perfect chocolate brownies

Brownies are a very pesonal thing and people take their brownie preferences SERIOUSLY.  I would know because I am one of them.  Is that brownie really just a piece of cake without frosting?  No thanks, hard pass.  Is that brownie a brick of fudge?  Sign me up.

My coworker had requested brownies and this recipe immediately popped into mind.  Then, like an idiot, I decided to use a different recipe.  My reasoning was pretty simple.  As amazing as my holy grail recipe is, it can be a little tricky to bake correctly because it’s so dense.  Using an 8×8 pan will result in a glorious center but slighty crisp edges, or glorious edges and a brownie soup middle.  I didn’t want to risk this mishap and only end up with 3 decent brownies to bring into work.

So long story short – I tried a different recipe, panicked with the finished product, second guessed myself, ran to 7/11 to buy more eggs, and finally made this batch of brownies I should have started with to begin with.

 Was this entirely necessary? Not even a little bit.  The first batch of brownies was perfectly fine and no one would have been the wiser.  The pan issue was also a non-issue since it turns out I don’t even OWN an 8×8 pan right now.  I own a 10×10 and this is the absolute perfect size to bake these brownies evenly and magically.  Though my coworkers did rave about the brownies, which is only fueling my insanity and helping me justify running to 7/11 for eggs when I just made a perfectly good batch of brownies.

But look at the texture we are working with here!!  Dense and rich and gooey.  The magic trifecta.  Worth a million trips to 7/11.  As a bonus, you don’t need to deal with melting chocolate and living in fear of it seizing up on you.  You get all this goodness from cocoa powder only.  Times they are a changing.

Taste testing is a must.

Perfect Chocolate Brownies

(recipe from Baking a moment)

1 1/4 cup of butter (2 1/2 sticks)

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (I used trader joe’s brand)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspooon vanilla extract

4 cold eggs

1 cup of all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

Handful of chocolate chips (optional…I guess)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line a 10×10 inch pan with buttered parchment paper.  You can use 8×8 or 9×13 but the baking process is a little trickier.  9×13 is probably just a shorter time, but your brownies will be flatter and I like mine a little taller.

Melt the first four ingredients together either over a double boiler or just verrrrrry carefully on the stovetop.  I don’t have any pans that can be used double boiler style so I’m just cautious – in life and baking.

Once melted and combined, take the pot off the heat and let the mixture cool slightly.  You’re adding eggs next and you don’t want to end up with poached eggs in your brownie mixture.

Next, stir in the vanilla.  Add in each egg one at a time and stir thoroughly after each addition.  The batter will start to look glossy and wonderful.

Stir in the cup of flour and baking powder, then add the batter to your prepared pan.  I always like to throw in some chocolate chips/chunks at this point because why wouldn’t you?

Bake in the oven for 40-50 minutes.

These are a gooey mess when cutting even at room temperature.  If you need them to look extra fancy, cool them in the fridge for a bit and then slice away.  The brownies will have much cleaner edges.

Enjoy!