Geri, is there a Costco nearby? They usually have Krusteaz mixes in larger quantities for you to use.
I guess I have to ask what size is your oven? How many rectangular pans can you fit in ?
Nuts? Not being a nut person at all, I'd make some with and without.

I think it is just as easy to make them from scratch than from a mix. Also, I am with you on the nuts. Not only are some kids allergic, but most kids I know do not like them. My kids never liked them until they grew up, and the 28 year old still does not like them, lol.
Here is my easy recipe.

1 cup vegetable oil or butter
2 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs
1 cup flour
2/3 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Blend the oil, sugar, and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Add eggs. Beat well with a spoon. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the dry mixture to the egg mixture until well blended. Spread in a greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from edges of pan.
To cut them easily, put them in the freezer for an hour or so. Then they cut without falling apart.
Frost or not.
If you want to add nuts, add about 1 cup. this recipe makes 24 brownies.
I also add chocolate chips to them to make them extra chocolatey
Good luck!
Sherry

I have a good size oven but it is not convection. Could I cook more than one 9x13 pan? I think I could fit 4 of theseÂ

Would you recommend glass or metal pans???

Sherry  Thanks for the recipe! And thanks for the tip about freezing them for an hour  I have never heard that before but I will give it a try.

Can I make these on Thursday for eating on Saturday???

Two weeks ago another mom made brownies that everyone raved about (donÂt know the mom). These did have chocolate chips in them... How many would you add???

Jeri, I think the recipe Sherry posted is the same as mine..or similar. Looks like it. I under bake mine because I love them fudgey..but if you let this one go just a touch, they will be cake like.

I like metal pans for brownies. (2 reasons: 1) they are square corners not rounded, makes for more even brownie cutting..2)I think metal cooks brownies more evenly)~just my opinions though. LOL

Make them Thursday, and refrigerate if you can. They'll be fine out..but I prefer to keep them in the fridge.

Technically you could probably cook 4 pans at one time. But in my oven if you get the pans stuffed in like that and close to the wall, I'll get extra baked edges on the wall side. (I have a new gas oven.) Didn't notice that problem in my old electric though...
But you could rotate half way through, turning pans and locations.
2 cups of chocolate chips would suffice...or if it were me..one package minus a handful(cooks keep). LOL

Brownies are very forgiving....make Sherry's recipe and put some chocolate chips in some....maybe a 12 oz package per recipe...and maybe put some peanut butter chips in another batch, and maybe some butterscotch chops and some without any chips....and another time add nuts, but not for school.
One batch takes 25 minutes to cook...during that time make another batch and cook them while making still one more batch.
Too much stuff in an oven leads to un even cooking. Three times Sherry's recipe will do your 6 dozen brownies.
Linda c

Brownies are one thing I always use a mix for. Pillsbury Brownies, the one with the packet of chocolate syrup. I have gotten so many compliments on my brownies, it is so funny to see peoples faces when I tell them the "recipe"! I never put nuts in anything that will be eaten outside my home, you just don't know if someone might eat one who is allergic. I usually make two 8" square pans at a time, that will make two dozen generous brownies, I usually cut mine smaller, sixteen per 8" pan. To make it easy to remove and cut them, just line your pan with foil, lift it out after cooling for a few minutes and then let them cool completely before cutting. I like my brownies gooey, not cake-like, so I always use eggbeaters so I don't have to worry about them being possibly under-baked, and cook them for the minimum time (unless they still look raw in the center, then I add a few minutes. I always make brownies the day before, but if you store them in an airtight container, with wax paper between the layers, they will stay fresh for a few days. I toss about 1/3 cup of chips in per mix if I want chips. Oh yeah, I always use metal pans, not dark or non stick, just basic heavy silver metal pans.

Brownies are pretty easy from scratch so a mix doesn't seem worth it. If I was doing it in a non-convection oven, I might cook on 3 shelves, but that would require monitoring each one carefully toward the end of cooking because the different heights will cook differently. It might be less hassle to do two pans at a time. If you use a 13 x 9, that would yield 24 about 2" square brownies per pan.

Here is a link that might be useful: Caramel topped brownies

The Joy of Cooking has an excellent brownie recipe, Brownies Cockaigne. Let me know if you'd like me to post it. (Makes me crave some brownies now...)

Catherine

If you do end up doing some with nuts and some without and are using the same pans, make sure you do the batch without nuts first. That will prevent any possibility of oils from the nuts getting into the non-nut batch.

As soon as my brownies cool, I wrap them in freezer bags and then freeze. You could freeze these then frost on Saturday morning to keep the freshest taste. I make a wonderful, rich ganache for them, but it often makes them too rich for some people. I honestly would recommend you buy about three cans of frosting mix and frost them on Saturday. It might not be as good as a homemade, but I sense you want this job to be hassle free and simple.
Sherry

While brownies from scratch may be easy, 6 dozen brownies from scratch is going to be a horrendous mess. Either way it will be messy, but it will be less messy and less expensive to buy the large mix (Krusteaz) and make that than to buy all the ingredients and mix up each pan separately.

Good luck and enjoy.

Oh good, Sherry posted her delicious brownie recipe! They are quite yummy, and I totally agree with the recommendation to chill the brownies before cutting. It makes nice, neat squares with little mess. These brownies are moist and fudgy, IMO, frosting isn't needed, but if you want to use it, save yourself some time and use the canned:-) Like Teri, I always use a metal pan that I've lined with foil that has been sprayed with Pam. I think if you use glass, i.e. Pyrex, you have to lower the temp by 25 degress. For even less mess, use disposable foil pans. The brownies lift out with ease, then after a chill, I cut them and then freeze.

I've never tried the Krusteaz brownie mix, though I did try their waffle and pancake mix, as well as bread machine mixes and they're all very good. Good luck to you Jeri, you've gotten some really helpful advice here so I hope everything goes easy for ya!
DONNA

I made JoC brownies forever until I tasted the Ghiradelli mix brownies w/chocolate chips. They are fantastic. I like them as much, if not more than JofC. C'mon, with the name Ghiradelli behind them, they have to be good.
Jo

Ina Garten's recipe is, well, outrageously good, but might be a bit pricey to make for band kids. Nevertheless, the recipe makes a very large batch. You could omit the nuts and coffee if you feel you must, and they'd still taste wonderful, but that coffee really intensifies the chocolate flavor. Anything with that much chocolate can't taste anything but great. Even though it says yield is 20 large brownies, in reality they are 20 very large brownies, and it could easily yield 40 normal size brownies, especially considering how rich they are.

Outrageous Brownies
Copyright 1999, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

This was adapted from a recipe for chocolate globs in the Soho Charcuterie Cookbook.

1 pound unsalted butter
1 pound plus 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups flour, divided (1 cup for the brownies, 1/4 cup mixed with chips and nuts)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups diced walnut pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.
Melt together the butter, chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate on top of a double boiler. Cool slightly. Stir together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla and sugar. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature.
Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and chocolate chips with flour to coat. Then add to the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for about 30 minutes, or until tester just comes out clean. Halfway through the baking, rap the pan against the oven shelf to allow air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Do not overbake! Cool thoroughly, refrigerate well and cut into squares.

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 20 large brownies

Episode#: IG1B17
Copyright © 2006 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved

Good luck.

Sally

We sell the dickens out of the Costco Box of Hershey's Triple Chocolate Brownies. 2 pouches per 9x13..following the recipe. We cut them to get 12 brownies per pan and sell those for a $1.50..they FLY out the window in our Little League Concession stands! In fact people get a little grumpy if we are open and don't have brownies! LOL

I'm glad other people have suggested mixes. I think for this purpose a mix is a grand idea. Add chocolate chips if you want to dress them up. I wouldn't bother with frosting, messy and one more thing to deal with. I think brownies are plenty sweet enough. No nuts is always good with a group, especially with kids. So many kids don't like nuts anyway.

Go ahead and make them today, they should be fine kept cool or in the frig.

another tip for cutting brownies: use a plastic knife. They brownies always cut perfectly clean (as long as the brownies are not super hot.)

I'm with Jcrowley on the pillsbury brownes with the syrup packet. Not that moi has ever made them ;) but I have tried them before and they're damn good.

Thanks everyone! I truly appreciate your help. I think for this Saturday, I will head to CostCo for a mix. But I have copied the recipes also given to try for family and friends. :-)

I will use disposable 9x13 pans lined with foil  cook 2 at a time. Freeze for an hour and use a plastic knife to cut them. Oh  and add some chocolate pieces too. Did I forget anything?? :-)

Jeri, if you are going to use disposables, and will NOT be using the pans to serve, I'd not bother with the foil. You can snip down the sides(corners) with a good pair of kitchen shears and then won't have sides in the way. (reason for foil~to lift them out of the pan for ease of cutting)

The only box I could find at CostCo was Chirardelli Triple Chocolate Brownies. It calls for 1 pouch for 8x8 or 2 pouches for 13x9. It says the 13x9 are extra thick. What do you think about me using 3 pouches for 2 13x9 so they wont be so thick? Or I could keep them thick and maybe cut them a bit thinner  get more than 12 per pan??? I was asked to bring 6 dozen but I know there are more kids than that as well as parents who help out.

I did buy disposable pans so I will forgo the foil. Should I spray them???

The High School Band Competition this Saturday was to be held in Mission Viejo  So. CA. Because of the fires, it has been canceled Good thing I didnÂt make the 6 dozen brownies today! But IÂll be ready for the next event  it shouldnÂt be too long. Brownie making may just become my habitual contribution to band events! :-)

Thanks again everyone! I sincerely appreciate all the great helpÂ

A 9x13 pan is 117 square inches. 2 8x8 pans are 128 square inches. That is pretty close - about 8% less area in the 13x9 so the brownies won't be that much thicker.

3 pouches in 3 8x8 pans are covering 192 square inches. Two 9x13 pans are 234 square inches which is about 22% more - I think the brownies might be too thin and cook too crispy stretched that way.

12 brownies for a 13x9 pan seems huge to me. The brownies would be bigger than 3 by 3 inches. I would usually do about 2 by 2 inch brownies - cutting the 9x13 pan into 4 by 6 brownies.