Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/01/05/holy-fudge-is-there-conflictin.html
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Fudge is as fudge does.
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Look into Good Eats episodes on Chocolate I guess?
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From my perspective, this might be an issue with what you mean by “fudginess.” I think if people agreed on that, the information would be more consistent. To me, “fudgier” means it’s got a stickier and more “toffee-like” consistency. That may not be your definition, but that’s the image I get in my mind. How to improve on that? Well, one of the things that fudge has going for it is sugar crystals. Eggs are emulsifiers, helping sugar dissolve into the matrix as it’s carried by water.
Hypothesis: Less eggs, higher temps, don’t make it in high humidity. You want those crystals in the the brownies to form and stay around, think candy-making rather than baking. Variations in cooking conditions may also account for why people get inconsistent results. (Also, depan the brownies onto a rack ASAP after cooking to limit condensation.)
EDIT: More eggs might help, keeping the re-crystallization minimal in the early stages, but you also want to limit moisture.
EDIT 2: I desperately want to test my own hypothesis, but my new years resolutions are currently in conflict. I am very interested in the results.
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3 times the fudge !
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Only if you want to see someone claim that you can cook fudge using an electric blanket.
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More opinions can only help
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Seriously, though; it became a drinking game for us. And I think maybe we drank too much, because we tried it one time…
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hit up Kenji Lopez-Alt on twitter, that’s what i’d do. if anyone could suss out the science of such a thing, it would be him.
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The last time I made box brownies it said 2 eggs. 3 eggs for more cake-like brownies. That’s what it said on the Duncan Hines brownie box.
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I am pretty sure that my old Betty Crocker brownie recipe said that an extra egg would make it more ‘cakey’ which seems likely to me. I’m also pretty sure that modern cake and brownie mix recipes are engineered to be ultra-idiot-proof and might shrug off the addition or subtraction of an egg with little to no change in final outcome.
So… with scratch brownies I’d say fewer eggs (or better yet, separating the eggs and adding just the yolks) is the pathway to fudge. And with brownie mixes, I’d expect to fudginess to be predetermined at the checkout counter.
I am, alas, chocolate-intolerant in my middle age, so am in no position to experiment 
Edit: or you could just make actual fudge!
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It isn’t box mix, but about as simple, the Alton Brown brownies are pretty chewy.
And for more chewy, you could use his cookie tip of using bread flour, change the white/brown sugar ratio, and replace one egg white with a 1/2 cup milk.
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Cool them in the 'fridge. Rapid cooling creates smaller crystals. It’s a more pronounced effect when making fudge. (and a good science fair experiment).
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I do not bake, so I’m not fluent in this sort of thing. But it should be roughly the same steps that keep chocolate chip cookies from being cakey.
A combination of cold or warm fat, how that fat is handled, amount of flour and some other shit.
So given you’ve got a box mix. Liquid fat, less egg white/more egg yolk, and dissolved or liquid sugar. Would be the way to go. I’ve seen corn syrup deployed here.
Adding melted chocolate or chocolate in a form other than Coco helps. Alton Brown’s brownies (Alton Brownies) are pretty fudgey. But they come out weirdly cake like because there’s so much Coco powder in there. It basically acts like extra flour.
SE seemingly hasn’t done an article like this on brownies unfortunately. But you might want to dig through articles from their baking person Stella Parks/Bravetart. She’s sort of the go too cookery nerd for the baking set.
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Adding butter or reducing eggs - both work. Eggs are what make it rise. Butter will add more material that will not rise. If you want no rise, cut the eggs.
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Maybe look at a fudge recipe and then look at a brownie recipe and split the difference? Ha. I know there’s a science to baking and maybe it’s not that straightforward… but that’s what I would try.
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Clearly, the scientific method is in order. Make small pans of 3 or 4 variations by adding or subtracting the most likely suspects and then invite people to a blind tasting. Then publish your results on BoingBoing, the premier unreviewed journal for this sort of thing.
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A little weed would be good. Won’t help with the fudgeness but you won’t really care.
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Fudgey Brownie Secret
Step 1: Make Fudge
Step 2: Eat Fudge
Step 3: Who needs brownies I have fudge
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I use the genius kitchen recipe for best brownies ever, I then add chocolate chips and a splash of milk.
My family love them and claimed they are the fudgier brownies they ever had.
