Sometimes in a marriage there can be a little role reversal. No, we are not talking about Bruce or Caitlyn Jenner here. This is more important than mere sex. This is about chocolate.
In Comfort Food, Rick Rodgers presents iconic recipes for the dishes you grew up loving. In Comfort the recipes have been perfected, even intensified. This brownie is dark, still cakey and not fudgy, but most definitely over the top with chocolate.
Well, over the top for me. It was Suzen who added the insisted on adding the chocolate chips — I had tasted the rich, dense batter and concluded the chips had to be optional. You can see those chips in melted mini-layers studded throughout the picture. Coffee not doing it for you in the morning? Eat a couple of these and the day will be a racy blur.
I honestly find these brownies almost over the top. I’d take a second taste to confirm that opinion but Suzen, in the role reversal, has become the family chocolate fanatic. Taste one? I can’t even look at them without having her raise her eyebrow. And it’s not a friendly raise.
These are good, dense, seriously chocolate brownies. If you crave a brownie fix, put that cardboard box down. Nothing made in a factory, even if baked at home, can come close to flavor of this make-it-yourself indulgence.
Frosting is not recommended unless you wish to flirt with diabetic shock. And, next time, over Suzen’s objections, we are putting the nuts in!
Dark Chocolate Brownies
Yield: ~20 brownies
Ingredients:
- ¾ cup unsalted butter (6 ounces), plus more for the baking pan
- 1 cup All-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- ¼ cup light corn syrup, honey, or maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract,
- 1 cup Semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup toasted and chopped walnuts or pecans, optional in place of or in addition to the chocolate chips
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Press a 20- length of parchment paper into the bottom and up the sides of the pan, folding the parchment as needed to fit and allowing the excess to hang over the sides. Lightly butter the parchment and dust with flour, tapping out the excess.
In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Remove from the heat and add the unsweetened chocolate. Let stand for 3 minutes, then whisk until smooth. Whisk in both the sugars until well blended. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, then whisk in the corn syrup and vanilla until blended. Add the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips, distributing them evenly. Spread the batter in the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Run a knife around the inside of the pan to release the sides of the brownie. Lift up the whole brownie by the parchment “handles” and remove it from the pan.
Cut the brownie into 20 squares and serve. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Source: Comfort Food by Rick Rodgers [Weldon Owen, 2014]
Photo Information: Canon T2i, 18-55mm Macro Lens, f/4.5, 1/50th second, ISO-1000