Extreme Brownies: 50 Recipes for the Most Over-the-Top Treats Ever Hardcover – September 9, 2014

I must be the only one who didn't think these brownies were absolutely delicious. I tried two different recipes. I must say that the book itself is great. Hardback, full of color pictures. Very detailed, easy to follow instructions. Lots of great tips. Lots of extra useful information. But ultimately it's the recipes one buys the book for, right? Here's what I think about the recipes: if you follow the directions completely you won't be eating a brownie until the next day. The recipes call for lots of "down time" where the batter or the dough or the mix needs to be refrigerated for several hours before continuing on with the recipe. Oftentimes, more than once in a single recipe! Also, many recipes call for several different types of chocolate, flour or sugar. All of which are availabile at your local grocer but the price tag of these brownies adds up fast! Every single recipe in the book requires the "slab" as the author calls it, to stand in the refrigerator for 7 to 8 hours prior to cutting and eating. I did that. After sitting in the refrigerator for that length of time, that's exactly what you get. A slab, or as I like to call it: a brick. Both the recipes I tried came out of the refrigerator thick and dense. They didn't have the consistency of a brownie. They weren't gooey and cakey. I made the brownies with chocolate chip cookie layer in it. Both layers were thick and dense. You couldn't tell the difference between the layers of brownie vs cookie. And it wasn't very good. I also made the brownie with a caramel center. Again, I placed into the refrigerator for at least 7 hours and they came out like a cold brick. Even after warming up to room temperature these brownies didn't taste like a brownie. They aren't gooey with a cake like consistently and weren't absolutely delicious. After all the long steps, special instructions and expensive ingredients these brownies fall WAY short. I won't be trying a third recipe from this book. I've found a much better, easier, quicker and much tastier brownie recipe at Taste of Home.

I've made two recipes so far (the PM brownies and the caramel-stuffed sea salt brownies), both turning out divine!! I love how she includes weight amounts because I've been pining to make use of my scale, and having these accurate measurements also help clean up. It's also great how specific equipment and brands of ingredients she uses are listed, so there is NO question left in the mind for if the right pan or chocolate is being used to match hers.The texture of these brownies surprised me when I first made the PM brownies--they are of high quality, the kind that if you walked into a chocolatier shop and bought, wouldn't be disappointed with. My boyfriend, his family, and my friends and coworkers absolutely loved them. They are truly heavenly!Because the recipes so far have turned out so well, I'm leaving this as a five star. However, one thing that I would have appreciated would be if estimated times for prepping and baking were included. I have to do extra prep before even selecting a recipe to make sure I even have the time (they can be pretty time consuming, especially if you're getting eggs to room temperature like she instructs). Another minor thing would be it would have been nice if there was a picture for each recipe. Most of them do have a picture, but towards the ends a lot of them are just recipes with no pictures. How much more expensive would it have been to print a couple of more color pages with pictures? I would have been more to get them, anyway. They are such great motivational tools as well to make the recipes!

I made the triple Chocolate and the peanut butter cup brownies. They both have the same base recipe. The texture is more like fudge than brownie even a chewy brownie it still tasted good but meh on the texture. I guess I need to try the other base recipe.

For starters, this book is serious eye candy...pun intended. It certainly has a wealth of extreme brownie and blondie recipes. But lets get to the point...how do they taste? So far, I have made two recipes from this book: the milk chocolate macadamia nut brownies, and the snickering brownies.For the milk chocolate mac brownies, I couldn't find the Mauna Loa chocolate covered mac nuts, and I didn't feel like ordering them. So I substituted plain roasted macadamia nuts. Otherwise I followed the recipe as given. My 69-year-old mother said, "This is the best brownie I have ever had." Let me tell you, my family has a serious sweet tooth. That is really saying something.But one recipe success could be a fluke, right? So I made the snickering brownies. They might be the best brownie I'VE ever had. Every layer is really tasty...together it is really a snickers bar on top of a brownie. It was a bit time consuming to make, but nothing about it was difficult. Connie gives very clear, concise directions. I was super impressed when I took my out of the pan, cut them up, and saw that they looked exactly like the picture! Awesome!Something about her brownie base recipes...they are seriously fudgy but still with a dense cake texture. Indescribably good. If you think you may make brownies even once in a while, BUY THIS BOOK. You won't be sorry.

Wish there were more pictures. Brownies are EXTREMELY rich-can’t eat more than one or two bites.

I’ve made 3 recipes out of this book and all 3 were good. But the snickers recipe was amazing. I do wish that this book contained more pictures. Overall, pleased with the purchase

There are a lot of questions about cooking times online. Every over cooks differently. The recipes in this book, in my opinion, require about ten more minutes in my oven. Your times may vary from the author’s.

Aunque trae un poco de tecnicas y explicaciones para hacer buenos brownies... el libro no contiene fotos de las 50 recetas solo vienen 12 ilustradas, lo que me hace pensar que ella mayoría de ellas no funcionarán, los recetarios sin fotografías simplemente no son buenos. Lastima no lo recomiendo en lo absoluto

I didn't like anything at all about this book! It takes a while to even get to the recipes! You have to slog through all the demands for the specific ingredients, utensils and other cookware, which she "helpfully"supplies the specific web address so that we can order and purchase, to make sure you have the exact items that she suggests.By the time you even get to finally choose one to prepare, you're exhausted and flat broke! AND to add insult to injury, not a single photograph came thru on my iPad!Worst Ten Dollars I ever spent!

The recipes look amazing, but by the time you read through, you will look like a skeleton! The recipes are too long and hard to read. As for the number of bowls, whisk, and spatula used for one recipe is laughable.

If you love brownies then you will love this book as it takes them to a whole new level! There is not one recipe that does not appeal and the instructions are easy to follow. Don't be put off by the number of stages there are for each brownie, yes they do take a while to make but the results are yummy. The Snickered ones are exceptionally good and they look really good when you slice into them exposing all the layers, I was actually quite impressed with myself! There is a conversion chart at the back of the book if you are used to weights rather than American cups and most ingredients can be found in my local supermarket so would highly recommend.

Wish I didn't bother. Waste of money. Barely any pictures with the recipes.