Brownies –  chocolaty, chewy brownies, are one of my favorite desserts. Over the years, I have made countless batches and tried many different recipes. While some are very good, I think that there are a couple of types of brownie mixes that produce results just as good as, if not better than, the ones I have made from scratch. And let’s face it sometimes you just don’t have the time to make something from scratch but still want that fresh baked, warm from the oven goodie.

My two favorites are Trader Joe’s truffle brownie mix and Ghirardelli”s double chocolate brownie mix. When making the Trader Joe’s mix lately, I have been using olive oil instead of the melted butter, with the intent of making it lower in saturated fats. The result has been an excellent, moist brownie.

The brownies can be mixed up, baked and ready in a little over an hour – which also allows for a half an hour of cooling time. Both these mixes include chocolate chips and if you wanted to, you could add nuts or maybe some dried fruits as well. For another treat and perhaps dessert for a dinner party top a brownie with vanilla ice cream and drizzle your favorite caramel sauce over the whole thing (could even be topped with whipped cream.)

I sure enjoyed preparing and photographing this recent batch, which also had the added benefit of making this backyard sister’s house smell wonderful; yet another reason to bake! We will be indulging all weekend long.

All in the name of art!

~ Sue