Fudgy Dark Chocolate Brownies
A few years back, I decided to try making brownies from scratch for the first time. Every time I had eaten homemade brownies, they were far and away better than the box mixes – even better than the Ghirardelli mix. I did some internet searching, and found a recipe that sounded like exactly what I wanted: it called for cocoa powder, which I already had on hand, and it made brownies that were semi-sweet and very chewy. If you're a cakey-brownie person, this post is probably not for you.
I was lucky enough to find and choose a recipe that I could not only successfully make, but also one that made an incredibly delicious brownie! This is the recipe I have continued to use since then. I've adjusted the recipe a little – the original made very dark brownies, and they were a little too bitter for Evan's tastes – but it has basically remained the same. I just cut back the cocoa a little, and added more sugar. They are still incredibly dense and rich, so much so that I have to cut them very small and make sure we have a lot of milk in the house for Evan!
Brownies are notoriously fickle, as most people who have made them understand. It can be challenging to bake them for the right amount of time, without underbaking but also without burning the edges. They're kind of like avocados – there's a very small window when they're at their prime. I've always had luck with taking these out of the oven around the 23 minute mark. They'll still be a little gooey in the middle, but if you get them right, it's not underdone-batter-gooey. It's that small window when they're at their prime.
Sometimes I make this recipe and the brownies look just like the photos in the original recipe, with a kind of crinkly top, and sometimes they don't. This time, when I made them, they looked a little different, with a flat, crispy top. If you try this recipe and they look a little different, don't worry. Things can change based on where exactly you put the rack in your oven, or how large the eggs are, or some other small factor. As long as you can manage to not underbake them (which is my perpetual challenge), they'll still taste like chocolatey heaven, and that's all that really matters.
FUDGY DARK CHOCOLATE BROWNIES
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Bake Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients
10 T butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/8 t salt
1 t vanilla extract
2 eggs, cold
1/2 cup flour
Directions
Place a rack in the lower half of your oven, and preheat to 325 F. Prepare a 9x9 pan with aluminum foil, leaving extra around the edges so you can remove the finished brownies, and spray with oil as well. Set aside.
Heat a small amount of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan on your stovetop. In a heat-safe bowl (I just use pyrex), heat the butter, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt over the saucepan – like a double-boiler, but easier to stir – and stir the mix regularly until the butter has all melted and the mix is very warm.
Once the mix is very warm, remove from the saucepan and set aside for about 5 minutes so it can cool a little. Once the mix has cooled down to slightly warm, add the vanilla. Then stir in one egg at a time, stirring rapidly as you add each one to avoid the egg cooking. Last, once you have a well-mixed batter, add the flour until smooth.
Pour your finished batter into the prepared 9x9 pan, and spread it so that you have an even thickness throughout the pan. Hit it on the counter a few times (just in an up-down motion, hitting the bottom of the pan on the countertop) to pull any big bubbles out of the batter.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until cooked through the middle. Because these are fudgy, they may not look done from the outside, so I recommend checking the center of the pan with a cake tester or a toothpick to ensure the batter has all cooked.
Once cool, remove from the pan by pulling out the foil. Place in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes first if you want to cut them – this will make them easier to cut without making a mess. Cut them small, because these babies are rich.
Shoutout to Inspired Taste for the original recipe this has been based on!
Happy Eating,
Natalie