The INSIDER Summary:' We tested the same brownie recipe with four different variations.' Oil vs. butter, and then chopped chocolate vs. cocoa powder.' The butter and chopped chocolate brownies were the best by far.Homemade brownies can be a relatively straightforward baking experience. But sometimes home bakers wind up having too much or too little of a single ingredient, and decide to substitute here and there.We decided to experiment with a single brownie recipe using different variations of chocolate and added fats. We took one recipe and tried usingchopped chocolateversus cocoa powder, and then vegetable oilinstead of butter.As we soon learned, not all substitutions are created equal when it comes to adjusting a recipe. Taking away the richness of butter or flavor of semisweet chocolate can wind up being a disaster.Let's take a look at our test kitchen results.For our experiment we decided to use our absolute favorite recipe 'Ina Garten's Outrageous Brownies' as a starting point.Our"regular" batch of brownies we made according to the original recipe. Here are the ingredients:' pound unsalted butter, room temperature' pound plus 6ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped' 3large eggs' 1 tablespoons instant coffee or espresso powder' 1tablespoon pure vanilla extract' 1cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar' 1cup plus 2 tablespoonsall-purpose flour'tablespoon baking powder'teaspoon salt"Regular" BrowniesEach brownie base started with the same mixture of eggs, granulated sugar, and espresso powder.The the "regular" brownies (using the original recipe) required chopped chocolate and butter. We cut upbars of semisweet chocolate and melted them together with two sticks of unsalted butter into a sauce pan.Once the chocolate and butter mixture was completely melted, we added it to our egg and sugar mixture. Next came flour, baking powder, and salt.The "regular" batter was ready to go, and already smelled like heaven.Vegetable Oil instead of ButterNext we used the exact same recipe, except we substituted vegetable oil for the butter. Many home bakers and cookshave a large bottle of vegetable oil sitting in their pantry, just waiting to be used. What if you swapped in the oil for butter'For this batch we melted the chopped chocolate separately, and instead just added the oil straight into the egg, sugar, and espresso mix.We usedcups of vegetable oil instead of the two sticks of butter. At first, this created a less-than-appetizing looking base mix.Oil requires a lot of added whisking in order to fully incorporate all ingredients. But once everything was mixed, the batter looked similar to the raw butter-base brownies.Cocoa Powder instead of Chopped ChocolateConventional baking wisdom on the internet says that you can make a substitute for unsweetened chocolate using cocoa powder andthen an extra fat. So we decided to use a combination of cocoa powder and shortening mixed in with the original recipes' call for butter.For each ounce of chocolate required in the original recipe,we used3 tablespoons cocoa powderplus 1 tablespoon of vegetable shortening.The butter and shortening was melted together and added to our regular sugar and eggs base. Then it was time for flour, baking powder, and a lotof cocoa powder.The ResultsFirst let's take a look at the "regular" brownies versus the batch with vegetable oil substituted for butter.Both batters had developed that nice papery crust on top we love to see on brownies. But the butter base had collapsed in on itself a little more, making the dough more condensed and rich.The butter-based brownies were simply perfect as we expected (thank you Ina Garten). They were rich, chocolaty, and the perfect gooey texture.The oil brownies were still tasty, but less decadent and overall less satisfying to bite into. We certainly wouldn't turn our nose up at them, but given the choice we would prefer butter over the vegetable oil.The cocoa powder, on the other hand, wasan unsuccessful experiment.As you can see, the surface of the finished product was oddly flat. The inside didn't get much better ' compared to the regular brownie (on the left below) it was more cakey. The flavor disappointed, too. The unsweetened cocoa powder did not come through with a nice, chocolaty flavor. If we tried using cocoa powder again in the future, we'd probably ignore what the online conversion charts sayand lower the amount substituted. Perhaps with less cocoa powder (and a tad more sugar) the result would be better.But for now we do not recommend attempting to substitute cocoa powder in a homemade brownie recipe that calls for chopped chocolate. Instead you're better off finding a different recipe altogether, like this promising Epicurious one.However it does appear that oil is a satisfying replacement for butter if you are either trying to cut down on fat or if you're just looking for a way to get rid of excess pantry items like vegetable oil.NOW WATCH:We put four boxed cake mixes to the testSubscribe to INSIDER on YouTube for more great videos!Join the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: We tested four boxed cake mixes to figure out which one is worth your money
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