Archive for May 19, 2011

Fred’s Best Brownies

The best homemade brownies ever

After many attempts at baking brownies from scratch, I had all but given up.

No recipe had beaten a box mix in the taste or ease categories. They were too cakey or dry or involved ingredients I don’t keep on hand.

The fight wearied my ambition, I was about to throw in the towel and step out of the ring when a friend passed along this recipe.

These brownies are rich, fudgey and most importantly, easy to make. I like that the recipe calls for cocoa powder instead of baking chocolate (which I never have). The top is glossy and crackly. Go wild and add in nuts, more chocolate chips or a pinch of espresso powder if you want.

Every failed round with other recipes was worth the battle, because these are the best homemade brownies I’ve ever had.

Best Homemade Brownies Ever
Note: The difference between fudgy, moist – versus – crumbly, dry baked goods is about three minutes. Bake for the minimum amount of time and then fervently check every minute. Take the pan out of the oven when you insert a toothpick in the middle of the brownies and it comes out clean.

Ingredients
2 sticks of butter, room temperature
2 c. granulated sugar
1 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
1 t. vanilla
1 1/4 c. cocoa powder
4 eggs
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9″ x13″ baking pan with non-stick spray.

In a sauce pan over medium heat, melt the butter and add the sugar, whisk until smooth and shiny. Add in the baking powder, salt, vanilla and cocoa powder. Turn the heat off.

Crack all of the eggs into a separate bowl. Drop 3-4 spoonfuls of the hot mixture into the bowl to temper the eggs. Then combine the rest of the chocolate mixture with the tempered eggs. Whisk them together until it’s thick and glossy.

Fold in the flour and then add in the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. Do not over bake. Cool completely before cutting.

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