Even Better Brownies: 50 Standout Bar Recipes for Every… (2024)

EVEN BETTER BROWNIES , the debut cookbook by attorney and baking blogger Mike Johnson, boasts delicious, diet-busting dessert recipes, smart baking advice and mouth-watering photographs (also by Johnson). That's right, Johnson is an attorney, baker, blogger and photographer. It's no wonder that he says these appealing recipes were chosen for both their taste and their ease. Johnson designed the cookbook for those with active lives. He picked ingredients that are affordable and easy to find, and recipes with short prep-times.

"Brownies don't require a lot of ingredients," Johnson writes, "so, the ones you use should be really great." He advises nixing baking chocolate and using higher-end chocolate bars you'd eat on their own. His upbeat solution to overbaked brownies is to slather them with frosting. If they're beyond eating, just crumble them into ice cream. The most tempting brownie recipes include peanut butter cornflake crunch, peppermint mocha, malted chocolate, dulce de leche, bourbon-pecan and his Kitchen Sink Brownies with pretzels, potato chips, peanut butter cups and Oreos. For those in need of moderation, he has a recipe for Small-Batch Brownies, made in a loaf pan. Johnson also strays from the confines of brownies to include recipes for blondies (made with brown sugar instead of cocoa), cookies that can be turned into bars, cheesecake bars, no-bake bars and fruit bars. "Everyone knows a dessert with fruit in it basically makes it a healthy treat," he writes.

EVEN BETTER BROWNIES is a tasty indulgence for bakers at all levels of experience and written with a jaunty sense of humor. Popular baking blogger Mike Johnson's debut collection offers delicious dessert recipes, pithy advice and mouth-watering photos.

Now that I have read through this delightful tome, I find that the time for action is now! To the kitchen!

A wonderful edition to my cookbook collection. I enjoy following Mike on instagram and was quite happy to receive his first book as a Christmas gift.
The photos are beautiful and all of the recipes sound very yummy. I enjoyed reading the commentary and I look forward to making all of the recipes!

I’ve checked out this book from the library this year for a third time (last year was the first discovery), so clearly I love it! I really enjoy Mike’s take on brownies and related items, including blondies, cookie bars, cheesecake, pie, and no-bake.

He has metric ingredient lists, yay, and a photo of every recipe. Each section opens with helpful tips for that kind of bake. I love the creative combos (Spiced Caramel Turtle Brownies, Cinnamon Roll Blondies, Glazed Gingerdoodle Cookie Bars, Margarita Cheesecake Bites, Brûléed Meyer Lemon Bars, PayDay Bars) in addition to classics like Ultimate Fudge Brownies and chocolate-peanut butter treats.

Here’s what I’ve made:
•Peppermint Mocha Brownies—a 9x13 pan for romance book club, with leftovers for family Christmas sharing. This has the perfect balance of chocolate, coffee, and peppermint flavors for a delicious seasonal treat!
•Small Batch Brownies—made in a loaf pan to satisfy a craving or for a small gathering. They are pantry ingredients, no fancy cocoa powder or premium chocolate here. I’m a corner brownie person and the pan size makes these “all edge brownies,” which loved! They were a tad bit buttery/greasy hot out of the oven. Exceptional texture usually happens once cooled. Alas.
•Chocolate Chunk Tahini Blondies—the recipe I saved for my favorite files! The combo of salted butter and tahini is deliciously nutty. I added a bit of whole wheat flour, too.
•Pumpkin Chcoolate Chip Blondies—these were more cakey texture than blondie, maybe I oversized? But I brought to the office, where they got rave reviews. (I used dark chocolate chips and didn’t add pecans.)
•Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars—made as cookie cups in a muffin tin during a sister sleepover. Oats just provide such a delicious texture.

Mike Johnson's love of baking is palpable in every recipe he writes. As someone who discovered my own love of baking at a fairly early age, it did me good to read a cookbook written about the sometimes fussy skill of baking by an author is unapologetic and downright enthusiastic about whipping up a square/rectangular pan of joy.

This is a great cookbook! If you bake, I guarantee you will find brownies in here that you’ve never even dreamed of!

Classics, new fun versions, not ostentatious, and they all look delicious (even the flavors I don't like)

Recipes look amazing. Not enough brownie recipes for the concept! Too much cheesecake.

I've made about 10 recipes from this book, and all have been amazing!!

Some many I want to try .