Brownies – Bon Appetit Hon

Ina’s Brownies

13 February 20121 February 2012by Wendi12 Comments

I had to hide this recipe after making Ina’s brownies once or twice. They were outrageously good. But when I made them this time, they weren’t what I remembered. I rememeberd them being tall and cakey. What I have on that plate up there is neither tall nor cakey. It’s still outrageously good, but in a different way.

The beauty of the brownie is that it can be underbaked and still be a success. Just call them ‘fudgey’ and people will think you meant for them to be that way. I personally thought they improved after sitting uncovered for a day.

Ina’s Brownies

Adapted from Ina Garten

BAH Note: Don’t go down this road unless you can commit to making a LOT of brownies. Or if you are willing to bust out a slide rule and figure out the math to scale the recipe down. It would be a good idea to lay out a large sheet of aluminum foil on the rack under your pan just in case the batter ‘escapes’ from your pan. I tell you this from my own experience…cleaning charred Ina’s Brownie batter from the bottom of the oven is no fun.

1 pound butter (no, not a typo. i told you this makes a LOT of brownies)
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra large eggs
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups flour, divided
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Heat the oven to 350 degrees and line a half sheet pan with aluminum foil. Butter and flour the foil lined pan or spray lightly with cooking spray.

Melt the butter, 1 pound of semi sweet chips, and unsweetened chocolate on top of the stove, stirring frequently. Allow the melted mixture to cool slightly.

While the butter and chocolate melt, mix the eggs, instant espresso, vanilla and sugar in the workbowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. In a separate bowl, combine 1 cup of flour, the salt, and baking powder, and set it aside.

Slowly add the melted chocolate mixture to the eggs and stir until combined. Stir the flour mixture into the batter. Combine the remaining 1/4 cup flour with the 12 ounces of chocolate chips and stir into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top with an offset spatula, and bake for 30 minutes or until a tester just comes out clean. Rotate the pan halfway through cooking.

Allow the brownies to cool for 30 – 45 minutes in the pan before carefully removing the foil and cutting the brownies into small squares.

{printable recipe}

Baking, Dessert, Sweets

Ruth’s Brownies

26 December 201112 December 2011by Wendi9 Comments

Let’s get the elephant out of the room and state the obvious…clearly this was not my finest moment. All of my missteps turned incredible brownie possibility into a hot mess of reality. Let’s review, shall we:

Misstep #1

I forgot to turn the temperature down when I put the pan in the oven.

Misstep #2

When I realized that I hadn’t lowered the temperature and tried to turn it down to 350, I neglected to hit the “start” button so the temp didn’t change and the batter continued to bake at 400 degrees. In all I’d say it baked at too high a temp for a good 20 minutes which probably explains why the edges puffed up like a souffle.

Misstep #3

After 30 minutes a tester came out clean, despite Ruth’s comment that the normal toothpick test doesn’t really work for these brownies. Worrying that I had overbaked them, I pulled them out of the oven early.

As you can see from my actual, didn’t add or delete any elements, photo above, the brownies were only about 3/4 set. It was absolutely impossible to cut them into anything resembling a square. However….if I would have had a bowl of vanilla ice cream, the partly set/partly molten chocolate lava would have been the perfect topping to spoon in. Sadly, there was no ice cream to save these brownies from their fate of being tipped into the rubbish bin.

The saddest part of all this is that when I scraped the batter into the pan and then stole a lick or two from the spatula, this was hands down the best brownie batter I had ever tasted. Don’t let my failure to turn the perfect batter into the perfect brownies keep you from giving this a try. Learn from my missteps….or at least have a pint of vanilla ice cream ready to go in the freezer just in case.

Ruth’s Brownies

Adapted from Ruth Reichl, Tender at the Bone

BAH Note: When I need to melt butter and chocolate, I usually do it in the microwave. I tend to either work in 30 second intervals, stirring in between each, or setting the cook time for 2-3 minutes on 20% power and stirring every 30-45 seconds, repeating as necessary.

2/3 cup butter
5 ounces unsweetened chocolate (not cocoa powder)
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup sifted flour

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter and flour an 8 or 9 inch square baking pan and set aside.

Melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave or on top of the stove in a double boiler. When they have completely melted, stir in the vanilla and set the bowl aside.

Beat the eggs and salt in the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the sugar and beat for 3-5 minutes on medium until the mixture becomes almost white in color.

Reduce the mixer to low and stir in the melted chocolate until it is just combined. Add the flour and continue to mix on low just until there are no white steaks of flour remaining. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Place the pan on a baking sheet and put it in the oven.

IMMEDIATELY REDUCE THE OVEN TO 350 DEGREES.

Bake for 40 minutes, rotating the pan half way through the cooking time.

Let the brownies cool completely before cutting into 12 servings.

{printable recipe}

Dessert, Sweets

Food Memories – The Last Brownie

10 May 201010 May 2010by Wendi6 Comments

Dara Bunjon is the woman behind the Baltimore Dining Examiner and Dara Does It. She’s got her finger on the pulse of the food industry from PR to food styling to cooking instructions. This post originally appeared on the BDE. Many thanks to Dara for sharing…although I still don’t know what I would say to get the last brownie.

What Would You Say Or Do To Get The Last Brownie?

I don’t know why but my post have been a bit, not earth shattering thought provoking of late with Sandwiches cut diagonal or across – point and counter point, If you could choose just one cookbook and today’s question, What would you say or do to get the last brownie? I’m not sure what has sparked my introspective meanderings but alas they are here.

To answer the question proffered, I go back to the scene in the movie Notting Hill and think a group of friends around the table, and then I think about the friends. Recently I have been dining a lot with media folks so these are who I first pictured in my scenario and think no, they are very cognizant of their weight and would split the brownie equally or just manage one bite each.

Time to picture another group of friends and these friends are ones who are indulgent when it comes to food. I would have to be clever, manipulative and sharp – traits not high on my skill level but let’s give it a go. I will blame it on my dear mother, may she rest in peace, who would bribe me as a child with $10 if I could gain 10 pounds in a year. That this brownie will bring me to the 10 pound mark for the year and with my ten spot I would make them my delicious five spice brownies for the next gathering. Option 2: As a child being vertically challenged I always had difficulty reaching the counter top to get the cookies and brownies and my arms weren’t long enough to reach them on the table – I was deprived as a child. Hell, I’m just not that clever. Why don’t you have a go at it! ( Related Story: Memories from my yout )

Five Spice Brownies

BAH Note: These are some powerful brownies. I made them to thank our neighbors who had come to our rescue with candles and dry ice during a power outage. Of course, having to test them for quality control, the first batch never made it out of the house. So a second box of Ghiradelli brownie mix was picked up at the store and transformed with a bit of orange zest and five spice powder. It just so happened to be a snowy Saturday when batch number two finally made it next door. And would you believe that when The Mistah and I went outside to shovel, the neighbors had already cleared the sidewalk in front of our house. Now, I can’t guarantee that these brownies will have the same power with your neighbors, but it can’t hurt to try. As Dara said when I related my neighborly story to her, “Simple is good at times.” I couldn’t agree more.

1 box of Brownie Mix
1 orange finely zested (Microplane works great)
½ teaspoon of Chinese five spice powder (even McCormick makes this-not hard to find)

Add all the ingredients to a bowl and follow the box directions.

{printable recipe}