photos by sugarpie, Premium Member © Sarah Phillips
sugarpie, Premium Member, Says: “I made these brownies last week when I was cramped for time and this recipe was a life saver. The name certainly fits and they could easily be called ‘One Bowl Brownies’ as well, because you really only need one bowl .well other than the bowl for the eggs:). It’'s a no mess, no fuss recipe! And I had all the required ingredients lying in my pantry. For a recipe as simple and easy as this, the taste is pretty darned great! I did not taste the brownies the very day I baked them. I let them cool overnight and cut them up the next morning. They have a nice, buttery, chocolate-y fudge-y-ness about them. What took me by surprise was the pleasantly dominant chocolate flavor and the fudge-y-ness. Eaten right out of the refrigerator, these brownies feel very much like fudge. The thing that pleased me most about these brownies was the mellow & smooth note of sweetness. They are not sickeningly sweet like so many commercial brownies tend to be. All together, these brownies are a thoroughly enjoyable fare. The recipe does not call for nuts, but I feel the crunchiness of the nuts adds a nice textural dimension to any brownie.”
COOKIE RECIPE HELP
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour; spoon into measuring cup and level to rim
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips or 6 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate squares, chopped
1 cup packed dark brown sugar or white sugar
2 1/2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional; chop and then measure
INSTRUCTIONS
Position an oven shelf in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 inch square pan with foil and grease bottom of foil. If you use a dark, nonstick or a glass, Pyrex pan, reduce the oven temperature by 25 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour and salt. Set aside.
On the stovetop, under the lowest heat setting, in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate chips. Remove from heat. Stir in brown sugar until dissolved.
In a medium-size bowl, lightly beat the eggs and vanilla. Add the eggs to the chocolate. To do, stir a little of the melted and COOLED chocolate mixture into eggs to temper, then stir eggs into chocolate mixture in saucepan.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the egg/chocolate mixture. Fold with large strokes until fully combined. The batter will slowly mix and then come together. (If adding walnuts, fold mixture until almost combined, add walnuts and continue to fold until fully combined).
Spread batter evenly in the baking pan and bake for 28 minutes EXACTLY. The top will appear slightly glossy not shiny, slightly cracked and crusty and gently puffed. Let brownies cool in their pan on a wire cake rack.
MORE NOTES by sugarpie:
I melted the chocolate on the lowest temperature setting and this should be fine as you are not melting huge amounts of butter and chocolate and this also helps keep the temperature difference between the eggs and the chocolate mixture pretty narrow. Once I was done with the chocolate mixture, I let it sit on the counter top for a couple of minutes.
I then started tempering the eggs by adding about 1/4 teaspoon of the chocolate mixture at a time to the eggs. The first few additions will not dissolve thoroughly and you will see that the chocolate mixture breaks up into minute bits and streaks as you beat the eggs. After 3-4, 1/4 teaspoon additions, increase the amount of additions to 1 teaspoon and then gradually add more chocolate until the egg mixture turns a light, hot chocolate color. Then add the tempered eggs to the chocolate mixture and mix gently and thoroughly.
I used about 1/3 cups of chopped walnuts and sprinkled them on top of the batter before setting the pan in the oven.
These are good the same day, but will be even better on day 2.
