ok, i made brownies and followed the directions exactly how it said and they still came out like a rock....?

Question

this happens like everytime i make brownies..
i just did what it said what did i do wrong?

Answer 1

your oven may be a little more powerful, try cooking them for less time, or lowering the heat, also check them every few minutes

Answer 2

Are you cooking them until the middle is solid? That might be the problem. When you take something out of the oven, it continues to cook for several minutes. You will get more familiar with this concept through experience. The best tip I can give is to take your toothpick (or knife) and put it in about 2/3 the way between the edge of the pan, and the middle. Here's a diagram:
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e197/ashroy01/browniediagram.jpg

If the toothpick comes out without any liquid on it, then it's ready to take out the brownies. The basic premise is that you want the middle to still be kind of wet, because it will setup after you take the brownies out.

Answer 3

Your oven must run hot, plus boxed brownies suck and are hard to get perfect. I would turn your oven down 25 degrees next time and keep a very close eye on them. Cooking times are subjective and vary a great deal. If you don't want to turn down the heat, you need to reduce your cooking time.

I bake a ton and almost all cookie recipes call for a 350 degree over, I never bake them that high. I always go for a 325 degree oven and they turn out perfect every time. I also rotate my pans 180 degrees halfway through cookie time.

Answer 4

With box mix brownies I learned to reduce the oven by 25 degrees and test for doneness five minutes sooner. Also use applesauce in place of the oil. The applesauce makes for a soft chewy brownie.

Answer 5

Keep an eye on them and undercook by about 1-3 minutes. I use a glass pan 13 x 9 and top rack of oven for about 25 minutes...also spray with pam...check sides for doneness, if brownies start to pull from the sides they are probably done...

Answer 6

Your oven probably runs a bit hotter than normal. Decrease the cooking time or turn down the temperature a bit. Brownies get hard when they are over-cooked. You need to take them out when they are still soft in the middle (crumbs will cling to the toothpick).

Answer 7

The only advice I will give u is too measure your ingredients correctly using measuring cups and spoons, don't guess on this step. Also keep the rack at the middle of the oven and keep the temperature at about 325 degrees. Invest in a oven thermometer and trust it. I hope these tips help u and don't give up.

Answer 8

Blue sea is right. Also brownies have such a high sugar content they continue baking even after you remove from oven. Cooling slowly will help to .just cover with foil a set on counter to cool

Answer 9

I get the same results when I bake them in a glass pan. I think the glass gets too hot or something. I release them from the pan while they're still warm so they come out easier.

Answer 10

this happened to me all the time. are you using a regular cake pan to bake them in? or a 9X9 pan? it says on the box you can use a regular cake pan, but, they always come out like rocks that way. use a 9X9 pan, add a couple extra tablespoons of water, and set your oven to a lower temp.