I find a lot of great ideas on Pinterest… but pinning something doesn’t do anything unless I actually, you know, try the idea. So I thought it’d be fun to challenge myself to do at least one Pinterest experiment every week — and blog my results.
I can’t promise that I’ll always have a Pinterest Experiment post up each week, because you know how I sometimes get distracted or on blog tangents. But I’m at least going to try. By the way, you can follow my personal Pinterest account here, if you’re interested.
I made these Knock Off Betty Crocker Brownie Mix Brownies for this week’s Pinterest Experiment. And I was really happy with how they turned out.
They were so easy to whip up.
I added chocolate chips to the top (of course!).
While I’m not even sure that I’ve ever had Betty Crocker Brownies before, I have had boxed brownie mix and I’d say these are very, very similar to a boxed brownie mix.
They are more fudgy than a typical homemade brownie and oh-so-good. (Why yes, I “sacrificed” and tasted one for you all, because I knew you’d want to hear my verdict on them! I promise that I did not eat all four that are missing from the pan — well, not yet, at least! :))
Have you tried any ideas or recipes you’ve found on Pinterest recently? If so, I’d love to hear how they worked out for you. Feel free to leave your blog link in the comments if you blogged about your experiment!
What sugar did everyone use? I tried with granulated and my brownies were crunchy and not in a good way
I thought I posted to this posting about looking for a fake recipe for nuway burgers. We love them but haven’t found a recipe. I may have received an answer a week or so ago but we had computer problems and lost some of my e-mails. Any ideas???
I tried these last week and found them way too greasy – almost inedible in my opinion. And no, I’m not one that normally subs applesauce or anything. Next time I’m going to try half the amount of oil.
I would love to hear if anyone has successfully doubled the recipe for a 9×13. I just made a 9×9″ pan
I made these using Williams-Sonoma’s Cup 4 Cup (gluten free replacement for AP flour) and they were wonderful! I’m embarrassed to say how many servings I ate so I won’t. 🙂
I’ve been looking everywhere for a homemade recipe to duplicate boxed ones. I’ve tried “real” homemade brownies, but I think I’m just a depraved box-lovin’ kind a gal when it comes to brownies. I’m excited to try these though. But it seems like an awful lot of sugar – what happens if you cut it down?
I think the sugar is high because that makes it more fudge-y. Without that much sugar, the bars would be more cake-y.
I’ve been making this recipe for a couple of weeks and we love them! I used 1/2 applesauce/ 1/2 oil and they were nice and cakey!
I have made these as well, and I probably won’t ever go back to the boxed brownie mixes. Love them.
I made those brownies, too, and yes, I had added chocolate chips. 😉 I think they were great, but I like mine thick. So, I made mine double decker brownies..haha!
I love Pinterest and recently posted about the best granola bars I’ve made(from a pin!). I also included a gluten-free option with these bars:
http://livingsoabundantly.blogspot.com/2012/08/best-granola-bars-with-gluten-free.html
I made these the other day. The taste was great but they were too thin.. When you doubled them, how many eggs and oil did you use?? Thank you
I simply cut them and stacked them on top–haha! When a girl needs thick brownies, she’ll go to any measure. 🙂
I actually love boxed brownies so I can’t wait to try these. I was so excited to score cheap Dunan Hines Brownies at Kroger, but waited too late to print the coupon. Hopefully, this will make up for it. 🙂
That recipe is a lot like the one found here: http://goodcheapeats.com/2009/12/cocoa-brownies/. The only thing your recipe doesn’t say is what size pan to use. The Cocoa Brownie recipe uses an 8×8 pan, which is one of the things I didn’t like about it. I doubled it and used a 9×13 pan, but that didn’t really work… Another thing I didn’t like about the Cocoa Brownie recipe is that the leftovers seemed to get dry very quickly (like the next day). How did your recipe compare? I’d love to find a GOOD alternative to boxed brownie mix!
How funny! I made the exact same pin last week. (I didn’t know you were making them.) 🙂 I’ve never had Betty Crocker boxed brownies before but I thouht they were really good. I”ll probably be making them again because they are SO much cheaper than my usual homemade recipe.
We’re starting school next week so today my children and I are making up several things like this for the freezer. For our brownies we like zucchini brownies (they are kind of cakey but not dry and crumbly) I thought I could mix all the dry ingredients and put them in ziplocks and then add the oil and zucchini when we bake them.
I also do this with my pancake mix.
So glad that you liked the brownies! Thanks for the feature!
I dont buy a lot of boxed stuff but Betty Crocker fudgy brownies is one that my family really really likes and I havent come up with a good alternative. So will be trying this out, would love to be able to make this with out buying that box.
We made moon sand and my boys had a blast running their fingers through it!
http://www.whatilivefor.net/2012/06/moon-sand.html
Yup. I just tried these too. First homemade brownie recipe I have been pretty satisfied with. I had to use a different cocoa than I am used to b/c I ran out of “my’ brand. It was a light tan in color instead of a rich brown. So I can’t wait to try it with “my” brand and see how that changed the flavor of these.
I make a similar mix but use melted butter instead of oil. My husband actually prefers the boxed mix to homemade ones but have not found a good deal on them in a long time. I love being able to make my own mix. Makes for an easy lunchbox dessert if the baby is being grumpy, I have no time, etc.
I am really bad at remembering to make those things that I pin. I did make the laundry stain treater with the dish detergent and hydrogen peroxide. Works better than any store bought pre-treater I have ever used.
I made a delicious blueberry zucchini coffee cake that I pinned. The lady who blogged the recipe talked about how she craved it- and she was so right I have been dreaming about making another one for 2 weeks now! So delicious! I made a few changes but you can find on my page: sevans10
It was perfect for my husband who hates zucchini bread!
Oh and I made zucchini potato pancakes. I followed the recipe I pinned except I added more zucchini, an extra egg, and some grated cheese, and I did them in a frying pan to make it faster. Talk about a frugal meal one potato and 1 zucchini made a dozen 3 to 4 inch pancakes. Sorry I don’t have a blog but they were delicious. You can find them on my pinterest page 2. Both recipes are board headers so they should be easy to find. Can you tell I have been trying to get creative with zucchini? sevans10
Oh, this is perfect! I have to bring brownies to a party on Sunday and I am so going to make these!
I made Crockpot Ham & Bean Soup with Cornbread. The cornbread recipe was cornbread and yellow cake mix. I’m not a big fan of Ham & Bean Soup but the recipe I tried was really good and super easy.
You might just inspire me to try some of the many recipes I have pinned! These look great. I want chocolate now.
Hi Crystal,
I checked out this recipe when you posted it a few days ago with your freezer cooking plan. It looks like you used a 9 x 13 pan. Did you double the recipe? Did you still add just 2 eggs, etc.? Wanting to get the same awesome results but I see that the original recipe seems to be for a 9 x 9 pan.
Thanks for all the inspiration… thinking about implementing some of your morning ideas as well!!
I’m ALL about quick and easy but I have to say I don’t get the point of this. Boxed brownies are, well, rather gross. If I’m going to have a brownie I want a *good* brownie–making it easy doesn’t always make it good.
Do these have that same nasty aftertaste as boxed brownies?
I made these too and added chocolate chunks!! they were so good. I also made her knock off Jiffy cornbread and thought it was really good and easy.
Mmm, I pinned this a few months ago and have been hesitant to try, so I’m happy to know that it works. Our youth group will be happy too!
My favorite successful pins so far are:
Sidewalk Paint http://www.pinterest.com/pin/6685099417565906/
Play Dough http://www.pinterest.com/pin/6685099417209115/
Cloud Dough http://www.pinterest.com/pin/6685099417543049/
Pumpkin Donuts http://www.pinterest.com/pin/6685099417556361/
Chicken http://www.pinterest.com/pin/6685099417826430/
Candy Corn Cookies http://www.pinterest.com/pin/6685099416424429/
My toenails were stained from an orange polish i was wearing so i decided to try using whitening toothpaste on them with a nail brush. It actually worked!
Ive tried laundry detergent.
Ive also tried the shower cleaner and was so amazed at the results. Far better than any other homemade or store bought product. It was a mixture of 1 cup warm/hot vinegar and 1 cup dish soap spread all over my tub and left for and hour to soak in. Although the pin said just to rinse i scrubbed very minimally and it looked brand new, no lie! Give it a whirl. Chances are you have the ingredients anyways.
We also tried acouple decorating and diy projects we are happy with.
Needless to say im hooked! Follow me, my username is livelyupnow.
Did you use whole wheat flour for the flour in the brownies?
Have you calculated the cost of making your own mix versus buying the box? I only buy the boxes when I can get them on sale for $1 (and that’s for the 9 x 13 pans) so I can’t imagine being able to put together a mix from scratch for less then that.
If you click over to the recipe she estimates them to cost 30 cents per mix. Great price and no artificial junk!
(but you need to double the recipe for 9×13) so approximately $0.60 plus chocolate chips or other add-ins. I think the convenience of having it on-hand would make it worth it. 🙂
Can you tell me what size pan you used? I found this same recipe elsewhere and nowhere have I seen a pan size mentioned.
Oh, I love Pinterest. There is tons amazing talent on the web and I love that people share how they do it so I can learn too! The most recent thing I made was a sewing kit and homemade card. I put a gift card in the sewing kit for my sister who is just getting into sewing. I posted it on my facebook page earlier today if you’d like to see it.
https://www.facebook.com/simplymykitchen1
I just tried this recipe last week! It turned out great for me too. I don’t think I’ll ever be buying a boxed mix again!
And I just made this recipe {and it tastes delicious!!}: http://bunsinmyoven.com/2009/01/11/banana-coffee-cake-with-chocolate-chip-streusel-oh-my-word/
Thanks for sharing that. I’m always looking for recipes that use bananas. And that one looks delicious!
If I tried even 10% of the things I pinned, I’d really have a lot done! It’s great that your trying some of your pins. I actually tried this very recipe last week, and it was pretty good. I thought the brownies were just a bit more fudgy than the average mix, but I didn’t mind that at all. Also, they really were just as quick and easy to make as a regular brownie mix.
I tried this one too and I agree with you. They were wonderful and fudgy! I think my favorite part of the recipe is that you can mix they dry together and stash it away when you want to make brownies. It took me the same amount of time to make the “mix” as it would have for me to buy a box at the store.
I made something similar from scratch with icing. It was delicious! I called them “Ditch the Mix”! 🙂
http://whisktogether.wordpress.com/2011/11/14/ditch-the-mix-iced-brownies/
I love this! I pin things all the time but have only tried out a few of the many recipes I’ve pinned. Blogging those experiments is a great idea, thanks for the inspiration!
My wheels are turning on the brownie recipe. I might have to come with a gluten-free alternative. They look amazing!
I can’t think of any pinterest recipes I’ve tried in the last week, but I’ve certainly pinned a few 🙂
Do you prefer them to your normal recipe? I make brownies from scratch always and can’t even touch boxed brownies; they just taste too fake or overly sugary or something.
Ditto. I can taste the chemicals in mix brownies.
I use a recipe from the Betty Crocker cookbook (early 90s edition). It is similar to this one, except it calls for butter instead of oil.
My recipe is from the Betty Crocker Cookbook my mom owns so she probably got it in the 70s. It calls for butter but I typically use oil. But it wouldn’t be much work to add those dry ingredients and put them in a container.