Chocolate Brownies

April 27, 2013 · Leave a Comment

It has to be the most “baked” item at our home!  We love our brownies, ooey gooey fudgy brownies.

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Brownies can be either be fudgy- ooey gooey fudgy or chewy or cake like depending on how you use the basic 4 ingredients that go into making – butter, flour, eggs and sugar.

Brownie

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Fudgy Brownies –  Minimum flour and lots of butter! Also, baking soda is not used. To make it denser or fudgier, the butter is melted along with the unsweetened chocolate.

Chewy Brownies – These brownies get their texture because of the extra eggs. Both unsweetened and semi-sweet chocolate are used to create this stiffer-textured brownie.

Cake-like Brownies – Less butter more flour! A little baking powder is also used to make the brownies lighter or softer. Usually softened butter is creamed with the sugar. The mixing process during creaming adds air into the mixture, which causes the brownies to rise higher and bake into a fluffier dessert.

Over the years I tried a LOT of brownie recipes. I made some chewy brownies which the daughter didn’t like or the cake-like ones that received one line response – “Are you sure this is not cake?” Sigh! Then I tried this recipe and pat came the response – This is THE ONE!   So, I have been true  to this recipe for years now and am no longer on look out for “better recipes”.

The recipe is by David Lebovitz and is featured in his book Ready for Dessert.

Chocolate Brownies
 
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Ingredients
  • 6 tablespoons (3 ounces)/ 85 grams unsalted or salted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for the pan
  • 8 ounces/ 225 grams bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, or pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
  2. Line the inside of an 8-inch square pan with 2 lengths of foil, positioning the sheets perpendicular to each other and allowing the excess to extend beyond the edges of the pan, or with a single large sheet of extra wide foil or parchment paper. Lightly butter the foil or parchment.
  3. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the chocolate and stir by hand until it is melted and smooth.
  4. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sugar and vanilla until combined. Beat in the eggs by hand, 1 at a time. Add the flour and stir energetically for 1 full minute—time yourself—until the batter loses its graininess, becomes smooth and glossy, and pulls away a bit from the sides of the saucepan.
  5. Stir in the chopped nuts.
  6. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the center feels almost set, about 30 minutes. Do not overbake.
  7. Let the brownie cool completely in the pan before lifting the foil or parchment and the block of brownie out of the pan.
  8. Cut the brownie into squares. (The brownies will keep well for up to 4 days and can be frozen for up to 1 month.)
  9. Brownies taste best when they are warm or freshly baked.

 

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