Mayo Is The Unexpected Swap Your Boxed Brownies Needed

For moments you crave a sweet dessert or snack stat but find your kitchen supplies disappointingly scant, your hopes of chomping down on warm, gooey brownies are not lost. If you're running low on oil and don't have eggs stashed away in your fridge, reach for the jar of mayonnaise along with a box of pre-made brownie mix. Your creative culinary substitution can yield equally delicious and moist baked treats, and the absent eggs won't be missed.

Though brownie purists might pause at the thought of including the shelf-stable ingredient in brownie batter, mayo has been added to recipes for a long time. Mayo is made with oil and egg and carries binding properties that will keep brownies made from a box moist and chewy, and an easy one-to-one conversion ratio makes adding the condiment to mixing bowls easy. With mayo-enhanced brownies, dreams of pulling chewy, tender treats out of the oven remain achievable, as the creamy addition will result in brownies that are gummy and soft.

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Thrifty Culinary Swaps

Aside from a slight color difference, adding mayo to make fast and easy brownies won't be noticeable. To a brownie connoisseur, a thin, crispy coating on the surface of your brownie pan might be detected, but for those who simply want to dig into something sweet, this shiny layer won't draw much attention. In fact, the aesthetic effect of the added moisture to the finished brownies can appear to be an intentional one, and unless you decide to reveal your kitchen shortcuts, those biting into your mayo-boosted boxed brownie batch will be none the wiser.

When chomping down on one of these treats, the taste of the finished recipe certainly isn't like dipping a spoon into the mayo jar. Instead, you'll be rewarded with a chewy sweet that delivers the rich chocolatey taste you were initially craving -- without having to race to the store to pick up a carton of eggs. Add a sprinkle of salt, and your brownies will disappear as fast as you made them. The result of your mayo-made brownies may have you reaching for the creamy spread the next time you find yourself baking muffins or fluffy cakes in a hurry.

Read the original article on Tasting Table.