I made air-fryer brownies, and I found they're not worth the hassle

Gabbi ShawMar 25, 2021, 22:24 IST

My air-fryer brownies.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

Air fryers are one of the most popular kitchen appliances of the last few years.
While meats and veggies are popular air-fryer options, the appliance can also be used for desserts.
I made brownies from scratch in my air fryer, and overall, it wasn't worth the hassle.

I used my roommate's Ninja air fryer, which luckily came with a little booklet of recipes, including this one for fudge brownies.

The recipe. Gabbi Shaw/Insider

Here are all of my assembled ingredients.

The ingredients. Gabbi Shaw/Insider

Here's a better look at the air fryer. My main concern was finding a pan that would fit inside the basket.

The air fryer. Gabbi Shaw/Insider

The first step was to combine the first set of dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, and salt.

Flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Gabbi Shaw/Insider

Next, I was instructed to whisk the three together. At this point, I realized I most likely didn't have the counter space for all of the bowls needed plus the air fryer.

The dry ingredients. Gabbi Shaw/Insider

Next, I was instructed to whisk the three together. At this point, I realized I most likely didn't have the counter space for all of the bowls needed plus the air fryer.

In a separate bowl, I combined the two eggs with brown sugar, vanilla extract, granulated sugar, and water.

Wet ingredients and sugar. Gabbi Shaw/Insider

I whisked that together too, while cursing my commitment to making the brownies from scratch.

The wet ingredients. Gabbi Shaw/Insider

The next step was to melt my chocolate chips and butter, which called for another two bowls.

Chocolate chips and butter. Gabbi Shaw/Insider

Next, I combined them. The dirty dishes I needed to clean later were piling up.

The chocolate chips and butter. Gabbi Shaw/Insider

Finally, it was time to consolidate all three bowls of ingredients.

Combining everything. Gabbi Shaw/Insider

The final step was to pour the brownie mix into the pans I had - it would have been much easier to just pour it all into one large pan instead of these little ones.

One of my brownies. Gabbi Shaw/Insider

After 45 minutes of air frying, I had successfully baked my first little brownie loaf.

The air fryer brownies. Gabbi Shaw/Insider

The brownies themselves were delicious - moist and the perfect amount of fudgy ... but after 45 minutes, I didn't have that much to show for my work.

The brownies. Gabbi Shaw/Insider

It took 90 minutes and a truly annoying level of counter space to make two teeny brownies. In the future, I'd stick to large brownie pans and an oven.

The brownies. Gabbi Shaw/Insider

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I made air-fryer brownies, and I found they're not worth the hassle

I used my roommate's Ninja air fryer, which luckily came with a little booklet of recipes, including this one for fudge brownies.

Here are all of my assembled ingredients.

Here's a better look at the air fryer. My main concern was finding a pan that would fit inside the basket.

The first step was to combine the first set of dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, and salt.

Next, I was instructed to whisk the three together. At this point, I realized I most likely didn't have the counter space for all of the bowls needed plus the air fryer.

In a separate bowl, I combined the two eggs with brown sugar, vanilla extract, granulated sugar, and water.

I whisked that together too, while cursing my commitment to making the brownies from scratch.

The next step was to melt my chocolate chips and butter, which called for another two bowls.

Next, I combined them. The dirty dishes I needed to clean later were piling up.

Finally, it was time to consolidate all three bowls of ingredients.

The final step was to pour the brownie mix into the pans I had - it would have been much easier to just pour it all into one large pan instead of these little ones.

After 45 minutes of air frying, I had successfully baked my first little brownie loaf.

The brownies themselves were delicious - moist and the perfect amount of fudgy ... but after 45 minutes, I didn't have that much to show for my work.

It took 90 minutes and a truly annoying level of counter space to make two teeny brownies. In the future, I'd stick to large brownie pans and an oven.