as an ingredient it could mean anything. He was once served allegedly vegetarian beans that had ‘natural flavoring’ as an ingredient – turned out that natural flavoring came from LARD.
    I’ve linked to ‘keeping kosher 101’
    There’s a red food coloring out there that comes from a certain kind of insect! Definitely not kosher, and certainly yucky in any case.
    There’s a story about a rabbi who visits a non-jewish farmer. The farmer offered him some almond and honey snacks that he has made himself. The rabbi politely declined. The farmer protested, stating that it must be kosher because it was only honey and almonds! The rabbi asked what the farmer used to keep the snacks from sticking to the drying trays. The farmer replied, “lard…”

  46. Ah! That makes more sense to me, Gordon, thanks!
    I know we’ve had discussions about dairy many times in the past and we talked about my take on diary and rennet and such and for some reason I thought you were not able to have dairy for whatever reason…

  47. Oooh..
    Warmed Fudge brownies with fudge frosting drizzled with chilled raspberry sauce and dalloped with heavy cream.
    I think it might be time for lunch!
    -CK

  48. If your going to eat a dessert, why would you want it to be healthy? It’s supposed to be a rewarding- blissful indulgeance.

  49. Hi Cryptic!
    I hear the new “Brownie Bites” from Dominos Pizza are incredible! They’re like the old-time brownies we grew up eating and they come with a dipping fudge.

  50. I recently viewed that commercial, and I laughed at the premise of a pizza chain offering “warmed brownie bites with dipping sauce.”
    I suppose from a supply standpoint it makes sense. Hey they have the oven and baking pans already. But from a business standpoint. The person that generated that idea needs to have their idea input license revoked.
    Reminds me of the new “vehix.com” commercial series’.
    Who needs an appocolypse when everyones going to die from Glutony. 😮

  51. I recently viewed that commercial, and I laughed at the premise of a pizza chain offering “warmed brownie bites with dipping sauce.”
    I suppose from a supply standpoint it makes sense. Hey they have the oven and baking pans already. But from a business standpoint. The person that generated that idea needs to have their idea input license revoked.
    Reminds me of the new “vehix.com” commercial series’.
    Who needs an appocolypse when everyones going to die from Glutony. 😮

  52. People I know and trust tell me the brownie bites look awful but taste divine. The shell is like a chocolate candy shell while inside the brownie is oozing with hot, chocolate, goodness. I support taste bud innovation!

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