I can't help with the brownies, I like em gooey and fudgy.

For fries, if I am feeling especially domestic, I par boil or par fry them them, drain and let them cool. Then I shake them very gently in a bowl to rough up the outside without breaking them, and then fry them on high heat. Makes them extra crunchy.

If I am NOT feeling like Betty Crocker, I dump them in oil ra and let them go until they are browned.

The first method makes better fries hands down.

Thank-you! That's exactly the kind of advice I need.

I par boil potatoes too but not cooked through. They need to be refrigerated until very cold before frying in oil. It is that sharp difference in temperature that gives them the very crisp outside.

Also very nice done in cubes to serve as a side with steak. I season those with black pepper, onion powder, a touch of garlic powder and some smoky paprika before frying. That makes nice brown seasoned cubes. ( Add salt on the plate.)

So sorry, seeing this too late I think, but I have a yummy cocoa brownie recipe I'm pretty sure I shared here. It's the only one I use and I got it from the cookbook that came with my old Cuisinart. I call it '1 dish cocoa brownies'.

P.S. Found it:

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/3541083/recipe-for-brownies#n=7

Twice fried french fries is what I make. Fry first at 225 degrees for 5 minutes and then at 275 for 2 minutes. The great part about this is you can do the longest frying part before people come over and then basically rewarm and serve. I even like to eat the cold and most fries suck at that point.

Whenever I make them I always do a double batch for the first fry and then freeze half. The next time I only need to fry them once at 275 for 2 minutes.

You're welcome🙂

And I should have noted that you can use all butter or all oil, butter will give a more cake-y texture.

Thanks, all. It was all fine. I was having problems with one of the burners, so the potatoes didn't recover heat as well as it should. They were okay, but a bit oily. The rest was good. The brownies had that crunchy pale top, and were moist and firm, as wanted. the flavor was more cocoa than chocolate, though. I really liked that they weren't super sweet. I'm going to try Carol's recipe with the Valrhona soon. i think tonight's might have had more of that blast from the past feel if I'd used a vegan baking stick instead of butter. I have some in the freezer, but didn't think of it. They were fine, though. Brownies. What's not to love about brownies?