Thursday, June 5, 2008

Shopping for brownies


My quest for the perfect brownies is a never ending one-I like them gooey,chocolaty,rich,
I followed the recipe pretty exactly, except for adding in my cinnamon and “fudge swirl” components.
Rich Chocolate Brownie
10 T unsalted butter (1 1/4 sticks)
1 1/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. plus 2 T. unsweetened cocoa
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. or a bit more of cinnamon
2 cold large eggs
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2/3 c. chocolate chips
Heat the oven to 325F, and line an 8-inch square baking pan with tin foil, leaving an overhang on opposite sides, so you can take the brownies out of the pan more easily when you’re done.
Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heat-proof bowl, and set it into a skillet of simmering water. You’re basically creating a really weird double boiler, and I’m not sure why it’s done this way, instead of in a double boiler, but I’m not going to ask questions. Stir it occasionally, and let it sit in its hot water bath until the butter melts and everything is mixed together well. The recipe says to keep heating it until it’s almost too hot to touch, then cool it off until its warm.
Stir in the vanilla extract and the cinnamon (ok, I probably should have added the cinnamon with the dry ingredients at the beginning). Then stir in the eggs, one at a time, vigorously. Because it’s just fun to stir stuff vigorously. Once the batter is smooth, shiny, and creamy looking, add in the flour.
Mix it all up until the flour disappears into the batter, and then continue to mix for 40 more strokes with a wooden spoon. Why? I don’t know, perhaps it’s a lucky brownie number. Add in the chocolate chips, and spread the ridiculously thick brownie batter into the pan. This might be a little tricky. It wants to stick to everything, including the tin foil. Perservere, if you can, with the knowledge that you get to lick the bowl in a few minutes.
Bake the brownies for about 20-30 minutes, depending on your oven, until a toothpick in the middle comes out clean. Let them cool completely in the pan, and when they’re cooled off, pull the brownies out with the tin foil and cut them on a cutting board. Again, not entirely sure why you want to do it this way. I suspect this brownie recipe is some kind of weird baking cult’s secret method for bringing back the baking antichrist or something. Or not.hehe..but try this-you wont be dissapointed.

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