Monday, September 15, 2014

The Best Brownies



At the moment, I'm working on The Diva Steals a Chocolate Kiss. As you might imagine, it has a chocolate theme. So I'm working on all kinds of chocolate recipes.

In the world of chocolate, the classic chocolate cake and brownies are funny things. It seems like they would be straight forward but a little too much of this or not enough of that and they're flat, chewy, or dry.

When it come to brownies, there's a spectrum from fudgy to cakey. Somewhere in between is the perfect plain brownie. The one that doesn't need frosting. The one that packs well in lunch boxes and picnic baskets.

The other day, as I was looking through an old bread cookbook of my mom's, I happened upon some recipe clippings. One was on yellowed newspaper. No indication of which newspaper or a date. The recipe is called The Best Brownies.

As I've been looking at brownie recipes, I'm amazed by the amount of butter. Some recipes call for more than a pound of butter. I admit that my arteries clog a bit just reading that. So I liked that The Best Brownies only contained one stick of butter. Granted, the recipe contains a lot of sugar, but I didn't want to cut back until I had tried it. Plus, it contains 1/2 cup of unsweetened chocolate, so it needs a bit of sugar to handle that big dose of pure chocolate.

The brownies turned out just right. I like that they're not too tall. They're not fudgy but nicely moist. The mysterious Best Brownies are winners in my book!



The Best Brownies


1 9x9 square pan or 1 8x11 rectangular pan

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Grease the pan. Preheat oven to 350.

Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt and stir well with a fork to combine. Set aside.

Cream the butter with the sugar and vanilla. Beat in the eggs. Beat in the flour mixture. It will be quite thick.

Pour into pan. Bake 20-25 minutes.


Lovely thick batter.

Top smooths out while baking.

Are they the perfect brownies?


14 comments:

  1. The brownies look amazing! Thank you fro the recipe. I can't wait for The Diva Steals a Chocolate Kiss. I enjoy the Diva books. <3

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    1. Thank you, Jen! That's so sweet of you to say. I'm having fun eating my way through recipes for this book. Will have to diet soon!

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  2. That is one gorgeous photo Krista! And I love the title too:) xo

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    1. Thanks, Lucy. "Chocolate" is surprisingly difficult to get into a title that begins with "The Diva!"

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  3. Anybody else remember that silly song, with the lyrics, "Yummy, yummy, yummy, I've got love in my tummy"? You can slap that line on these. And I bet most of us grew up with desserts made before butter was declared evil. My excuse? Potatoes with butter and milk kept the Irish peasants going for decades, and both of my grandfathers were dairy farmers. Butter is in my blood.

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    1. Sheila, I had a great grandmother who was a wedding planner and cook. Nothing lowfat in those days! It was all butter and cream. I'm told she lived to be 100. Hope I got those genes! And yes, I do remember that song!!!

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  4. Isn't it interesting how the idea of a brownie seems perfect, but finding an actual one that comes up to my expectations is rare.
    I look forward to testing these out.

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    1. Libby, I've decided these lean a little to the fudgy side. I like them quite a bit, though. More flour or a longer baking time would have made them more cakey and less chewy. They have a nice strong chocolate flavor.

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  5. I like a strong chocolate flavor in my brownies---and these just might be the ones for me.

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    1. They're very easy to make. If you try them, let me know what you think!

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  6. These are gorgeous! And I love the title o four new book. ...Steals a Chocolate Kiss. Darling! Did I tell you that my next Cookbook Nook is also about chocolate? We'll have fun sharing those recipes next summer, won't we? :)

    Daryl / Avery

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  7. WOOHOO! Another installment of the Diva! Thank you! These brownies look yummo. I have a recipe for brownies that use Hershey's chocolate syrup in them. Boy are they ever rich. I'll make these and see how I like them. Thank you for sharing and particularly for writing such a good series!

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    1. Oh, that sounds interesting. Are they so rich that I'll feel too guilty to eat them?

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