outrageous brownies
I know that this is quite boring and stereotypical but I have PMS this week and my cravings come with, as my husband likes to say, “very specific instructions.” I wanted brownies. But, like every woman with a spastic relationship to her hips and, in turn their relationship the butter, sugar and 70 percent chocolate that makes our taste buds go round, I paused. And paused. How could I adjust my Very Strong Need for a bite of chewy, dense, bitter-laced homage to cocoa mass with my need for my favorite skirt to fit it my favorite way?
A-ha! I would make them tiny, and I would stash them in the freezer and eat but one each day. Just. One. I am brilliant, a master of compromise, I assured myself and got to work.
A while back, I confessed that my favorite brownie recipe in the entire world was the one I’d been making since high school — the “One Bowl Brownie” recipe from the back of the Baker’s Unsweetened Chocolate box. They are dense and chewy and moist with a thin crisp of a crust atop, they’re bitter-sweet and my god, you make them in one bowl! In a kitchen without a dishwasher, they’re a dream come true. Best yet, the actual use of Baker’s unsweetened chocolate is optional; they respond well to all levels of fancy.
But the people told me I was wrong. The swarmed en masse to my comments and email and ear and murmured things to me, things about these “outrageous” brownies that blew all other brownies out of the water. They told me one taste, and I’d say “Baker’s unsweetened who?” But when they said that magic name - “Ina Garten” - I was sold, because I love me some Ina and in my kitchen, she’s never done me wrong.
Somehow, the prospect of using a pound of butter, even in something that creates a commensurate quantity of product, was too much for me, so I halved it. The recipe was no one-bowl cinch, but not particularly difficult minus the part where I tapped out the excess flour all over myself and the floor. (Does anyone else HATE buttering and flouring pans? Because, ecch, I think I do enough for everyone.) And the results… well, this is where I have been torn for days. The office? Loved them. The husband? Him, too, especially from the freezer. And me? At first, I was wildly disappointed. I love adding instant coffee or espresso powder to melted chocolate to heighten the flavor, but the amount in this recipe (3 T in the full recipe) is really overpowering.
But, in the days since I baked them, they’ve grown on me. The coffee makes them extra-bitter, fighting the good fight with the sweetness, keeping it in check. The chips are an awesome textural surprise. The edges, especially in the mini-muffin molded ones are really well-executed. I’m not throwing away my Baker’s recipe just yet, but they’re winning me over. One at a time.
Except for last night, when I had two.
Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies (Full Recipe)
The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
1 lb unsalted butter
28 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee granules
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350.
Butter and flour a 12×18x1 inch baking sheet.
Melt together the butter, 1 lb. of the chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly.
In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.
In a medium bowl, sift together 1 c of flour, the baking powder, and salt.
Add to the cooled chocolate mixture.
Toss the walnuts and 12 oz of chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 c flour, then add them to the chocolate batter.
Pour into the baking sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and dough.
Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake!
Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate, and cut into squares.
Ina’s notes: Flouring the chips and walnuts keeps them from sinking to the bottom.
It is very important to allow the batter to cool well before adding the chips, or the chips will melt and ruin the brownies. This recipe can be baked up to a week in advance, wrapped in plastic, and refrigerated.
I’m totally with you on the Baker’s One Bowl Brownies. They aren’t glamorous, but they are exactly what you want when you’re craving a brownie. My mom always made these growing up, and I still think it’s a perfectly wonderful recipe, despite the disparaging reputation that ‘back of the box’ recipes have.
Brownies, in my kitchen, also fill that need for something decadent when nothing else will do. I have a tried and true recipe too, but am always doctoring it up to see if it can possibly get any better. Sometimes it does. These look so delicious I could lick my screen. Maybe next time I make brownies I will use the mini-muffin and freezer technique. And hide them well.
Have you ever tried those baking sprays that have flour in the can (like Pam for Baking or whatever)? You could eliminate the butter-and-flour step with the swift burst of a spray can…
These brownies are delicious! My Mom has made them before. Have you made Ina’s lemon bars? They are fabulous too. And while I’m on the subject of Ina Garten, have you tried her Roasted veggies with orzo? It is one of my favorite recipes and it’s very versatile.
Just those pictures and that description have won me over. It’s the bitter coffee/ sweet chocolate contrast that sounds so enticing. Of course, me being so disciplined that I only eat one at a time is unlikely.
Long, long after everyone else in the world discovered Ina Garten, I’ve just purchased one of her cookbooks and now have a whole list of things I plan to make from it. That Ina, she’s alright.
I’m pretty sure I’ve seen every episode of Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network. I wonder if she’s done with tv. I don’t think there’s been a new one in a long time. Anyway, I think she’s great. Her food is so fancy looking, but so do-able.
The brownies look delicious and now, of course, I\’m craving them. And, I don\’t think I\’ll find any while I\’m at work:) I use the Pam Baking Spray with flour all the time. It\’s awesome and there\’s no mess. I\’d highly recommend it. I also want to say that I\’m new to the \’Smitten Kitchen.\’ A good friend of mine just introduced me to it last weekend, and I love it!! Keep up the good work!
See Michelle, I told you…You will love Deb and all of her stories and amazing treats!!! Maybe…just maybe…we can get her to make the famous fake Oreo’s again! The recipe…OH MY GOD!!! So goooooood!
Jessica G - Hooray for Baker’s! I mean, I know brownies are just a matter of taste - some like them cakey, others like them fudgy - but I think I expected more from these than I got. They didn’t convince me that the extra steps (flouring pans, extra bowls, pots, dishes) were worth it. But, ahem, my cravings demand I eat another very soon.
Kate - The best ones can be doctored, that’s what makes them so good. I don’t think these would take well to doctoring.
Luisa, Michelle - I’m so getting that stuff now. I echewed cooking sprays for so long, until I spoke to a friend (who, now that I remember, makes world class brownies and I need to get the recipe) who worked at an excellent bakery and said they always sprayed their pans. I don’t know why I was so resistant!
Christina - I haven’t, but I’m (god, only I could say such dork-ass things like this) between lemon bar recipes right now so it will be a good time for me to try it. I did try her roasted veggies with orzo, but think I used couscous instead, and it was excellent.
Julie - If you love a strong coffee taste, you will love these. Love them.
M - I totally agree. I wonder if she’s signed up for another season; it would be a bummer if she didn’t. Hey, do you think that’s her real kitchen?
Christine - I will totally do those again. I’ve whipped them up for a few parties lately as they are so easy. Funny enough, it was right about that entry that I decided I wanted a food blog, to tell stories exactly like http://thesmitten.ivillage.com/love/archives/2006/04/im_a_dancin_man_and_i_just_can.html ” rel=”nofollow”>that.
Deb, That is Ina’s real kitchen! It’s a beautiful house on AMAZING property in the Hamptons. Did you know she used to work in D.C. for the government? A self trained ‘cook’ not ‘chef’ she likes to say. I think she’s great!
I, too LOVE Ina…but I also find it hard to tear myself away from the Baker’s one bowl. It’s simple AND delicious. Maybe next time u can incorporate some of Ina’s ideas into the Baker’s one bowl recipe? Use some espresso powder, some chips..all that good stuff?
Oh and on the pan thing, I use the wrapper from softened butter to butter my pans, keeps my fingers clean and I used up ALL the butter…even the melty parts on the paper!
Btw, I’ve been reading u for a long time…love ur writing back on ivillage…and I love food too. Look forward to reading more of ur food entries! =D
ahh these made me drool!!! I am the same when it comes to chocolate and that time of the month. I think there is some gentic or hormonal predisposition towards chocolate whenever it rolls around to that time. Hope you got to satiate your cravings!!!
I also use the Pam Baking Spray, awesome stuff.
I’ve seen NEW Barefoot Contessa episodes the past few Saturdays (my satellite programming guide tells me if it’s new or not and the year).
I just made Ina’s Curried Chicken Wraps the other night: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tammimarie/243253884/
I really want chocolate now.
Aah, right now I’m actually browsing the web to decide on what to bake tonight. I think I’ve found the answer.
I actually skip the buttering of the pan and go straight for the parchment paper lining and it works! I also have placed the nuts on top of the mix so they steam/stay crunchy, and swirled some fancy cherry jam through some plain batter. The cherry jam stir-in requires a bit of adjustment in your timing… a few minutes longer, but not too much.
By the way, everyone at my school requests these brownies regularly (something to do with the coffee I’d expect).
Christine - Every time I see her kitchen I say to Alex, “That one. That’s the one I want.” And he says, “One day,” I think just to humor me because we all know that you couldn’t fit that in a small NYC apartment. Cook, not chef - that’s a great way to put it.
Ina, hire me. Please.
Jnet - Look what I found on the new Chow! I have a good feeling about this one; I should be trying it out in about 28 days. Cough. It reminds me a lot of the bakers with a higher amount of chocolate (something I think the Baker’s could stand for) and a lot of other small things I like: no baking soda or powder, so they stay dense, and just a teaspoon of espresso. I’ll report back!
And also, thank you.
Jenjen - I hate being so typically female, but yeah, it’s true. Seriously, a few days later, I like chocolate but I don’t HAVE TO HAVE IT RIGHT NOW. However, with recipes like the one I just mentioned to Jnet, maybe it’s not a bad thing.
Tammi - Hooray! I tend to wake up hours before my husband on the weekends and watch what he calls “my stories” - Ina and Chiarello, mostly. Hopefully next weekend I’ll have more time for them so I can see if there’s anything new. (More about my Big Exciting Sunday Plans later.)
Yuke - Brownies for dinner! I heartily recommend it at least once.
Ms. George - That’s really good to know. I often skip greasing cookie pans and use parchment instead, but I get too nervous with cakes. I’m going to try that soon.
I think it was the coffee that my office loved about them, too. Caffeine fiends, they are.
Anyone excited for Nigella Lawson coming to Food Network? I’m pretty sure it’s October 1st, 1pm. I can’t wait. I’ve also heard HER brownie recipe is to die for.
Oh, and unfortunately Barefoot Contessa was a mix of dessert recipes yesterday, that had previously been aired.
I’ve searched for the Baker’s brownie recipe and I found that one chocolate square is 1 ounce, correct? (damn this americans and their crazy measures!)
Tammi - I am very curious about Nigella’s new show, too.
z. - 1 square = 1 ounce. Isn’t that crazy? Of course, I often use better chocolate than Bakers for it, but I think the proportions and the outcome in that recipe are great.
yesterday, i had a brownie. yum.
I love Ina Garten and I love Baker’s One Bowl Brownie recipe. Is that a conflict of interest? Here is what I do to jazz up the Baker recipe. I stir in a 1/2 to 3/4 cup of high quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips. Simple. Everyone that eats the result believes the brownies to be really special. Now I sound like “Semi-homemade with Sandra Lee.” (Ewwww…)
That aside, your blog recently became a highlight of my cubicle imprisoned day. And given me refreshing ideas for the post work me…!
This doesn’t solve your flour-all-over-the-place dilemma, but my grandmother taught me this little tip: “flour” the pans for any chocolate cake type recipe with powdered cocoa! That way your finished edges and corners aren’t dusted with white flour and the no-stick factor is equal to that of flour.
Deb,
I’m a brownie lover AND grease-and-flour hater, too. My solution is the ‘Large Bar Pan’ by Pampered Chef (www.pamperedchef.com). Words cannot convey how amazing this is for making hassle-free brownies. I use this stoneware in my kitchen every day, but especially that time of the month when I want an evenly-moist, totally sinful brownie. They come out beautifully, every time, with no greasing and flour-dusting. Not ever. (By the way, their new Warm Caramel Brownie recipe is to die for. To. Die. For.
Just thought you should know you’re missing out! :)
Brin
http://www.messythrillinglife.blogspot.com