Yep, another brownie attempt. I am very determined. And some good news: I’m almost there. The recipe below, plus a few tweaks, may just be the one. I’m not going to rejoice yet, but I am feeling pretty good.
Classic Chocolate Brownies, adapted from Ghirardelli Chocolate
Makes 16 brownies
1/2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Guittard)
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate baking bar (I used Scharffen-Berger semi-sweet baking chocolate bar)
1/2 c butter, cut into pieces
1 t vanilla
2 large eggs
3/4 c plus 2 T flour
1/4 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour an 8-inch square baking pan. Chop the 4 ounces of semi sweet chocolate bars into 1-inch pieces. In the top of a double boiler, melt the chopped chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Stir the brown sugar and vanilla into the chocolate mixture. Add the eggs and mix well. In a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly fold the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture, mixing well until blended. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for 45 minutes, until a tester comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into 2-inch squares.
Conclusions: Crusty top! Chewy sides! Fudgy middle! Pretty darn good. I even wanted to eat more than one (which is my true test of a good dessert – I’m usually pretty burnt out after one serving so if I want another, it must be really good). BUT, since I’ve decide to be really picky about this project, the top could be crustier, the brownie chewier and the middle a little less fudgy.
The Tweaks
1. Use all Guittard chocolate chips (or other lesser-quality, but still decent baking chocolate) instead of the 4 oz of Scharffen-Berger. The Scharffen-Berger chocolate is just too good (I cannot believe I’m saying this, but I think it may be true) and makes the brownies a bit too chocolatey.
2. Cook those little guys for even longer. The original recipe recommended 25 – 30 minutes. I did 45 and they were still a bit mushy. The extra cooking time hopefully should make the brownies a bit crustier and chewier, and less fudgy.
I think I will give my updated recipe a try this weekend for the Superbowl. You know I’ll be reporting back!
-Emily
2 replies on “baking therapy: brownies, continued continued”
poor ghirardelli gives you the recipe and then you don’t even use their chocolate 🙁
how come i did not taste one of these? keeping them all to yourself eh?
I know. I’m ruthless.