brownies | chocolate | desserts | recipe | snacks

Bomb-diggity brownies.

October 22, 2008

I have a confession to make.

I love brownies. Lots. And… and here’s the confession part… I love them more than cupcakes. *hangs head in shame* I know, I know. But they’re so amazing. I could eat an entire pan myself. A good brownie is like the closest thing to a heaven that there is, I believe. And by good brownie I mean: fudgy center, and the elusive crusty, flaky “candy-like” top. Not too mushy, yet not too cake-like. And NO nuts! Thats a personal choice of course, you may enjoy nuts. Haha. I said “enjoy nuts.” Anyway, the perfect brownie is cause to swoon… *sigh* They’re hard to come by though. They’re rarely perfect. However these are the closest thing to perfect I could find, so therefore they’re the closest thing to the closest thing to heaven I know of. Did you follow that? I didn’t.

According to the wonderful epicurious.com:

Cocoa brownies have the softest center and chewiest candylike top “crust” of all because all of the fat in the recipe (except for a small amount of cocoa butter in the cocoa) is butter, and all of the sugar is granulated sugar rather than the finely milled sugar used in chocolate. Use the best cocoa you know for these fabulous brownies.

Yep. These really are fabulous. Cocoa brownies FTW!

THE BEST COCOA BROWNIES

First ya gotta get:

  • 10 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter
  • 1 ¼ cups sugar
  • ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cold large eggs
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup walnut or pecan pieces (optional)

Then yer gonna:

  1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom and sides of the baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.
  2. Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set the bowl in a wide skillet of barely simmering water. Stir from time to time until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. Remove the bowl from the skillet and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot.
  3. Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Stir in the nuts, if using. Spread evenly in the lined pan.
  4. Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack.
  5. Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 25 squares.

When it comes to making brownies, its a good idea to remove them from the oven when the toothpick comes out covered in some moist crumbs, not when it comes out clean. This is because they continue cooking for a few minutes after you take them out because of heat still left in them. Apparently also the main components of chocolate that give it its flavor are easily lost during baking and with heat, so its a good idea to remember that.

…

Yeah. I know.

Now as far as cocoa powder goes, there are people out there that will tell you to use the absolute BEST quality stuff you can find. I, on the other hand, am not going to do that. I guarantee you that the average person you serve these to is not going to tell whether you used Valrhona or Hershey’s. Especially not kids. Also, I used mini-chocolate chips instead of nuts and I have to say the brownies came out freakin’ awesome.

And to all you Brownie Mary‘s out there, just remember this: please notify the people eating the tainted brownie that they may not pass a drug test afterwards. And have plenty of straight jackets at the ready.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
PSST... SHARE THIS:
Facebook Twitter Email
The best cocoa brownies

Only registered users can comment.

  3. Ohhh. I love brownies more than cupcakes, too…especially the batter. I can never find a kick ass cocoa recipes for brownies! Thanks!

    Have you ever tried the “special dark” cocoa that Hershey’s has? I swear, it’s better than any of those fancy cocoas people use. I LOVE it!

  11. My roommate just brought me tea at 3 in the morning while I’m sick. I think i’ll make these as a Christmas present for them – they sound delicious, and come on quite the recommendation!

  13. I made these for the second time today and this is the best brownie recipe I have ever used. I use the chocolate chips instead of nuts and it adds a nice gooey touch.

  15. I got one question – what size baking pan did you use? I’m making them right now and am hoping they’ll come out okay.

  19. I never made it past step 2. It never got smooth. I ended up with a clump of cocoa and sugar. Not sure what I did wrong. I am going to try again when I buy more cocoa.

  21. Just wanted to make sure that a 9×13 pan would work..just saw you used the 11.5 x 7.5…so i should be ok…

  23. I love this recipe too, make them all the time. If you like mint and chocolate, try adding in chopped fresh spearmint!!! “It’s amazing, today I was thinking I might try orange zest.

  25. Useful information. Lucky me I found your site by
    accident, and I am shocked why this twist of fate didn’t came about in advance!
    I bookmarked it.

  26. I do believe all the concepts you’ve presented on your post.
    They’re really convincing and will definitely work.
    Nonetheless, the posts are too quick for starters.
    May you please prolong them a bit from subsequent time?
    Thanks for the post.

  28. Excellent blog here! Also your site loads up fast! What web host are you using?
    Can I get your affiliate link to your host? I wish my web site
    loaded up as quickly as yours lol

  29. I comment whenever I especially enjoy a article on a website or
    I have something to add to the discussion.
    Usually it’s a result of the passion communicated in the article I
    browsed. And after this article CUPCAKE REHAB | est. 2007.
    I was excited enough to post a thought 😛 I actually do have a few
    questions for you if it’s allright. Is it only me or does it seem like some of these remarks look like
    they are left by brain dead folks? 😛 And, if you are posting on additional online sites, I would like to follow anything fresh you have to post.
    Would you make a list every one of all your communal pages
    like your linkedin profile, Facebook page or twitter feed?

  30. I have been surfing online more than 4 hours today, yet
    I never found any interesting article like yours.
    It’s pretty worth enough for me. In my opinion, if all web owners and bloggers
    made good content as you did, the web will be much more useful than ever before.

  31. Zune and iPod: Most people compare the Zune to the Touch, but after seeing how slim and surprisingly small and light it is, I consider it to be a rather unique hybrid that combines qualities of both the Touch and the Nano. It’s very colorful and lovely OLED screen is slightly smaller than the touch screen, but the player itself feels quite a bit smaller and lighter. It weighs about 2/3 as much, and is noticeably smaller in width and height, while being just a hair thicker.

  32. Apple now has Rhapsody as an app, which is a great start, but it is currently hampered by the inability to store locally on your iPod, and has a dismal 64kbps bit rate. If this changes, then it will somewhat negate this advantage for the Zune, but the 10 songs per month will still be a big plus in Zune Pass’ favor.

  33. This is getting a bit more subjective, but I much prefer the Zune Marketplace. The interface is colorful, has more flair, and some cool features like ‘Mixview’ that let you quickly see related albums, songs, or other users related to what you’re listening to. Clicking on one of those will center on that item, and another set of “neighbors” will come into view, allowing you to navigate around exploring by similar artists, songs, or users. Speaking of users, the Zune “Social” is also great fun, letting you find others with shared tastes and becoming friends with them. You then can listen to a playlist created based on an amalgamation of what all your friends are listening to, which is also enjoyable. Those concerned with privacy will be relieved to know you can prevent the public from seeing your personal listening habits if you so choose.

  34. Hello there! Quick question that’s completely
    off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly?
    My web site looks weird when viewing from my iphone 4.
    I’m trying to find a template or plugin that might be able to resolve this problem.
    If you have any recommendations, please share. With thanks!

  37. Definitely believe that which you stated. Your favorite reason seemed to be on the internet
    the easiest thing to be aware of. I say to you, I
    definitely get irked while people think about worries that they just don’t know about.
    You managed to hit the nail upon the top and
    also defined out the whole thing without having side effect , people could take a signal.
    Will probably be back to get more. Thanks

Comments are closed.