Easy Red Velvet Brownies

Other than my son and my husband, baking is my great love in life and what I do to relax. I've been absolutely hooked since I was given an Easy Bake Oven for Christmas 1994 and spent much of my childhood watching cooking shows on public television. I've run my own cupcake business since 2009 where I have had the opportunity to make cupcakes for weddings and other special events. I am normally a from scratch baker (everything for my business is handmade) but I do have weeknight dessert cravings that I resolve with a pre-made mix. I would much rather doctor up a mix late on a Tuesday night than spend money on overpriced grocery store desserts that don't reflect my personality.

Like most women, if it's sweet I like it. My husband on the other hand is more of a Doritos guy than a dessert guy. There are, however, a few desserts that always catch his attention... key lime pie, tiramisu and especially red velvet cake. Ryan's love for red velvet cake makes choosing a birthday cake or sweet pick me up for him very easy. Last week I wanted to surprise him with something sweet but didn't have the time to do a full-on from scratch ta-da. I decided to cross two things he loves, brownies and red velvet cake. These red velvet brownies are quick and delicious but there are a couple tricks to getting them just right.

What you need:

1 Box of Red Velvet Cake Mix
1/4 Cup of Water
3 Tablespoons of Vegetable or Canola Oil
1 Egg or 1/4 cup of Egg Substitute


1. Grease a 13x9 baking dish with butter, oil or non-stick spray
2. Preheat oven to 350
3. Add all ingredients together and mix until well blended using a lightly oiled wooden spoon. The batter will be VERY thick.
4. Pour batter into prepared baking dish. Take a plastic sandwich bag, put on your hand like a glove and add a little butter or oil to the outside. Use this to evenly spread the batter out in the pan without it sticking to your hand or the spoon. Make sure the batter is spread evenly or the thinner sections will overcook.
5. Bake for 20 minutes and allow to cool slightly before cutting

These are great by themselves, with vanilla ice cream or with cream cheese frosting. They only take 30 minutes from start to finish and are a great break from the mundane of weeknight desserts.