In the midst of my grand plans to attempt risotto again, I decided to whip up a batch of brownies. Peering into my baking cabinet, I searched through it, hunting for my trusty box of Ghiradelli’s brownie mix, only to find it missing! I must have used it awhile back and forgotten to replace it.
Panic set in, as I realized I was going to spend a lot of my blood, tears and sweat possibly ruining a risotto and just making flavored rice, and my box of brownie mix is missing?! How could this be?!
I ran to my trusty laptop and searched Saveur for possible brownie from scratch recipes… figuring its only flour with cocoa, sugar and some other things right? I came across four recipes that were pretty similar, just with differing amounts of the same ingredients, and so I read through them and picked the one with the most positive reviews and the most promise.
We broke out some chocolate bricks, chopped up the bits, gathered up some eggs, sugar, flour and vanilla and set to work!
Ingredients:
- 16 TBSP unsalted butter (2 sticks)
- 8 oz (283 grams) bittersweet chocolate cut into 1/4″ pieces
- 4 eggs
- 1 C sugar
- 1 C firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp salt (I used sea salt)
- 1 C flour
Heat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9 X 13 baking pan with butter and line it with parchment paper, also greased with butter. If you set the parchment paper out the sides of the pan so that it extends a couple of inches beyond the walls of the pan, it creates a type of handle to lift out the brownies once they are baked so it is easier to cut them into squares and get them out of the pan.
Next, pour water into the saucepan, bringing it to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and set a medium bowl over the saucepan. In it, combine butter and chocolate and whisk until everything is melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside.
whipped sugar, eggs & vanilla
melted chocolate and butter
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, sugars and salt. Mei watched seriously and intently at the swirling chocolate and sugars. Stir in the chocolate mixture once the above mixture has been combined, then fold in the flour. Take your time folding in the flour until it is thoroughly combined. Pour into the prepared pan, and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Chocolate and sugar folded together makes pretty swirls!
These came out amazing, a little bitter but the salt really helps to bring out a rich chocolate flavor. The edges are harder and a little crisp, while the body of the brownie was chewy and fudgey - it was a perfect end to a meal that held so much trepidation. I had a square with a small scoop of Starbuck’s Java Chip Frappacino ice cream. It was a spoonful of heaven!
